George Mason Basketball: George Mason gets dominated by Ohio State in 98-66 loss

Sunday, March 20, 2011

George Mason gets dominated by Ohio State in 98-66 loss

Not much to say to say on this one. This was the Patriots' worse NCAA tournament loss in school history besting their 24 point loss to Cincinnati in 1999. That was Jim Larranaga's first NCAA trip with George Mason. The Patriots' ran into a Ohio State team that was unbelievably hot from behind the three-point line. Granted the Patriots perimeter defense was non-existent but it's still a pretty amazing to watch a team go 16-for-26 from there, I believe it was a record in the NCAA tournament. If that was not a record I think Ohio State's David Lighty's 7-for-7 from behind th arc certainly is or pretty damn close. After starting the game on an 11-2 run the Patriots were manhandled in almost every area. At one point Mason went 10 minutes without a field goal; your not going to beat anyone left in this field playing like that. However it did seem like every foul call, loose ball, and shot attempt seemed to go in the favor of the Buckeyes. It was like quick-sand, the harder Mason tried to dig themselves out the more they sunk deeper. Every shot seemed to fall for Ohio State tonight who certainly looked like the #1 overall seed after this performance.

Luke Hancock missed today's game with food poisoning and the Patriots' certainly could have used his ability to create in this game. Unfortunate way to end the season missing one of your starters in the season's biggest game but I'm sure most agree it might not have mattered tonight.

Some positive things to take away from tonight is the fact that Johnny Williams again got quality playing time against elite talent for the second straight game. And I'm sure juniors Ryan Pearson, Mike Morrison, and Andre Cornelius will not forget this bitter taste in their mouth and strive to erase it next season. You cannot discount what this year's George Mason team accomplished this year. It was a great year and it's sad it had to end this way. Personally I'll feel a lot better if Ohio State wins the national championship.

