Free Republic

INDIANAPOLIS - UCLA used to be the most intimidating letters in college basketball. Under legendary coach John Wooden, the Bruins captured 10 national championships in 12 tournaments, won 88 consecutive games, the longest winning streak in NCAA history, and had four undefeated seasons. But since Wooden retired in 1975 after 27 seasons as the Bruins' coach, those four letters haven't meant as much in college basketball. UCLA has won only one national championship in the 31 seasons since Wooden retired, and the 1995 NCAA tournament title was tarnished when coach Jim Harrick was fired less than two years later for...

The George Mason University basketball team's ascendance to the NCAA Final Four this weekend may well be remembered as the most improbable run in the college basketball tournament's history. Only one other eleventh-seeded team has made the Final Four. And you'd be hard-pressed to find a school with so low a profile and from so small a conference to have made it through the tournament's first two weekends. In addition to the great basketball the team has given us (the Connecticut game was in instant classic), it would also be nice to see the school's success inspire some discussion about...

WASHINGTON -- Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage, the much-maligned NCAA Tournament selection committee chair, stood up to observe George Mason's on-court celebration Sunday afternoon and said, "Maybe we seeded them too low." He was kidding. But even if George Mason were a single-digit seed instead of a No. 11, that probably wouldn't matter for historical purposes. This was the greatest run ever to the Final Four. End of discussion. It's hard to gauge what this historic win has done for this university located just 20 miles from here, one that is named after one of the framers of the U.S....