March Madness Revisited: George Mason lives out of their Final Four shadow in 2011

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article_body => "As March wound down without its usual flurry of March Madness moments, NBC Sports Washington took a look back at some smaller DMV schools who made a big impact during their most recent NCAA Tournament appearances.  <\/em><\/p>\nWhen one thinks of George Mason basketball, instantly they're called back to the historic Final Four team in 2006. That team's legacy hasn\u2019t outgrown that legendary performance when the Patriots stunned everyone with one of the great Cinderella runs in tournament history.<\/p>\nBut the 2010-11 George Mason squad had something to prove, too. Those Patriots wanted to write their own history. Hard to do when the mark was an unprecedented Final Four appearance. In 2011 they moved the Final Four to the side and gave pundits another story to tell, adding another giant of the sport to their list of downed foes.<\/p>\nFive years removed from the original Cinderella story, it was an entirely new team. New players, new assistant coaches and a new era of Mason basketball. But, it was recent enough to still have extra motivation for those on the roster. <\/p>\n\u201cWe were kind of in those shadows of \u2018Alright we don\u2019t want to be the guys that come to college and then don\u2019t get to the tournament,'\u2019\u201d former Patriots forward Mike Morrison told NBC Sports Washington. \u201cWe still communicate with [the Final Four] guys as if we\u2019re on the same team. We know them personally. We play videogames online with each other from across the world and group chats and all that stuff. So, we were pretty tight.\u201d<\/p>\nDuring that 2010-11 season, the Patriots, led still by coach Jim Larranaga, set records that even the Final Four team never did. A program-best 16-game winning streak propelled the team to an at-large bid. As a rehe CAA regular-season title for the second time ever. They received a higher seed, in fact - the best in the league\u2019s history by being the No. 8 seed. George Mason sult, they won twas the first CAA team to ever be the home seed in an NCAA Tournament game. <\/p>\nAnd unlike Selection Sunday in 2006, there was no doubt they would hear their name called. A 26-6 (16-2) record in a three-bid CAA had them prepared to continue playing. It was a matter of who, when and where, not if. <\/p>\nMason\u2019s first opponent was Villanova, a team that the Patriots had just lost to by a point a year prior in non-conference play, a team Mason believed it could beat.<\/p>\n\u201cWe weren\u2019t just happy by the seeding. We were very excited to get Villanova,\" Morrison said. \"The year before we played them in Puerto Rico and we really felt like we should have beat them and we didn\u2019t play our best game. There was a lot of excitement behind our matchup for sure.\u201d<\/p>\nMason\u2019s roster was full of characters. The quiet, lead-by-example Cam Long was one of two seniors in the rotation. With him were the loud and boisterous juniors Ryan Pearson and Morrison in the frontcourt. At the point was sophomore guard Luke Hancock. They didn\u2019t back down from a challenge. Mason was aggressive, loud, talked smack and was not afraid to tell teams they were better than them. They were battle-tested.<\/p>\n\u201cWe played tough games that year,\u201d then-assistant coach Mike Huger told NBC Sports Washington. \u201cWe were in battles throughout, even in the 16-game winning streak. The CAA was very good and very competitive with us and VCU and just battling each other throughout. Old Dominion was very good as well.\u201d<\/p>\nThe first-round matchup played out exactly how an No. 8-9 game should. Back-and-forth, each team trading blows, answering the bell when it looked like the other had them on the ropes. <\/p>\nAn 8-0 spark in the final moments gave Mason brief control of the game. Up until that point, Villanova had led for most of the contest and Mason would not go away. A foul on a Corey Fisher 3-point attempt gave Villanova the lead right back with the shot clock turned off. Mason was down one, with plenty of time left for multiple possessions and then Hancock stepped back for a three.