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jthomasou78
3/26/2006, 05:22 PM
Are they the biggest Cinderella ever?

Rhino
3/26/2006, 05:24 PM
Tied.

googled:
Ever since the field expanded from 48 to 64 teams in 1985, the lowest-seeded squad to make it to the Final Four was LSU in 1986. An 11 seed, the Tigers lost to eventual champion Louisville. The lowest seed to win the championship was eighth-seeded Villanova in 1985. They capped an amazing run by toppling Patrick Ewing's mighty Georgetown team.

OUGreg723
3/26/2006, 05:25 PM
Yes. I live about 15 minutes away from the "campus". They have only had dorms their for like, 5 years. It is a commuter college really. Most people didnt even know they had a basketball team untill this year. High School basketball games played at the Patriot Center sell out more than their home games do. They barely have an Athletic Dept. It's UNREAL what they are doing.

Ardmore_Sooner
3/26/2006, 05:26 PM
Who would have thought that on Soonerfans.com we would have a thread about George Mason?

Newbomb Turk
3/26/2006, 05:28 PM
Even though they tie LSU as the lowest seed to make the final 4, I'd say they are a much bigger cinderella. Mainly because of the size of the school.

OUGreg723
3/26/2006, 05:28 PM
Oh another interesting fact...

George Mason was founded in 1972 it is barely a 30 year old commuter college that is in the Final Four! wow.

jthomasou78
3/26/2006, 05:29 PM
Has a team from not even a midmajor conference ever done this well. I know some C-USA and WAC and A10 teams have. I dont know of a Patriot League, or Horizon league or any other kind of low level conferecne team doing this well.

Sooner04
3/26/2006, 05:32 PM
There are only two coaches in the history of basketball to lose to an 11-seed in the Elite 8 for the right to go to the Final Four.

1. 2006: Jim Calhoun - Connecticut
2. 1986: Eddie Sutton - Kentucky

And I didn't have to google for that info. :) I used to use that Sutton tidbit to Aggie fans all the time when they talked about how good of a Tournament coach Eddie was.

Sooner04
3/26/2006, 05:33 PM
Has a team from not even a midmajor conference ever done this well. I know some C-USA and WAC and A10 teams have. I dont know of a Patriot League, or Horizon league or any other kind of low level conferecne team doing this well.
Depends on what you call a mid-major. UNLV made the Final Four three times as a member of the Big West.

In terms of a lesser-name school, no, this is the biggest story of them all. This is incredible.

ouflak
3/26/2006, 05:37 PM
Well it's a good thing I had George Mason picked in all of my brackets!
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Ok, no I didn't.

SoonerStormchaser
3/26/2006, 05:40 PM
I had George Mason, UCLA, Florida and LSU in my final four...I dunno about the rest of y'all! ;):P

jthomasou78
3/26/2006, 05:42 PM
I dont think anyone expected this to happen. thats why it isnt a bigger story. That win today was for the Tulsa's, and gonzaga's who got close but neve rgot all the way there

GDC
3/26/2006, 05:49 PM
Anyone know what odds they went off with to either win it all or make the final four? That would be a sweet bet, in hindsight. I miss vBookie.

Collier11
3/26/2006, 05:51 PM
what a game, this isnt a cinderella, this team is LEGIT

bri
3/26/2006, 06:03 PM
Oh another interesting fact...

George Mason was founded in 1972 it is barely a 30 year old commuter college that is in the Final Four! wow.

Jeez. That's like ORU making a Final Four...

soonercody
3/26/2006, 06:27 PM
They played a great game today. I haven't watched them much (OK, at all) until today.

Soonerus
3/26/2006, 08:03 PM
I thought Missouri made the final four as a 12 seed one year...what was 'Nova seeded when they beat Georgtown in the 80's ???

Cam
3/26/2006, 08:10 PM
Nova was an 8 I believe.

Salt City Sooner
3/26/2006, 08:43 PM
"Depends on what you call a mid-major. UNLV made the Final Four three times as a member of the Big West."
I'd also add that Cincinnati (w/ some dude named Robertson) won back to back national championships as a member of the Missouri Valley.

I'm thinking that Vegas went as a member of the PCAA back in the 70's as well.

Sooner04
3/26/2006, 08:52 PM
I thought Missouri made the final four as a 12 seed one year...what was 'Nova seeded when they beat Georgtown in the 80's ???
Missouri, as hard as it is to imagine, has never made it to the Final Four.