Labels: NCAA Tournament

58 Comments:

GMU Hampton Roads Fan said...: Bottom Line: It was a great season and we should enjoy it! Regular Season Champions and a win in the NCAA, I love it! Quick question any idea why Thomas Armistead didn’t get any minutes at the end?; 7:44 PM
GMU879 said...: I do not mind losing to the #1 team in the NCAA tournament. I do not mind losing by 30 plus points. What I do mind is the lack of fan support! I am furious that Mason fans are not as supportive. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA (the UCLA side) and unlike our fans they support their team! I chose to forgo UCLA because I fell in love with NOVA. I still do not regret my decision. I am however tired of the non support mason receives and when we are good bandwagon central is in full effect. Besides you guys and the the few that follow on the espn blog, we are all that mason's got. Ryan thank you for your blog! You are a true fan in my book and so is everyone else who follows this blog. The mason bench only gets updates when the author feels like it. Our alma matter is lucky to have this blog and from one fan to another I appreciate it! Go Mason and we are proud of each and every one of you and thanks for the wonderful and memorable season.; 7:56 PM
kate said...: i second what he says! i rarely run into mason fans down here in ATL, but i don't stop talking about them! thanks for ALL you do via this blog and twitter! i appreciate you and always look forward to your tweets! :); 8:02 PM
Greasewood said...: Enjoy the Blog! I learn more from reading the various comments and appreciate Our team more. However I do question the coaching approach at times.; 8:07 PM
Gio said...: Well like you said there's not much that can be said about this game (That picture says it all really). OSU were unbelievably good and hit us non stop after our scorching start. Their 3's just kept going in and ultimately that's what hurt us. Congratulations to them, they will be very tough to beat down the stretch as well. Very disappointed to have lost Luke to food poisoning as he had an incredible game last time out. He would have certainly contributed even if the outcome would have remained the same. Did he get it form the restaurant they went to the first time? The chop house? Anyway, it's sad that this was our biggest losing margin on the national stage in the age of digital media and sad that Tate and Long had to bow out in such a manner. Johnny Williams was needed today and he played relatively well against bigger bodies and this experience will serve him well. Bryan got some good points even if it was in garbage time, it will boost his confidence with a much bigger role next season. I can't wait to have Wright back as well, the coaches have been raving about him. All in all, this was a great season that shouldn't be tainted by this one massive loss. Proud of our guys... Now and in the future, Go Patriots!!!; 8:12 PM
Mooky_l3d said...: Thanks for the season and this blog. Glad I could give and share my thoughts and opinions. Each year this blog gets better and better. Can't wait for the next season. GO MASON!!!!!!!!; 8:22 PM
c hirsch said...: Looks like VCU is headed to the Sweet 16. If their fans weren't such douches I might have been happy for them.; 8:43 PM
GMU879 said...: I am with you 100% it hurts me to root for them it really does.; 8:49 PM
Patotobin said...: I hate the 8,9 seed and all it sets you up for as a mid-major. We need to play a team that's not consistent and we got a chance. The 1 seed of 1's with their fans and Hancock sick? This was the perfect storm. It was too much to ask and i believe Ohio St will be the national champions and i'll feel a lot better about our loss after that happens. It was a great year. I love March Madness. I hate VCU and hope they lose by 80. Great blog to visit and will be back for sure.; 8:54 PM
calidreamin said...: Hey! UCLA class of '93 right here! I made a no-brainer decision to bleed green & gold instead of blue & gold 4 years ago when Cam chose Mason -- out of all the other teams that were recruiting him. The Bruins may have my soul, but the Patriots have my heart. Terrific season, and many great memories for my son & I attending all the games. Thanks, guys!!!!!!; 9:02 PM
Screw you said...: As a Mason fan i watched EVERY game this year. Any game that I couldn't make I watched on TV. And if i was in the area i made Hard Times play on TV. The fact that you're calling out mason fans is pretty insulting. I went to the CAA games. I would have went to the NCAA games but 79 dollars for student tickets PLUS gas PLUS lodging are SLIGHTLY out of a student's price range. I love mason's team with all my heart but fuck those prices and fuck you for questioning my dedication. I hope they make it deeper next season but I'll support them regardless.; 9:20 PM
old fan said...: Regardless of today, I am very proud of this team and all Coach L has done since he has been here. GMU has come along way since those miserable 1993-1997 years. Were any of you there during the end of the '93 season when fans started wearing paper bags to the games? Or see the game against the Russian team that finished the game with four players due to fouls, and still won? Or were at the game that year that a GMU player walked off the court?

Be thankful for what you have and support your team.; 9:23 PM
Justin said...: I could not agree more. Hell, I even donated $100 to The Mason Bench thinking it would be a good way to support GMU basketball and help them indirectly promote the program. I've instead found myself following this site throughout the tourney because, as GMU879 mentioned, it's the only coverage outside of ESPN. Ryan - you're doing a fantastic job, and your analysis / constant updates have been a joy to read.; 9:24 PM
Kdenton1 said...: Great season Mason! The reason Mason has poor fan support in down stretches is because their was no history of winning. The 06 run is considered a fluke by many but having their best season ever and getting the first NCAA win outside of the 06 run is going to help. I am a Mason fan for life, like many of you and I hope this season makes some more fans. I have to assume this season will peak some interest in a few extra recruits that would have otherwise looked the at! Go Mason!; 9:35 PM
TW said...: Thank you, Ryan, for this blog. I check it every day throughout the season and during the summer to learn about Mason's recruiting efforts. Today's loss was grim, but there is still lots of potential for next year. I love the way Williams plays and look forward to more from him next season. As far as fan support, it is important for Mason fans to be the fans that they want to see. I buy Mason gear for my entire family, talk to other Mason fans when I see them out wearing their gear, put a Mason plate on my car...all the things that support the school and make others want to do the same. As they say, you need to create the world that you want to see.; 10:22 PM
ChristopherY said...: Hancock getting food poisoning and the non calls have me thinking the fix was in, however OSU still did hit their FG's, especially from 3. If it weren't for that, I would be looking for my gun.

