April 3, 2006
George Mason's Remarkable Run Ends In Indy
This entry was written by DCist contributor Hayden Alfano
The clock finally struck midnight for George Mason.
The greatest Cinderella run in the history of the tournament came to an unceremonious end Saturday night, as Florida beat the Patriots 73-58 in Indianapolis to advance to the national championship game.
After a competitive first half that saw the Gators take a five-point lead into the break, Florida's Lee Humphrey hit a trio of three-pointers to break the game open. Plenty of time remained on the clock, but Mason's offense -- potent throughout the tournament -- finally stalled. Will Thomas missed several opportunites inside, and the Patriots couldn't buy an outside shot. Tony Skinn gave GMU a glimmer of hope by hitting the team's first three-pointer to cut the lead to 11 with six minutes to play, but lost track of Humphrey on the next Florida possession. The Florida junior buried a three -- his fifth of the half -- to effectively ice the game.
Except on the glass, where Florida held a 36-25 advantage, George Mason wasn't overmatched -- regardless of what the media says. The Patriots ran their offense and got the same looks -- inside and outside -- that they had gotten all tournament. Saturday night, they didn't go down, and Florida's did. That's the reason the Gators are playing for the championship against UCLA Monday night.
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Congrats to Mason, it was a pretty spectacular run. I bet their applications go way up next year.
I disagree with the comment that Mason was not overmatched by Florida. In almost every facet of the game Mason was outplayed and outcoached. While they never let the deficit get too large and pulled back close a few times Florida was able to repeatedly pull away. I think most people would consider that overmatched.
All that said, Mason's run has been amazing and fun to watch (it is even better to watch Packer eat his words on national tv for the past three weeks). Hats off and hopefully we will see them here next year.
I disagree with the comment that Mason was not overmatched by Florida. In almost every facet of the game Mason was outplayed and outcoached. While they never let the deficit get too large and pulled back close a few times Florida was able to repeatedly pull away. I think most people would consider that overmatched.
All that said, Mason's run has been amazing and fun to watch (it is even better to watch Packer eat his words on national tv for the past three weeks). Hats off and hopefully we will see them here next year.