Villanova foe George Mason not far removed from Final Four

Jim Larranaga was talking about successful defensive basketball techniques.

"When you play a team like Villanova, you know you have to defend the three, ball screens [and] dribble drives," Larranaga, the George Mason coach, said the other night. "If you're a team that's good at doing that, then you have a great chance. If you're not good at that, you're in for a long night."

How does George Mason perform these defensive chores?

"It depends on the day," Larranaga said, chuckling. "Some days, our defense is really good and our rebounding is adequate. When we lost to Hofstra and Old Dominion in back-to-back games, it actually helped us because our coaching staff had been preaching to the team, 'We have to get better defensively and we have to rebound better.'

"We gave up 87 points to Hofstra. Since that time our players have done a much better job [rebounding] and defending."

The eighth-seeded George Mason team (26-6) that tips off against ninth-seeded Villanova (21-11) tomorrow in a second-round NCAA East Regional game won a school-record 16 in a row before bowing to Virginia Commonwealth in a Colonial Athletic Association Tournament semifinal.

Larranaga is an experienced NCAA Tournament coach. His most memorable NCAA run occurred in 2006 when he guided the Patriots to the Final Four. In becoming America's team, GMU upset three powerhouse programs - Michigan State, North Carolina and Connecticut (plus Wichita State) - before bowing to Florida in the semifinals. In '08, GMU lost to Notre Dame by 18 points in the tournament.

Asked how much the current Patriots know about the '06 Final Four team, Larranaga replied, "All these guys on our team were somewhat impacted by our run to the Final Four because they watched it on TV. When we started to recruit them [they'd say] 'Wow, yeah, George Mason, I saw them play in the Final Four.'

"This year, just about every sports writer who has interviewed them begins with, 'Do you think you can do what the '06 team did?' "

Unlikely, but we don't know yet. That's a major appeal of the NCAA Tournament.

GMU's 2006 starters have all played overseas. Jai Lewis, the linebacker-sized center, still plays in Japan.

"We all e-mailed him as soon as we heard about the tsunami," Larranaga said. "He e-mailed back that he was A-OK. He said he's about 30 miles from where most of the damage was done."

Understandably, Larranaga is frequently asked to compare this GMU team to the 2006 squad.

"Our Final Four team had five guys in double figures," Larranaga said. "This team is a three-point shooting team. We don't take a ton of [threes], but we try to make a high percentage of them. We're making 39 to 40 percent of them [.397]."

GMU's .474 field-goal percentage and scoring offense (73.3) led the CAA.

The Patriots are well balanced, with three double-figure scorers (junior guard Andre Cornelius averages 9.9 points). Cam Long, a 6-4 senior and first-team all-CAA selection, paces GMU with a 15.3 average.

GMU suffered a jolt during Tuesday's practice when Cornelius limped off the court and sophomore guard Luke Hancock was wheeled off in a rolling office chair with the shoe removed from his left foot.

Larranaga said in a televison interview that both practiced yesterday and are expected to start tomorrow.

The 6-5 Hancock averages 10.7 points, 4.3 assists (third in the CAA) and shoots .814 on free throws.

Larranaga is very familiar with Villanova. The Wildcats edged GMU, 69-68, last season in Puerto Rico on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Isaiah Armwood. Four years ago, Villanova won, 84-76, in Orlando, Fla.

This Villanova team is struggling as it enters the NCAA Tournament on a five-game losing streak.

"Villanova is tournament-tested and they're capable of playing terrific basketball," Larranaga said.

George Mason is 1-16 vs. Big East teams. The Patriots' only win over a Big East opponent was a big one: Connecticut in 2006. *

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