Villanova was an 8-seed when they beat Georgetown in '85.

They team of which I will not discuss nor name was a 6-seed when they won it all in '88.

Salt City is right. Nevada-Las Vegas went to the '77 Final Four as a member of the PCAA. Marquette won it all that year as an independent (I think).

I know there were some mid-majors who won it all back in the NCAA Dark Ages, but since the field went to 64, George Mason is the biggest Cinderella of them all.

Salt City Sooner
3/26/2006, 09:02 PM
Actually, it looks like I was mistaken. According to this, UNLV was in the PCAA from '82 to '88. 20 lashes for me. I wasn't sure when they joined, just that they were in it before they joined the BW. I'm not sure what their conference affiliation was in '77. :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Coast_Athletic_Association

MojoRisen
3/26/2006, 09:09 PM
what a game, this isnt a cinderella, this team is LEGIT


First one I have seen- Not only are they Legit- I believe they should be favored- unless you can tell me a team that prefers to play them.

royalfan5
3/26/2006, 09:11 PM
Actually, it looks like I was mistaken. According to this, UNLV was in the PCAA from '82 to '88. 20 lashes for me. I wasn't sure when they joined, just that they were in it before they joined the BW. I'm not sure what their conference affiliation was in '77. :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Coast_Athletic_Association
The PCAA changed it's name to the Big West in 1988, so really you were right the first time.

jkjsooner
3/26/2006, 09:22 PM
I'm definitely on the bandwagon now. I have a graduate degree from GMU. (It was close to work!) I thought about going to see them play a few years ago (mainly because students get in for free) but I never got around to it. I really just wanted to go to see Div 1 basketball - not necessarily to root for Mason.

The difference between the OU and GMU athletic departments is amazing. I used to go work out in the field house and George Evans (a very good forward for them a few years ago) and several other players were always in there working out. That's like sending the OU players to Huffman Center to wait in line and lift weights with everyone else.

I tell you, though, I would love to have their point guard on our team.

I do have to disagree with the poster who said nobody has heard of GMU. They have won several conference championship recently and they took Maryland to the last second in the first round of the NCAA's a few years ago. I think Evans missed a last second game winning shot. It was one of Maryland's Final Four teams - either the year they won it all or the year before.

Also, GMU has had dorms for a long time. They just built very nice new dorms but they had others before that.

Another little fact about GMU: It is the largest school in the state of Virginia with 30,000 students. Of course only 12k of them are full time so the school feels much much smaller than OU.

MojoRisen
3/26/2006, 09:24 PM
It is a very nice campus- Ivy and all- 30000K is as big or bigger than OU. Not to kill a thread - but I wonder what they could have done last year- when they got left out on tbe bubble with I remember as 24 or so wins...

Any how- Didn't Texas hire the last coach from GMU- they should be on our radar..

And I think they are going to win it all...

Salt City Sooner
3/26/2006, 09:37 PM
The PCAA changed it's name to the Big West in 1988, so really you were right the first time.
Yeah, I knew that, but they went to the FF in '77, & joined the PCAA in '82.

Collier11
3/26/2006, 09:43 PM
mizzou made it to the elite 8 as a 12 seed

Soonerus
3/26/2006, 09:45 PM
Missouri, as hard as it is to imagine, has never made it to the Final Four.

Villanova was an 8-seed when they beat Georgetown in '85.

They team of which I will not discuss nor name was a 6-seed when they won it all in '88.

Salt City is right. Nevada-Las Vegas went to the '77 Final Four as a member of the PCAA. Marquette won it all that year as an independent (I think).

I know there were some mid-majors who won it all back in the NCAA Dark Ages, but since the field went to 64, George Mason is the biggest Cinderella of them all.


Thank you for not naming the 6th seed that won it all in '88...

jthomasou78
3/26/2006, 09:45 PM
USF won a couple of titles when Wilt was there.

ouradu
3/26/2006, 09:46 PM
It is a very nice campus- Ivy and all- 30000K is as big or bigger than OU.
I'd say so, 30 thousand thousand is a lot, it's like 30 million. ;)

MojoRisen
3/26/2006, 09:49 PM
calln em rich kids???

Sooner04
3/26/2006, 09:50 PM
USF won a couple of titles when Wilt was there.
Oh, man, them's fighting words.

USF was led by Bill Russell. Da Stilt went to Kansas.