But congrats to Long and Tate for great seasons and careers. I love those guys and wish them the best...

However, I think we'll be even stronger next season. We have Sherrod Wright coming back, and we'll see what Rashad Whack brings, and Bryon Allen will be be pushing him. Couple that with Johnny Williams in the tournament really looking better than he ever has...so I think you can make an argument that this actually has been a down year, even though it was one of our best ever...; 10:23 PM
Matt said...: Still sort of exhaling the loss. Not that it was terribbly surprising given how we have covered the three since Iowa St. This was either going to be a nail bitter or a blow out, nothing inbetween. Too bad it was the latter. It was a fun season and sucked even more losing in the first round in '08. I didn't fee like we quit at any point. I was disappointed we didn't seem more prepared to prevent open threes. I'm not sure why we didn't at least try a zone. I thought Cam was jittery both game and Ryan invisible but perhaps teams just did a great job of taking them away. I don't think defense would have changed that much with Luke but I think our attack would have on offense and he may have opened up some great assists in and out by driving. OSU hit some great three's but they all so had some crazy open ones. Harder to root for VCU now that were out but was I really going to root for Purdue? For ND or FL St.? Hate 'em in conference, gotta root for them out. Started on this blog last off season thanks to a friend, will keep checking it to satiate my appetite until November. Go Mason.; 10:33 PM
overrated14 said...: Thank you Cam Long for all of your Significant contibutions over the last 4 years. You "danced" your way in as a Freshman and "danced" your way out as a Senior. A CAA championship, 2 NCAA births, an NIT bid, and CAA title; not to mention a number of record-setting individual achievements-not bad for a guy who was predicted by some(uh umh) to play less minutes than his fellow incoming freshmen. Thank you Ike for being our "6th Man of the Year." I am very proud of both of you. Continue to be great students in the game of life! About the game-I can see why Ohio State is ranked #1. They are REALLY good.; 10:41 PM
GMU879 said...: I AM CALLING OUT THE FANS THAT DO NOT SUPPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!; 10:41 PM
GMU879 said...: By the way, there is no need for vulgar language. Respect the blog man.; 10:43 PM
Scottranda said...: Agree with overated14 and thank Ryan for this fun blog. Mason will be even better next year and hope this national exposure will help recruiting, Ryan look forward to reading this blog and like GMU it continues to improve every day! Great Job!; 11:05 PM
Charlie T said...: Once again you so right. Did remind me of 1999 when Eric herring was out. I will say chubby solinger or whatever his name is was right when he said "It is over yo" but Ohio State better win this because it is their outside not their inside that beats you and if they run into a bad shooting night they will also be over Yo. Their cuts ,their passing and their ability to get what they wanted when they wanted hurt us. The other thing and I think the main thing was to shut down our outside play without a real care about our inside. Anyone who reads stats knows our inside is not a real threat. Ohio State is a real good college team not great but good ,then this year no one really is that great so maybe they might win it. On another note GMU beat a big east team and I just heard the city of Richmond will have as many teams in the sweet 16 as the big east. Well we took care of one. Now we can root for VCU and next year.; 11:19 PM
c hirsch said...: Zone is a complicated defense, it isn't just something you can pull out of nowhere. You need long, big bodies to play a successful zone, Mason doesn't have that. Team that play zone practice it all of the time, the fact that Mason never employs it is part personnel and part not practicing it.; 11:22 PM
Charlie T said...: Just read the rest of the blogs and was a bit disappointed that there was a slam on supporters and then a sequense of curse words in defense of support. Reminds me of the Butler-Pitt game where 2 wrongs never make a right. Oh well it goes back to the old saying "The best thing about winning is you do not have to explain why you lost". We are not happy but lets be real ,George Mason ,the number 8 seed, is no longer an unknown entity.; 11:31 PM
