DAYTON, OHIO ? Michigan State? Gone. Defending national champion North Carolina? Gone, too.
Any more questions about whether George Mason belongs in the NCAA Tournament?
Didn’t think so.
The upstart Patriots turned Carolina a whole different shade of blue Sunday, knocking the third-seeded Tar Heels out with a 65-60 victory that set up a mid-major matchup in the round of 16.
George Mason (25-7) will play Wichita State on Friday in the Washington Regional semifinals, pitting the Colonial Athletic Association against the Missouri Valley’s regular-season champion. The Patriots won, 70-67, last month at Wichita State.
“There’s been talk about the Missouri Valley all year,” said Lamar Butler, who led the Patriots with 18 points. “Hardly anyone has talked about the CAA. It’s hard to believe we’re both in the Sweet 16.”
Not for Michigan State or Carolina, the two pedigree programs that got upset – if that’s the right term – by an at-large team from an overlooked league. George Mason is the first Colonial Athletic team to make the round of 16 since Richmond did it in 1988, and only the third overall.
This one has everything it takes to play with the big boys. That was coach Jim Larranaga’s message to his green-uniformed team before the opening tip.
“The last comment I made to them was, ‘What color is kryptonite?”‘ Larranaga said. “They said, ‘Green.’ I said, ‘Look at your jerseys. You have everything you need to win this game.'”
Carolina showed it wasn’t anything like the super team that won the NCAA Tournament last year. The Tar Heels (23-8) lost their top seven scorers from that team, forcing coach Roy Williams to use four freshmen much more than he’d prefer.
It was yet another second-round stunner for Williams, who suffered one of his worst in the same arena 16 years ago. His Kansas University team was considered a title contender in 1992, but got knocked off by Texas-El Paso in the second round.
Williams was so upset as it wound down Sunday that he picked up his folding chair and slammed it down courtside. He tried everything, even yelling at his team during a timeout to try to fire it up. Nothing worked.
He also made a significant coaching mistake, putting his team in a press during a late timeout because he thought Carolina was down by three. Instead, the score was tied at 54. George Mason broke the press and Butler was fouled, going to the line for two free throws that put the Patriots ahead to stay.
Connecticut 87, Kentucky 83
Philadelphia – Marcus Williams scored 20, including four clutch free throws in the final 30 seconds, and Rudy Gay had 19 for Connecticut (29-3).
Patrick Sparks scored a career-high tying 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting for No. 8 seed Kentucky (22-13), which failed to reach the round of 16 for the third time in the last 12 seasons.