MojoRisen
3/26/2006, 09:52 PM
Thats right and the BIG O went to UC

jkjsooner
3/26/2006, 09:54 PM
Oh another interesting fact...

George Mason was founded in 1972 it is barely a 30 year old commuter college that is in the Final Four! wow.

The school was actually started in the 1950's as a Jr. College associated with UVa. It became an independent four year school in '72.

MojoRisen
3/26/2006, 09:56 PM
Thus the ivy

MojoRisen
3/26/2006, 10:07 PM
I'd also add that Cincinnati (w/ some dude named Robertson) won back to back national championships as a member of the Missouri Valley.

I'm thinking that Vegas went as a member of the PCAA back in the 70's as well.

The big O likely the best college basketball player in history - did not win a tittle in college- he went to the finals- he is arguable the best college and pro player ever-

Did any of you guys watch Pitstol Pete today- My god what a talent... I am amazed and inspired by that freakin guy flaws or not...

kelloggOUballa
3/26/2006, 10:11 PM
mizzou made it to the elite 8 as a 12 seed

and lost to.........


OKLAHOMA!

MojoRisen
3/26/2006, 10:16 PM
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMER

Octavian
3/26/2006, 10:31 PM
what was Marquette's seed when they made it a couple years ago?

MojoRisen
3/26/2006, 10:38 PM
Maybe a 2 seed- no more than a 4... but I don't know..

Salt City Sooner
3/26/2006, 10:42 PM
Mojo's right, my bad. UC won it the 2 years after Robertson left. They finished 3rd his last 2 years there.

Oct, Marquette was a 3 seed when they went to the FF in '03.

AllAboutThe'O'
3/27/2006, 01:32 AM
The last time the Final Four had somebody from an "outsider" conference had to have been 1979, when Penn (Ivy League) and Larry Bird's Indiana State squad (Missouri Valley) both made it.
You could also make a case for Cincinnati back in 1992 (not sure if it was still the Metro Conference or the Great Midwest Conference, both defunct now, they were in at the time). But Cincinnati was still a "name" school with loads of tradition, going back to the days of the "Big O."
Here's a question to ponder: What is more improbable, George Mason making the Final Four or the 1983 N.C. State team and the 1985 Villanova team winning the national title? I would have to say George Mason.
Remember, this was a team that came THIS close to not making the NCAA field from a "mid-major" conference. It was a program that, up to this year, had not won a single NCAA tournament game and they beat three schools that have won a national championship this decade to make it to the Final Four.
In the case of '83 N.C. State and '85 Villanova, while both were compelling stories, they played in "power" conferences and were used to playing heavyweights game-in and game-out. George Mason came out of the Colonial Athletic Association, a pretty good league this year but definitely not like the caliber of the ACC or the Big East.
And another question to ponder: If the regionals had been played anywhere but Washington D.C., just 20 miles or so from the GMU campus, would GMU still have won it? Hmmmmmm.....

Half a Hundred
3/27/2006, 02:18 AM
And another question to ponder: If the regionals had been played anywhere but Washington D.C., just 20 miles or so from the GMU campus, would GMU still have won it? Hmmmmmm.....

All the more reason for them to go ahead and win it all. They seem to have this theme of proving all the doubters wrong in this Tournament.

Salt City Sooner
3/27/2006, 03:03 AM
"The last time the Final Four had somebody from an "outsider" conference had to have been 1979, when Penn (Ivy League) and Larry Bird's Indiana State squad (Missouri Valley) both made it."
Calipari, Camby, & UMass in '96, out of the Atlantic 10. Not the CAA by any means, but certainly not the ACC either.

GDC
3/27/2006, 08:39 AM
Best headline="Mason jars UConn"

Rock Hard Corn Frog
3/27/2006, 09:51 AM
I thought George Mason was done when he was exposed to the nuclear radiation and then crashed the plane with the nuclear bomb back in season 2. Only Jack Bauer could come back from that.

jkjsooner
3/27/2006, 10:00 AM
What about Navy with David Robinson. They were in the CAA back then. Did they make it to the Final Four?

BTW, that was a freakshow too. It wasn't suprising that Navy was that good but who would have thought Robinson would have grown so much in college?

Grimey
3/27/2006, 11:59 AM
I'm definitely on the bandwagon now. I have a graduate degree from GMU. (It was close to work!) I thought about going to see them play a few years ago (mainly because students get in for free) but I never got around to it. I really just wanted to go to see Div 1 basketball - not necessarily to root for Mason.