Agilb884 said...: I completely agree that this is a team we can all be very proud of. I graduated in '89 and this school has only started to build a basketball program. Remember, Mason started out as a branch of UVA and was mostly considered a commuter school until very recently. Most of the great basketball programs are at much older universities with well established traditions. We are building those traditions and legacies right now. As bad as this loss was, I really believe that a lot of good can be gained from it. IMHO, we played the best team that we have ever faced, including Florida in '06. We got a chance to see what a truly elite program looks like. And despite the score, I think we are one or two players away from competing at that level. Lastly, I don't think any team can consistently shoot the way OSU did tonight. We got the best team's beast game. No one could have beaten OSU tonight. Go Patriots!; 11:41 PM
LawMom3 said...: The fans can be obnoxious, but the team seems okay. I have to say I really enjoy watching that little spark plug Rodriguez play. And I am supporting VCU (even if they hit Richmond, which seems unlikely) because the only way the CAA is going to get respect is if it keeps sending teams through the brackets during March Madness. GMU did a great thing here, sending a young team which was pretty iffy for the NCAA TO the NCAA with a very nice RPI and an undefeated run. VCU really has it together right now and deserves the support because some day, some how, the knucklehead announcers are going to stop talking about every CAA team that makes it past a round or two "Cinderella". Some day I'd like to see it taken for granted that a CAA team going to the NCAA is a threat, and with any luck that team is going to be GMU most of the time. What can I say? I'm a dreamer.; 1:05 AM
LawMom3 said...: I think a couple of things happened here. First, the food poisoning thing probably really rattled them. They were expecting Luke to be there and all of a sudden he couldn't be, and the tweets I was getting said he was so sick they were trying an IV. That's going to make a team already facing the biggest menace of the tournament even more jittery. The other thing is that Luke H really makes things happen. He's a constant presence moving all over the floor and his communication with Cam Long is excellent, almost intuitive. He's also more agile than Tate. What I saw against V-nova was Hancock stepping up and taking over because Long was struggling. I think Long was probably pretty loose for this game until Hancock started upchucking all over the place, and then he realized that the one he communicates best with wasn't going to be there. Also, does anyone know whether they shared a hotel room? Ever wake up with someone who's got food poisoning? It's not pretty. Bet someone on the team didn't get much sleep.; 1:12 AM
LawMom3 said...: I went to GMU in the 70s and can remember when they broke ground for the first dorms ever at GMU, watching the construction from Thompson Hall. Back then the gym was through the woods behind the dorms and nothing like that nice Patriot Center we have now. We had some terrible records and wouldn't have dared dream of making it to the NCAA, let alone the Final Four. We just wanted a winning record and most of the time didn't get it. Now? Now we're disappointed if we DON'T make it to the NCAA. We've got a great coach and a good program and the foundation for high expectations each year. That counts for something. Every year Coach L lures the guys who flew under the radar to the program and he weaves them together into a competitive team. And when the guys he approaches want to know why they should go to a mid-major he can tell them honestly that he can maximize their potential even though the majors might not have given them a second look and he believes he can make it to the NCAA. The great thing about this team is it's not built around one or two superstars, but a real team with depth and a focus on getting the job done without making one guy responsible for its success or failure. We can be very proud of this team.; 1:29 AM
BATmason said...: Haha, dude that's funny; 3:04 AM
Mason guy said...: UCLA had what 10 straight National Championships? This is a young program, and frankly a lot of the fans are not really into or up on basketball. GMU doesn't even spend the most in the CAA on basketball. They got beat down, period. They will be back. Cam and Ike will move on, either to play at some other level or to a career. Consider it a life lesson.
Cheers.; 3:11 AM
BATmason said...: First off shout out to our seniors Tate and Long and coach L. for taking us this far.

