Plenty of Great Stories Thus Far
Are the first 61 games from the last two weekends a blur? It all happened so fast.
The 2006 NCAA Tournament, like every other one, has been notable for a lot of reasons. On Sunday, a few more joined in:
- George Mason became the first team ever from the Colonial Athletic Association to advance to the Final Four, and the first mid-major to go since Penn and Indiana State in 1979.
- The Patriots tied for the highest seed to reach the Final Four, going as a No. 11 seed.
- By virtue of Florida’s win over Villanova, none of the No. 1 seeds are in the Final Four for the first time since 1980. (The tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.)
- Ironically enough, 1980 is also the last year that the Final Four did not have at least one team from either the Big East or the ACC.
Those are the statistical, or historical notes that jump out. But they don’t end there – each team in the Final Four has a story or two behind it.
George Mason was close to not making the NCAA Tournament. The Patriots lost to Hofstra, another bubble team, in the semifinals of the CAA Tournament. For good measure, a starting guard, Tony Skinn, was suspended for their next game, which figured to work against them even making the field of 65. But the Patriots got in, then proceeded to knock off Michigan State, defending champion North Carolina, Wichita State and Connecticut. In that time, we’ve seen how the team plays defense, reinforcing the importance of defense at this time of the year. We’ve also seen people around the country get a chance to see what those familiar with the CAA already know: Will Thomas is a heck of a player, and is only a sophomore.
Florida has had plenty of talent since Billy Donovan took over as head coach in 1996. The Gators had one recruiting class after another that was rated among the very best in the country, loading up with McDonald’s All-Americans and other top prospects. They reached the national championship game in 2000 and appeared to have even better days ahead with their young team back then, but that wasn’t the case over the next five years as they never reached the Sweet 16. This year’s team didn’t figure to be the one that would reverse it – not after losing key players like Matt Walsh and Anthony Roberson early and returning a team with just one senior and three juniors. But sophomores like Corey Brewer, Taurean Green, Joakim Noah and Al Horford have carried this team all the way to Indianapolis, regrouping after a late-season slump.
LSU was a dark horse entering the NCAA Tournament, as they ran through the SEC with a 14-2 mark and had several tough losses against good teams. They boast as good a frontcourt as there is in the country, and adding to the story is that most of the Tigers’ key players are homegrown talents who have known each other since before they came to campus. The Tigers, like their SEC counterparts in the Final Four, are a very young team with just one senior, but they knocked off two of the preseason national title favorites in Duke and Texas while in Atlanta to advance to Indianapolis. And although they weren’t right there as it happened, this team was not immune to the effects of Hurricane Katrina last year; in fact, they were busy helping survivors of it. No doubt that was one more motivator for this team to get this far.
Last, but certainly not least, UCLA is back. The Bruins’ resurgence in Ben Howland’s third year has led them this far, and once again with a lot of young players leading the way. Sure, they have seniors like Cedric Bozeman and Ryan Hollins playing key roles, but super sophomores Jordan Farmar and Aaron Afflalo lead the way in scoring and make this team go, and more of the nation is getting a look at freshman Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who has a few good years ahead of himself in Westwood. This year’s team didn’t figure to be the one to bring them back to national prominence (much like with Florida), but the Bruins are headed to Indianapolis as the lowest seed from any of the four regions to make it.
So get ready for a week full of stories about these teams, in between the coaching carousel spinning a little faster. It’s been quite a ride thus far, and there’s certainly more ahead.