The difference between the OU and GMU athletic departments is amazing. I used to go work out in the field house and George Evans (a very good forward for them a few years ago) and several other players were always in there working out. That's like sending the OU players to Huffman Center to wait in line and lift weights with everyone else.

I tell you, though, I would love to have their point guard on our team.

I do have to disagree with the poster who said nobody has heard of GMU. They have won several conference championship recently and they took Maryland to the last second in the first round of the NCAA's a few years ago. I think Evans missed a last second game winning shot. It was one of Maryland's Final Four teams - either the year they won it all or the year before.

Also, GMU has had dorms for a long time. They just built very nice new dorms but they had others before that.

Another little fact about GMU: It is the largest school in the state of Virginia with 30,000 students. Of course only 12k of them are full time so the school feels much much smaller than OU.

They are also the home to Professor Walter Williams.

Grimey
3/27/2006, 12:01 PM
Anyone know what odds they went off with to either win it all or make the final four? That would be a sweet bet, in hindsight. I miss vBookie.

400-1

Newbomb Turk
3/27/2006, 12:27 PM
What about Navy with David Robinson. They were in the CAA back then. Did they make it to the Final Four?

BTW, that was a freakshow too. It wasn't suprising that Navy was that good but who would have thought Robinson would have grown so much in college?

Navy made it to the Elite 8 in 1986.

AllAboutThe'O'
3/27/2006, 02:49 PM
Calipari, Camby, & UMass in '96, out of the Atlantic 10. Not the CAA by any means, but certainly not the ACC either.
You're right, forgot about UMass. But they were definitely not a surprise team, they were ranked No. 1 during the course of the season so it wasn't a big shock that they made it to the Final Four.

AllAboutThe'O'
3/27/2006, 02:50 PM
Navy made it to the Elite 8 in 1986.
Trivia question: We all know Navy beat Syracuse at Syracuse in the second round that year. Who did Navy beat to reach the Elite Eight?

GDC
3/27/2006, 03:14 PM
400-1

:eek:

Salt City Sooner
3/27/2006, 03:23 PM
Trivia question: We all know Navy beat Syracuse at Syracuse in the second round that year. Who did Navy beat to reach the Elite Eight?
Cleveland State. That was the year Mackey & co. upset Knight in the 1st round.

jkjsooner
3/27/2006, 05:53 PM
They are also the home to Professor Walter Williams.

Okay, I didn't know who Walter Williams is so I decided to look it up. I see he is an economics professor and sometimes substitutes for Rush Limbaugh. Yikes!

I would rather point out their two Nobel Laureates in the economics department - James Buchanan and Vernon Smith. ;-)

AllAboutThe'O'
3/27/2006, 08:14 PM
Cleveland State. That was the year Mackey & co. upset Knight in the 1st round.
Bingo, though I'm disappointed you didn't mention Mouse McFadden's name.
Yep, they beat Indiana in the first round, that was the season the Hoosiers were chronicled in John Feinstein's "Season on the Brink" book. The next year, IU won the whole ball of wax.
So, see, OU can draw inspiration from that. One and done one year, national champs the next.

Sooner04
3/27/2006, 10:34 PM
One and done one year, national champs the next.
Michael Neal is no Steve Alford.

Octavian
3/27/2006, 10:56 PM
Calipari, Camby, & UMass in '96, out of the Atlantic 10. Not the CAA by any means, but certainly not the ACC either.

IIRC they were a 1 seed though and lost to eventual champ Kentucky (also a 1) in the Semi's....both those squads were awesome.

I really liked UMass b/c the year before they had waxed Arkansas (who were the defending champs at the time)

Octavian
3/27/2006, 10:58 PM
I'm gettin pretty good at stating what others have already typed :rolleyes: :)

AllAboutTheO got it

Octavian
3/27/2006, 11:05 PM
Here's a question to ponder: What is more improbable, George Mason making the Final Four or the 1983 N.C. State team and the 1985 Villanova team winning the national title?

There's also a lot more national parity now...and better technology allows staffs to scout and prepare for a superior opponent much easier now than the early 80s.

The Nova team shot what, 90 or 95% in the 85 NCG? And beating Phi Slamma Jamma was supposed to be impossible for Jimmy V's club. I'd also throw in Danny and the Miracles :( and Duke's win over UNLV as the biggest Final 4 shocks.

If Mason wins it all though....they'd pretty much have to top the list.