Saturday afternoon, Duke will continue its non-conference schedule against a 2006 FInal Four team. No, the No. 7 Florida Gators are not playing in Cameron Indoor Stadium tomorrow, and neither is No. 1 UCLA or No. 9 Louisiana State.
George Mason-which plays not in the Pac-10 or the SEC but in the Colonial Athletic Association-marches into Cameron Indoor Stadium tomorrow, fresh off last season's unprecedented trip to the Final Four.
The No. 7 Blue Devils (8-1), who are tied with Florida in the latest Associated Press poll, regularly schedule mid-major teams like the Patriots (4-3) that contend every year for their conference championships. George Mason, however, did a little bit more than that last season, winning the NCAA Washington, D.C. Regional en route to the national semifinals.
"Words can't really describe how it feels when you accomplish something like that," George Mason head coach Jim Larranaga said. "It makes it even more powerful when people tell you we made the best run in NCAA Tournament history."
And what a run it was.
Before bowing out to eventual national champion Florida, the Patriots defeated Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and one of the tournament's favorites, Connecticut.
"We understand that what we did is highly unusual," Larranaga said. "Not only winning those games but who we were able to defeat-three out of the last six national champions, including UConn, who had five guys drafted."
This year's team, however, has some new faces in the starting lineup. The Patriots' top three scorers from a year ago are all gone, and the team has struggled thus far without them.
"We've had our ups and downs so far this season," Larranaga said. "We haven't found our identity yet."
Duke is hoping that the Patriots will still be waiting to find that identity after Saturday's game. Last season, George Mason also started 4-3, but the Patriots reeled off 18 wins in their last 21 games before the postseason run.
In the Blue Devils' last game against Holy Cross, they struggled mightily throughout the first half and early in the second, especially on offense. Duke can ill afford to get off to such a start against the Patriots.
"If we come out slow to anybody, we could lose-especially to George Mason," Blue Devil guard Jon Scheyer said. "They're not going to be intimidated or scared coming in here."
Duke's offensive woes have been a cause for concern all season, and the problems were visible again Wednesday night at home against the Crusaders. The Patriots' defense allows only 58.4 points per game and could challenge the Blue Devils Saturday.
Leading scorer Folarin Campbell has also been a force this season, averaging 16.3 points per game. The junior guard scored in double figures in all five of George Mason's NCAA Tournament games-including 15 points in 41 minutes of the team's overtime victory over UConn-a season ago and headlines the Patriots' guard-oriented defense.
"They snuck up last year on people a little bit, but we know how capable they are as a team," Scheyer said. "If you make it to the Final Four, you have to be really good, so we need to be ready for them."
Duke is a team that George Mason has tried to schedule for a long time, Larranaga said, and his squad is ready and excited to play the Blue Devils on national television.
"When I came to George Mason 10 years ago, I asked my players 'Who are the top programs, and what we can learn from them?'" Larranaga said. "Almost every player said 'Duke.' We wrote on the board what Duke does, and we made a commitment to do those things. We haven't had the national level of success that a program like Duke has had, but we're very proud of our success in the CAA."
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