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NCAA Basketball: 10 great tournament games we missed out on in history

By Trevor Sinodhinos

JACKSONVILLE, FL - MARCH 20: The NCAA March Madness logo on the floor during the NCAA Basketball First round practice session at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on March 20, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - MARCH 20: The NCAA March Madness logo on the floor during the NCAA Basketball First round practice session at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on March 20, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, FLORIDA – JANUARY 19: Head coach Jim Larranaga (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA – JANUARY 19: Head coach Jim Larranaga (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

George Mason vs UCLA (2006)

This entry has nothing to do with Ben Howland’s UCLA Bruins having six future NBA players on their roster who went on to go 14-4 in the PAC 10 and win the regular season and the conference tournament. It has nothing to do with how the Bruins went from No.19 in the pre-season to losing in the National Championship game. This entry has everything to do with Jim Larranaga’s George Mason Patriots.

The Patriots were led by senior forward Jai Lewis with 17 points a game. Prior to the tournament George Mason had faced one ranked opponent and lost in overtime to No.18 in November. Their 15-3 record was good enough for a second-place finish in the Colonial Athletic Association and an #11 seed in the Washington bracket.

George Mason would take their 69 points per game average and their 258th free-throw shooting into the tournament and begin a run that would capture all of college basketball’s attention. It all started by beating a moderately successful Michigan State squad, then business picked up when they defeated #3 seed and defending National Champions North Carolina. Everybody knew they had a chance versus fellow ‘Cinderella Story’ Wichita State. In the Regional Final, they defeated the University of Connecticut and their eight top 100 recruits who were the No.2 overall ranked team.

UCLA was in the tournament too, they defeated No.5, No.4, and No.19 on their way to the final, but this entry is all about George Mason. The fans should have actually been satisfied with George Mason’s Final Four match-up, it was against the eventual champions Florida Gaters. It would be the first of back-to-back championships for the Gaters, so this was a high profile game for George Mason.

It was not that Florida was particularly not likable, but they were not George Mason, and nobody was particularly hoping for a collision on the court between UCLA and George Mason, everybody just wanted George Mason in the championship game, against whoever, nobody cared, it was all about George Mason.

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