in NCAA B Articles

George Mason in tough

Oh, George Mason. I wish I knew how to quit you.

The Patriots remain the toast of the town after becoming just the second No. 11 seed ever to reach the NCAA men’s basketball tournament Final Four, and the first since the LSU Tigers in 1986. Their success is a boon not just for the Colonial Athletic Association, but for all the mid-majors who felt the wrath of CBS commentator Billy Packer on Selection Sunday.

That doesn’t mean the betting public is hopping on the bandwagon. George Mason is a substantial underdog for its matchup in Indianapolis against the No. 3 Florida Gators, who destroyed Villanova last week to clear out the last of the four top seeds in the tournament. On the surface, the Gators present George Mason with the same challenge that the No. 1 UConn Huskies did – size. Florida is led by 6-foot-11 phenom Joakim Noah, who made NBA scouts salivate with his 21 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks against the Wildcats. The Gators also have 6-foot-9 forward Al Horford lurking in the weeds, waiting to swallow whole anyone who enters the paint.

What makes Florida different from the Huskies? Hunger. Those in the know have painted UConn’s vaunted lineup as soft and pampered, while the young Floridians have worked hard for their success. It was easy to forget the Gators after their 17-game winning streak to start the season was snapped. Their current nine-game streak, however, is too impressive to brush off. Florida is 6-2-1 against the spread during that span, covering in each of its four tournament games and driving the “under” to the pay window five times in a row with suffocating defense. That makes the Gators the favorites to win the tournament.

Not that George Mason can be forgotten, as everyone has learned. The Pats have taken “team basketball” to a new level. All five of their starting players score and distribute the ball, but it’s their 3-point shooting that gives them the proverbial puncher’s chance against the Gators. George Mason sank nine of 18 attempts from long range to eliminate UConn. The Pats should find the open trey against Florida better than Villanova did (4-for-23), but dealing with Noah at the other end is a different matter.

In the other semifinal, LSU has a similar profile to Florida’s. The Tigers have the inside beef, namely Glen “Big Baby” Davis, who thankfully avoided being saddled with the moniker “Baby Shaq” despite his physical similarities to former LSU standout Shaquille O’Neal. Davis creamed the strong No. 2 Texas Longhorns Saturday with 26 points and nine rebounds, his third 20-point game of the tournament. Paired with blue-chip freshman forward Tyrus Thomas (21 points, 13 boards versus Texas), Davis and the Tigers look and cook like champions.

Except they have to get through the UCLA Bruins. This is the toughest team in the Final Four to get a handle on, thanks in part to their relatively low profile coming out of the Pacific-10 Conference. The “Cameroon Crazies” feature rail-thin freshman Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and senior Ryan Hollins in the frontcourt. They’ll be dwarfed by LSU, but they were also undersized against the No. 1 Memphis Tigers, who they dispatched in the Regional Finals by slowing the game down to a snail’s pace. Don’t be surprised if the talented backcourt of Jordan Farmar and Arron Afflalo pulls off the slight upset and reaches the championship final – which would stretch their winning streak to 12 games. They’re 9-2 ATS in their past 11, compared to LSU’s 6-5 ATS.

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