JAG’s Sports Blog

George Mason University pulled off one of the biggest wins in NCAA tournament history when they defeated heavily favored University of Connecticut 86-84 in overtime to join UCLA, LSU and Florida into the ‘Final Four’ next Saturday. Florida defeated # seeded Villanova 75-62 on Sunday to fill the last slot of the tournament next weekend. LSU had earlier defeated Texas 70-60 in overtime on Saturday and UCLA followed up with a bruising 50-45 win over Memphis. The tournament no longer has a #1 seeded team from any region left and UCLA is the only 2 seed left to cap off one of the most topsy-turvy tournaments ever seen since the NCAA went to the 64 team field.

In what ranks as possibly the biggest upset in NCAA history, George Mason seemed to be wearing ear plugs as they apparently didn’t get the message that Connecticut was the more talented team because they simply ran, played and fought harder on the inside than Connecticut in beating them in overtime 86-84. What makes this such a huge upset is the fact that most fans have probably never heard of George Mason, let alone what conference they’re from. Throw in the fact that the experts believed conference-mate Hofstra deserved a spot in the NCAA ahead of George Mason rather than the NIT tournament and you have here one of the greatest and most shocking runs in tournament history.

George Mason had all 5 starters score in double figures and played the rest of the game with about 10 minutes to go in regulation. Jai Lewis and Will Thomas refused to let the bigger Connecticut players keep them from the basket as they continuously backed them down into the paint. This either resulted in a short jump hook or kicked the ball back out for the guards to either shoot or drive to the basket. Anyone that isn’t aware of the Colonial Athletic Association Conference had better recognize who they are now. George Mason wasn’t even the tournament winner in their conference, but it’s all irrelevant now because they’re going to ground another mid-major/small conference team has never been since the 64 team format took affect. This is why we play the games on the field/court rather than just vote on who’s the best.

George Mason plays Florida in the ‘Final Four’. Florida had an intriguing match-up with Villanova in a battle of wills. Florida had the bigger players led by Joakim Noah, pounding the ball inside against a Villanova team that played mostly with 4 guards. Villanova was the more experienced team, but Florida hung tough and fought off several charges from the Wildcats every time they cut the Gators lead down. The match-up with George Mason Saturday will be similar in that the Gators will be taller, but George Mason has already shown that they’re willing to pound or run the respect into their opponents. It’s hard for me to imagine George Mason pulling off another upset and powering the ball inside against Noah like they did Connecticut, so my pick to get to the Final on Monday is:

Florida
LSU played gutsy basketball on Saturday in beating the favored Texas Longhorns. Glen “Big Baby” Davis kept pounding and pounding the ball inside and super freshman Tyrus Thomas took over at both ends of the floor as they held off Texas led by P.J. Tucker and previous game star Kenton Paulino. LSU surprisingly dominated Texas on the inside because they were getting no outside game from their guards. Thomas was voted the “Most Outstanding Player” of the region. This will lead to a potentially bruising battle when they face traditional power UCLA.

UCLA defeated Memphis in one of the ugliest games for fans to have witnessed. UCLA bumps and grinds on defense in the mold of Ben Howland. Howland came over from the Big East Conference, so this is his style of play. Memphis tried to run at every opportunity, but their point guard turned the engine on a bit too much. Memphis was literally out of control trying to run the ball and committed numerous turnovers which slowed the game down and kept it lower scoring like UCLA preferred to have it. The surprise player for UCLA and a clear key for them when they face LSU is 7′ center Ryan Hollins. Hollins was an ineffective player before Howland took over and now he’s found a harder and more aggressive edge to his game. Hollins is blocking shots, scoring and acting like a 7′ center.

If Ryan Hollins can slightly contain “Big Baby” Davis a little, I have to take UCLA over LSU because LSU can’t risk another weak effort from their outside game against a bruising UCLA defense. On the other hand, UCLA needs Hollins to shoot better than 2/11 from the free throw line if they expect to win since he’s their best inside threat also. I’ll take

UCLA to meet Florida in the finals on Monday and the winner will be

UCLA to lock down Florida in a tough defensive struggle.

Editor’s Note:

I saw a comment Kevin Hench from Fox Sports News made about certain rules in college basketball and I have to echo his concerns.

The rule where a player can simply run all over the floor and try to get knocked down to draw a foul has to be adjusted. In college basketball, a defender can draw a foul if he establishes position no matter where he’s at on the floor and that includes under the basket. It makes no sense that an offensive player has no area where he has the right to land without knocking a guy over. The pro rule I like is you can’t take a charge inside of the dotted area in the key. That’s not good defense, just smart based on the rules they’ve been given to play with.

The other rule that makes me pull what hair I have left in my head out is the rule where a technical foul is also assessed a personal foul. Anyone that watched the first Duke /Florida State and the Connecticut/Washington tournament game knows that all that does is hurt the team that’s assessed the technical foul. Why can’t we let the game be played on the court and giving a technical and a personal foul alters the game especially when no contact was ever made between the players. It hurt Florida State in the regular season with the refs being suspended and it hurt Washington against Connecticut with their star Brandon Roy having to sit for 10 minutes after starting the play with only 2 fouls. Let the players play and have the refs stop overreacting to the least amount of intensity on the court. If they make contact then throw them out, but not just because they look at each other sideways.

Last but not least, I just want to say this has been the best tournament from top to bottom that I can ever remember. It seems every game was close and this is proof why at least basketball and baseball are played on the field rather than voting on it. George Mason would have never, never had a chance to be in the “Final Four” if this were football because the system says only 40 teams at the most can have a chance to win it all. I’m almost secretly rooting for George Mason to shake up the establishment and give those mid-major conference teams a chance to prove they belong if only given half a chance.