As for the game, scroll down this link to the OSU players reg. season stats: http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2010-2011/osu.html
and here for their size:
http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17300&SPID=10421&SPSID=87812

If you did your homework it should be no surprise what happened here especially considering we lost Luke Hancock. @LawMom3 has it right when she talks about how the loss of LH messed with our team psyche...big time. LH single handedly turns it around during crunch time creating serious momentum...over and over again; he glues of this team together and if we had em' in this game we probably would have gotten what I wanted, a repectable loss of less than 16 points to the best team in the Nation. But, after looking at OSU's stats you can't be shocked at our loss and you've got to realize they probably have a 80-90% chance of cutting down the nets in early April so @Ryan I'm gonna feel a lot better too when OSU wins it all. OSU has multiple players who are leaving for the NBA, it was like playing friggin' Kobe Bryant out there. Our school needs to get to the tourney consistently to boost our recruiting, we've got a lot of great players coming back next year and some great frosh players, we're doing alright.; 3:30 AM
Chris said...: Great season for GMU, nothing to be ashamed of. We just ran into a powerhouse.

By the way, go VCU! It wouldn't surprise me if they replicate what GMU did in '06. They have the talent and the chip on their shoulders to succeed. Go CAA.; 9:19 AM
Joliff1 said...: Just want to thank the team for a great season, I'm so proud of the guys! Also want to thank Long and Tate for their contributions they have given to all of us over their 4 years at Mason. Looking forward to next year!; 9:21 AM
Poker Fiend said...: One of the coolest blogs about basketball I came across. Congrats!; 9:21 AM
Ross_williams1 said...: This was a great season and I am looking forward to next year. It was bad luck not only to have one of their best players out but also run into arguably the best team in the tournament in the second game . This team could have beaten several of the teams that are in the Sweet 16. But, playing against such a talented team will only make the returning players better.; 9:32 AM
Kdenton1 said...: Big props to Big Jim L. Nice season!!! Coach got paid for the results, too. According to this old article http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082703186.html coach got $575,000 for showing up to work, $75,000 for showing up to work, $10,000 for winning 19 games, $15,000 for winning 22 games, $52,500 for making the Big Dance, $26,250 for beating Nova, $5,000, for being the CAA Coach of the Year, and possibly more if he were to get any national coaching awards and/or and player academic benchmarks. That is a cool $718,750+. Not bad for a good days work, and well deserved. I am sure our B-Ball program is our top earning sport financially, both directly and indirectly. I think we have the right man for the job. Some coaches get more than double that as a base salary with no incentives, and don't make the Dance or get suspended for 8 games and then get blown out in the first round by MI.; 9:47 AM
Anonymous fan said...: Well, I don't know what's wrong with me but I hope Kentucky crushes Ohio State in the next game.; 9:58 AM
overrated14 said...: Zone is not all that complicated and the length of one's body is quite irrelevant. Have you ever watched women's bball? Have you ever watched the VCU men basketball team or other teams that play zone? Not everyone is long and big. Defense does not require a degree in nuclear physics. With any effective strategy, it takes committment and practice.; 11:40 AM
National Champion said...: We call that a loser's mentality. You really think having the team that crushed your team getting beat HELPS Mason? Wow!!!; 11:41 AM
Graham_donna said...: I am a Mom of a graduate of GMU and have been thrilled with what the Coach and players have done over the years. We have nothing, absolutely nothing, to be ashamed of.......we wear the Mason colors with pride and I for one like GMU 879 asked where were the fans. Hey you all, remember the last time you went down this road and the fans were falling all over the place.....and everywhere you looked was a Mason fan. I want to thank Mason and the Coach for the wonderful memories and lost voices in many of the games. We are all proud of each and every one of you guys and one more time thank you for the wonderful, seat on the edge of your seat, memorable season. From a GMU Alum's Mom -- and proud of it.; 11:49 AM