<\/p>\n\u201cLuke shot it and that wasn\u2019t the plan,\u201d Morrision said jokingly. \u201cLuke just did what he does.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cWell, first it was more like \u2018What are you doing?!\u2019 He had the lane to drive to the basket and then he stops on a dime and takes a step-back three\u2026 and it was like holy smokes,\u201d Huger said. \u201cThe shot was just such a shock. I think Villanova was in shock that everything happened the way it did. I think that kind of froze them a little bit and they weren\u2019t able to make a play after that.\u201d<\/p>\nThe Patriots withstood the final 20 seconds to beat Villanova 61-57. Another blue blood to go down, joining the list of Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and Connecticut from 2006. Could Patriots, with a crop of new faces, do it again? <\/p>\nThe three by Hancock extended Mason\u2019s tournament but did not extend his own. Before they were set to play No. 1 seed Ohio State, Hancock came down with food poisoning. The \u201cglue\u201d of the team was gone and quickly shut down the wild concept that this could be another Cinderella team. <\/p>\n\"That changed the dynamic of the team,\u201d Huger said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t understand how much we would miss Luke going into that Ohio State game until it really hit us and now it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, he\u2019s not here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\nThe David Lighty and Jared Sullinger-led Buckeyes throttled the Patriots 98-66 in the second round. A magical run wasn\u2019t allowed to end organically. <\/p>\nAs fortune would have it, that was the end of the road for a group that had so much potential. With four starters returning, running it back and perhaps having an even better season was definitely in the cards. <\/p>\nBut Larranaga left at season\u2019s end to coach the Miami Hurricanes. His assistants would follow. Hancock, who had just come off his \u2018One Shining Moment\u2019 shot, transferred to Louisville, where more NCAA Tournaments would follow. <\/p>\nThe 'what ifs' grow bigger as time has gone on, showing how quickly life can change for mid-major programs. The Patriots haven\u2019t made the tournament since.<\/p>\n\u201cWe thought we could really do something special with that group coming back, but everything changed,\u201d Huger said. \u201cWho knows what would have happened if we would have stayed and had another crack at it the following year with that group back. So that\u2019s the thing that you always wonder.\u201d<\/p>\nStay connected to the Capitals and Wizards with the MyTeams app. <a href=\"https:\/\/smart.link\/5bb65a2b6cedb?site_id=Dig_RSN_Wash&creative_id=nbcswash1200&cp_4=www.nbcsports.com&cp_1=washington&cp_2=myteams-nbc-sports&cp_3=nbcswash1200\">Click here<\/a> to download for comprehensive coverage of your teams.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nMORE NCAA NEWS: <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Last Dance: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/washington\/ncaa\/march-madness-revisited-when-george-washington-made-it-back-ncaa-tournament\">When GW made the NCAAT <\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li>New Terp: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/washington\/ncaa\/maryland-nabs-transfer-forward-jairus-hamilton-boston-college\">Maryland gets Boston College transfer<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Winter athletes: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/washington\/ncaa\/heres-why-ncaa-not-giving-winter-sports-additional-year-eligibility-spring-sports\">Why there's no extra season<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n"
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NCAA

