For this edition of March Madness Memories, we take a quick stroll back to the year of 2006. The NCAA Tournament has before had a numerous amount of "Cinderella Stories" but the #11 ranked George Mason Patriots became the ultimate "Cinderella Story."
The team was on the bubble before the Tournament and needed to receive at at-large bid to make the field. They received that bid and faced off against #6 seeded Michigan State Spartan in the first round. It was the first time in 20 years that a team from the Colonial Athletic Conference won a tournament game as they beat the Spartans, 75-65.
In the next round, they faced off against the 3rd seeded North Carolina Tar Heels. Very early on in the game, it appeared that George Mason was going to turn back into a pumpkin as North Carolina raced out to an early lead of 16-2. However, George Mason rallied due to the play of guard Tony Skinn and George Mason pulled off another upset by the score of 65-60.
In the Sweet Sixteen, George Mason luckily received the 7th ranked Wichita State Shockers, a team they beat in an ESPN Bracketbuster tournament earily in the season. The same fortune repeated as they beat the Shockers, 63-55.
In the Elite Eight, they faced off against the top-seeded University of Connecticut Huskies. The Huskies had three NBA players in point guard Marcus Williams, forward Josh Boone, and uber-star Rudy Gay.
This appeared to be where the dream would die however George Mason stayed tough with UConn throughout the entirety of the game and appeared to have it sewn up but a missed free-throw kept UConn in it. UConn guard Denham Brown raced down and sent the game to overtime on a reverse lay-up.
Although it might appear that would be the "dagger" for George Mason, Mason continued to put the pressure on UConn in overtime. It apppeared again that they were going to seal the game with free throws but a miss gave UConn a chance to sent to another overtime or win it.
UConn guard Denham Brown threw a three-point shot that rimmed out and George Mason advanced to the Final Four by the score of 86-84. The Patriots became the second #11 seed to make it to the Final Four since the 1986 LSU Tigers.
Although, George Mason lost to eventual champ Florida in the Final Four. The memories will live on forever for the people who got to see that mid-major could make it to the Final Four.
March Madness Memories: George Mason shocks the World makes Final Four