Rmjank said...: We simply ran up against a very good team that played a great game. What's the saying, that 3's are the great equalizer? Well, they equalized us pretty good! Lighty was dead-on, while our guys each took turn with misses from the arch, and three minutes later we're down by 24. I can sympathize with the sentiment that hopes OSU gets smacked by UK next round. Sure, it feels a bit better to know you got beat by the eventual winner. But it also would feel better to know that OSU just happened to play lights out against us, that it was somewhat of a fluke that they could not repeat. The cbs roundtable at halftime said we needed to either shut down the inside or guard the perimeter. I thought we actually did work on the inside and did a decent job. The majority of the points, early on anyway, for sullinger came of little dishes in the paint -- it wasn't like he was posting up all the time on us. They just made us pay from 3. And that Craft fellow was surely the quiet star of the game. It seemed like we were trying to put pressure on him from the start of each play, but he was not bothered in the least and made great passes.
Regardless, it was a great season that i enjoyed following. We'll miss Cam and Ike, but as we start looking to next year it will be interesting to see which of our younguns comes to the fore in the backcourt. Thanks as always for your great reporting and analysis, Ryan!!!; 1:13 PM
BATmason said...: Second That. Go "Spoilermakers"!!!; 1:34 PM
GMUSophMom said...: Now I hope Luke can rest that shoulder. Anyone have knowledge of extent of that injury? Agree with Lawmom about psych out of the rest of the team.
My kid goes to GMU. I was impressed by the pride for the basketball team at Orientation, etc. and I caught the fever and watch all the games(especially since my alma mater BB team stunk). So I think the fan base is there...
I have the sticker on the car... go Mason... alot of good players/starters coming back (and if I'm not mistaken VCU will graduate some good players).; 1:47 PM
Agilb884 said...: One of the coolest things about this tournament was hearing Dick Vital and Charles Barkley make the point that George Mason is a good team. Even after the loss to OSU. Never thought I would ever hear a hall of famer like Sir Charles even mention GMU much less say that they are a good team. This team really makes me proud to be a Patriot.; 2:26 PM
Cottrell99 said...: After the Nova game the basketball world knows 06 was no fluke. Mason and several CAA sister schools are for real. Hopefully the league will closely monitor its academic and behavioral standards and continue to be a class act. Thank you coaches, players, cheer leaders, band, etc and those who care enough to contribute to this blog!; 4:37 PM
Karenphaup said...: I'm so proud of the team, Coach L, and the Green Machine! They personified "class" all the way. Sorry to see Cam and Isaiah leave. Each brought their own spirit and talent to the game, and I wish them success in the future. Our family has been proud Mason supporters and attended every game we could make it to, including the CAA tournament. I am sorry about the loss to Ohio, but the conference is still representing, so I will cheer for VCU as loudly as possible! Thank you, Mason, for making this such a thrilling basketball season for all of
us!; 7:48 PM
Brentrg said...: wow.... 46 comments. Gotta love it. Took me a while to read. That loss stunk in that so many people saw us play and saw us get stomped on, but I think overall it was a great thing for this team. I loved how Coach L played backups most of the second half. Great experience for them for next year. Excellent. As far as running into an unbeatable team, I partly agree. I had not seen them play much, but man was I impressed. I think we had a great game plan. Their white boy 3 point shooter was who we were afraid of, as well as Sullinger. We tried to take those two things away. We were doing a great job of that at first, but once the X factor Lighty started taking over, it threw us for a whirl. He was only a 30% 3 point shooter while the other guy was 43%! I was really proud of our guys.