As March wound down without its usual flurry of March Madness moments, NBC Sports Washington took a look back at some smaller DMV schools who made a big impact during their most recent NCAA Tournament appearances.

When one thinks of George Mason basketball, instantly they're called back to the historic Final Four team in 2006. That team's legacy hasn’t outgrown that legendary performance when the Patriots stunned everyone with one of the great Cinderella runs in tournament history.

But the 2010-11 George Mason squad had something to prove, too. Those Patriots wanted to write their own history. Hard to do when the mark was an unprecedented Final Four appearance. In 2011 they moved the Final Four to the side and gave pundits another story to tell, adding another giant of the sport to their list of downed foes.

Five years removed from the original Cinderella story, it was an entirely new team. New players, new assistant coaches and a new era of Mason basketball. But, it was recent enough to still have extra motivation for those on the roster.

“We were kind of in those shadows of ‘Alright we don’t want to be the guys that come to college and then don’t get to the tournament,'’” former Patriots forward Mike Morrison told NBC Sports Washington. “We still communicate with [the Final Four] guys as if we’re on the same team. We know them personally. We play videogames online with each other from across the world and group chats and all that stuff. So, we were pretty tight.”

During that 2010-11 season, the Patriots, led still by coach Jim Larranaga, set records that even the Final Four team never did. A program-best 16-game winning streak propelled the team to an at-large bid. As a rehe CAA regular-season title for the second time ever. They received a higher seed, in fact - the best in the league’s history by being the No. 8 seed. George Mason sult, they won twas the first CAA team to ever be the home seed in an NCAA Tournament game.

And unlike Selection Sunday in 2006, there was no doubt they would hear their name called. A 26-6 (16-2) record in a three-bid CAA had them prepared to continue playing. It was a matter of who, when and where, not if.

Mason’s first opponent was Villanova, a team that the Patriots had just lost to by a point a year prior in non-conference play, a team Mason believed it could beat.

“We weren’t just happy by the seeding. We were very excited to get Villanova," Morrison said. "The year before we played them in Puerto Rico and we really felt like we should have beat them and we didn’t play our best game. There was a lot of excitement behind our matchup for sure.”

Mason’s roster was full of characters. The quiet, lead-by-example Cam Long was one of two seniors in the rotation. With him were the loud and boisterous juniors Ryan Pearson and Morrison in the frontcourt. At the point was sophomore guard Luke Hancock. They didn’t back down from a challenge. Mason was aggressive, loud, talked smack and was not afraid to tell teams they were better than them. They were battle-tested.

“We played tough games that year,” then-assistant coach Mike Huger told NBC Sports Washington. “We were in battles throughout, even in the 16-game winning streak. The CAA was very good and very competitive with us and VCU and just battling each other throughout. Old Dominion was very good as well.”

The first-round matchup played out exactly how an No. 8-9 game should. Back-and-forth, each team trading blows, answering the bell when it looked like the other had them on the ropes.

An 8-0 spark in the final moments gave Mason brief control of the game. Up until that point, Villanova had led for most of the contest and Mason would not go away. A foul on a Corey Fisher 3-point attempt gave Villanova the lead right back with the shot clock turned off. Mason was down one, with plenty of time left for multiple possessions and then Hancock stepped back for a three.

“Luke shot it and that wasn’t the plan,” Morrision said jokingly. “Luke just did what he does.”

“Well, first it was more like ‘What are you doing?!’ He had the lane to drive to the basket and then he stops on a dime and takes a step-back three… and it was like holy smokes,” Huger said. “The shot was just such a shock. I think Villanova was in shock that everything happened the way it did. I think that kind of froze them a little bit and they weren’t able to make a play after that.”

The Patriots withstood the final 20 seconds to beat Villanova 61-57. Another blue blood to go down, joining the list of Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and Connecticut from 2006. Could Patriots, with a crop of new faces, do it again?

The three by Hancock extended Mason’s tournament but did not extend his own. Before they were set to play No. 1 seed Ohio State, Hancock came down with food poisoning. The “glue” of the team was gone and quickly shut down the wild concept that this could be another Cinderella team.

"That changed the dynamic of the team,” Huger said. “We didn’t understand how much we would miss Luke going into that Ohio State game until it really hit us and now it’s like, ‘Oh, he’s not here.’”

The David Lighty and Jared Sullinger-led Buckeyes throttled the Patriots 98-66 in the second round. A magical run wasn’t allowed to end organically.

As fortune would have it, that was the end of the road for a group that had so much potential. With four starters returning, running it back and perhaps having an even better season was definitely in the cards.

But Larranaga left at season’s end to coach the Miami Hurricanes. His assistants would follow. Hancock, who had just come off his ‘One Shining Moment’ shot, transferred to Louisville, where more NCAA Tournaments would follow.

The 'what ifs' grow bigger as time has gone on, showing how quickly life can change for mid-major programs. The Patriots haven’t made the tournament since.

“We thought we could really do something special with that group coming back, but everything changed,” Huger said. “Who knows what would have happened if we would have stayed and had another crack at it the following year with that group back. So that’s the thing that you always wonder.”

Stay connected to the Capitals and Wizards with the MyTeams app. Click here to download for comprehensive coverage of your teams.

MORE NCAA NEWS:

Last Dance: When GW made the NCAAT
New Terp: Maryland gets Boston College transfer
Winter athletes: Why there's no extra season