Of course, to paint this solely as a David vs. Goliath situation would be a discredit to George Mason. The Patriots didn't beat the Spartans and Tar Heels by accident. You might not have known who Will Thomas or Folorian Campbell were 10 days ago -- this writer admittedly didn't -- but if you've watched any of their tournament games, you know they're legitimate athletes who can run the floor, bang the glass and, more than anything, play in-your-face defense the same as any major-conference team.

"If the name on our jerseys was not George Mason, it if was Georgia Tech, everyone would look at this differently," said Larranaga.

The reality, however, is that's not the way any reasonable observer looks at the Patriots. How could you? They're not one of those teams you can see on ESPN on a regular weeknight in January. Their name and colors, at least until recently, are not recognizable from coast to coast. They're not a program that churns out NBA prospects.

And for crying out loud, they're facing UConn. UConn. The school of Ray Allen, Rip Hamilton and Emeka Okafor. The school that shows up on your TV on Monday nights as often as Al Michaels. The school that, for most of this season, has been the anointed favorite to cut down the nets in Indianapolis.

The last school standing in the way of George Mason possibly becoming the sport's biggest story in nearly 30 years.

"There's no pressure [on us]," said Campbell. "People are still expecting us to lose."

That may be the case, but that hasn't stopped the Patriots' bandwagon from exploding over the past week, particularly because they're playing in their backyard. A team that averaged just over 4,500 fans at its home games this season suddenly can hardly find enough tickets for its followers in the 20,000-seat Verizon Center (departing Washington and Wichita State fans were likely very popular with the locals Friday night). Larranaga and his players have conducted interviews with virtually every media outlet in the country. As a school, George Mason, barely known outside the D.C./Maryland/Virginia area 10 days ago, is suddenly part of the national culture.

"I'm sure there have been more hits on our Web site in the last 10 days than there was in the last five years," said Larranaga.

Even so, there's no overstating just how much larger Mason's story would grow if it gets to the Final Four. Whereas the nation's media are spread among multiple sites the first two weeks of the tournament, nearly anyone with a laptop or camera will congregate in Indianapolis next weekend. So, too, will nearly every coach in the country. The Final Four is college basketball's equivalent of the Super Bowl. With rare exceptions, once a program gets there its national profile is permanently altered.

By Sunday evening, however, the entire discussion could be rendered moot. While Connecticut is hardly invincible -- the Huskies were extremely fortunate just to survive Washington on Friday -- their physical advantage over George Mason is indisputable. Connecticut trots out no less than four players -- Rudy Gay, Marcus Williams, Josh Boone and Hilton Armstrong -- who will soon be NBA millionaires. The Patriots have just one player, center Lewis, who is even a remote NBA possibility.

But then again, much the same could have been said about North Carolina and Michigan State. In this, the so-called Year of the Mid-Major, it would not only be momentous but fitting if George Mason not only broke the 27-year Final Four barrier but also did it by beating a team that epitomizes the sport's traditional notion of power.

"Our thought is not really about the implications of getting to the Final Four," said Larranaga. "We're really thinking about Connecticut -- they are pretty good."