The future for us is so bright. J WIlliams and Sherrod Wright will be major contributors next year. If I remember correctly from last year, Sherrod was explosive penetrating to the rack and could dunk on almost anyone. I am also most excited that we have our first "TRUE" point guard coming in since Tony Skinn. I love Cam to death, but he had tons of turnovers in our two tourney games, and neither A Corn or Vertrail has total control over the ball either. With a down CAA next year (ODU & VCU losing 8 seniors between the two of them) we could really dominate again. CAN'T WAIT!!!!; 9:00 PM
Gio said...: Yeah VCU's gonna lose some big time players (Rodriguez, Skeen,Rozzell and Nixon. Except for Burgess, those guys contributed the most points to the team this season) Also just heard that Shaka Smart might be a candidate to replace former Tennessee coach Bruce pearl after he was shown the door on Espn. So, hypothetically speaking, will he be able to resist the $$ thrown his way after leading VCU to this point and losing his key players? I dunno. ODU's losing most of their play makers as well. And let's not forget, Hofstra is gonna lose some guy named Jenkins (i.e their whole team lol). So all in all, a repeat of our 16 game winning streak shouldn't be out of the question considering how down the CAA is gonna be. It's ours for the taking and that's just what's gonna happen and we'll be back dancing in March before you know it.; 12:12 AM
c hirsch said...: Sounds like you are agreeing with me. We don't practice it so why the heck would we start using it in the middle of a game?

You are really using women's basketball as a comparison?; 10:31 AM
c hirsch said...: There was nothing wrong about those calls in the Pitt/Butler game.; 10:35 AM
c hirsch said...: I wanted to be happy for VCU but all their fans were rooting for us to lose, can't bring myself to cheer for them now.; 10:36 AM
Charlie T said...: Sorry. What I left out and it is sad was the wrongs were the 2 players. Of course the calls were correct. Never saw anything like that. Reminded me somewhat of the Fred Brown pass to James Worthy in the Georgetown-UNC game that started a young freshmen on his way to glory. I know for a fact you always remember these things when you play and it does last forever.; 11:15 AM
masonfan32 said...: Side note: I don't think that the CAA losing talent is good for us at all. The selection committee loves a challenging conference. So, if the CAA sucks we'll have to rely on our non-conference exhibition games. And we might not win those difficult games. Just a thought..; 11:23 AM
c hirsch said...: VCU will be fine, they lost two guys to the NBA and look at them now. Also, they have lost Jeff Capel and Anthony Grant, and look where they are now.; 12:01 PM
Mike O said...: Wow, it's taken me a while to process the extent of this loss. While I expected the Patriots to come up short I was hoping against hope that they wouldn't get blown out like they did. Now idiots like Dick Vitale (who said Mason was "humiliated") can go back to their BCS Duke worshipping perch with smug self-satisfaction. Still proud of the effort the guys put out there though and magic of the first 4-5 minutes of the game (when they went up 11-2) will remain a great memory. This wasn't 2006 but it was probably the SECOND best season in school history.

Now that we're out I hope the CAA continues to represent and VCU gets to the Final Four. They have the talent to do so. They can definitely compete with Florida State and Richmond and I think they even match up relatively favorably with Kansas. In fact imagine if VCU takes on Richmond for the Final Four berth. It would definitely be the biggest sporting event in Richmond's history and could maybe be the spark to start a great annual interconference cross-town rivalry game. In fact Richmond (Old South, small, elite, overrated private school nestled in a forested fortress campus in a rich uptown enclave of Richmond) versus VCU (independent university only since 1962, large, sprawling, up and coming, comprehensive, research and business-oriented, dynamic state university that has almost single-handedly saved and regenerated downtown Richmond) would be a great rivalry on all kinds of levels. It has a kind of Cal/Stanford of the South feel written all over it. Either that or GMU versus Georgetown. ;); 12:53 PM
Josh Marks said...: Great season Mason! Hopefully we can sell out the Patriot Center EVERY game next year. Come on Fairfax! Support your amazing college basketball team! Go Patriots!; 1:15 PM
BATmason said...: Just because they aren't civil enough to support the CAA in the tourney doesn't mean you need to sink to their level. Two wrongs and all that jazz, ultimately the farther they go the more our conference gets much needed/deserved respect.; 1:53 PM
Mooky_l3d said...: Richmond and VCU already play each other every year. Black and Blue Classic. VCU has done very well against them all though Richmond did win this year.; 9:44 PM

George Mason gets dominated by Ohio State in 98-66 loss

George Mason Basketball

Sunday, March 20, 2011

George Mason gets dominated by Ohio State in 98-66 loss

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