Selection Sunday is a few days away, and college hoops action is heating up inside the Beltway. With 2-4 area teams destined for this year’s NCAA Tournament and local teams’ success in recent years, it’s safe to say that we’re living in one of the country’s college hoops hotbeds. Let’s take a look at our area teams and make a few predictions along the way. In our first installment, we’ll find out what went right for the teams that have already punched their ticket to the Big Dance.

George Mason University Patriots (23-10, 12-6)
The Patriots finished third in the Colonial Athletic Association, but took advantage of conference regular season champion Virginia Commonwealth’s slip-up in the semifinals to capture their first CAA Tournament title since 2001 with a 68-59 win over William and Mary. Mason played a tough non-conference schedule that included wins over Kansas State, Dayton, and South Carolina. Before last night, the Northern Virginia program was a fringe candidate, at best for an at-large birth to the Big Dance, mostly due to inconsistent form down the stretch – Mason won only three of their last eight games before the conference tourney.