Washington – When George Mason fell behind by 12 points in the first half of its 86-84 overtime upset of Connecticut, the Patriots told each other: “CAA.”
When Connecticut’s Denham Brown made a reverse layup at the buzzer to force overtime, the Patriots told each other: “CAA.”
With remnants of the net hanging on his neck, George Mason’s Jai Lewis explained it wasn’t in honor of the school’s conference, The Colonial Athletic Association: “Before the game, coach Jim Larranaga told us we’re the Connecticut Assassin Association…. That was our motivation.”
In overtime, George Mason made 5-of-6 shots, and when Brown couldn’t muster a second miracle shot, missing a 3-pointer at the buzzer, the improbable celebration began.
“Final Four, Final Four,” chanted George Mason freshman Dave Lyle with a green “M” painted on his bare chest.
No. 11 seed George Mason pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, stunning No. 1 seed Connecticut at the Verizon Center – just 21 miles from the Patriots’ Fairfax, Va., campus.
Next up: No. 3 seed Florida in the national semifinals Saturday in Indianapolis.
“I just told them to go on and win it all,” Connecticut forward Josh Boone said. “That’s all you can really say. Obviously, this is the toughest loss since I’ve been at UConn.”
How amazing has George Mason’s ride to the Final Four been? The Patriots (27-7) never had won an NCAA Tournament game before pulling off four straight upsets in the past nine days. And now they are the first team from the CAA to make the Final Four and only the second No. 11 seed (LSU was the first in 1986).
“I think it’s working for us, calling us Cinderella,” George Mason guard Tony Skinn said. “We were not supposed to get into the tournament. We got into it. We were not supposed to beat Michigan State, and we beat them.
“Weren’t supposed to beat North Carolina, and we beat them. Weren’t supposed to beat Wichita State, and we beat them. And we definitely wasn’t supposed to beat UConn.”
When the Patriots stepped on the floor, they were giving up a lot of size to the Huskies, who were taller at every position by 2 to 5 inches.
“They have a lot of heart,” said Rudy Gay, who led UConn with 20 points. “That’s all that really matters when you’re playing a game like this.”
George Mason beat Connecticut (30-4) by playing an inside-outside game. The Huskies felt with their superior size that they could play behind the Patriots’ big men of Lewis and Will Thomas, both 6-7.
But Lewis and Thomas made them pay, combining for 19 rebounds and 39 points to only nine rebounds and 14 points for Connecticut’s main big men: 6-11 Hilton Armstrong and 6-10 Boone.
When UConn tried to double team Lewis and Thomas, they kicked the ball out to the guards, who made 6-of-7 3-pointers in the second half.
During Saturday’s practice, the Patriots were a bit miffed that Rashad Anderson had “guaranteed” Friday that UConn was going to the Final Four.
As Lewis stepped to the free-throw line with the Patriots leading by two points and 6.1 seconds left in overtime, Skinn told Anderson: “Still think y’all going to Indianapolis?” Lewis missed both free throws, but UConn had no timeouts left.
Brown had a good look at a 3-point attempt, but the shot bounced off the rim.
