American U playing for 1st NCAA bid Friday Mar.14; George Mason seeks bid Mon.

[nats2playoffs]

Having beaten Army 72-60 in the semi-final, the American University Eagles host Colgate at 4:45 pm this Friday Mar 14, 2008 at Bender Arena on campus.  AU students with ID admitted free, but it's first-come, first-serve while seats are available.  (The AU web site only shows 8 tickets left for sale to non-students, unless you can buy them through Colgate for their three sections.  It now shows the game sold out to non-AU students, but to check with the box office.  Sometimes season ticket holders turn their tickets back in for redistribution.  With the early game time, that's possible.)

http://www.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=131567

The game will be broadcast LIVE on ESPN-2.  Winner gets the Patriot League automatic bid to the NCAA Division I March Madness tournament, which would be the FIRST in AU's 82-season history!  (They made it to the Division II NCAA's in 1960.)  American (20-11, 10-4 Patriot League) is already guaranteed an invitation to the NIT for having won the regular season league championship.  But they're aiming for the Big Dance.  Bryce Simon left injured early in the game; MRI tomorrow.  (I don't believe the reported attendance of 1,965.  I don't think they are counting AU students admitted for free.  There were probably 1,965 paid seats, plus close to 2,000 students from both schools there.


American junior guard   There are now 2 American U women undergraduates for each man.
Garrison Carr

*******************************************************
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY plays for an automatic NCAA bid with the Colonial Athletic Assoc (CAA) TOURNAMENT FINAL TONIGHT Monday March 10, 2008, against William & Mary, who upset Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).  It will be televised on ESPN-2 at 7:00 pm.  Two of Mason's players from that Final Four surprise a few years ago are now seniors, hoping to return to the Big Dance!


 

[2IPAs]

Well done, AU!    That should be some game on Friday.

Now excuse me while I go cry in my beer...a Lithuanian brew with a bitter finish might be just the thing.

[kimnat]

Go MASON!

[2IPAs]

Go MASON!

I hope the Lithuanian menace doesn't bite your butt!

[kimnat]

LOL!!  I'm just rooting for them as I'm in FFX City, home of GMU.  They're not the best of neighbors, but hey, this is pretty cool!

[nats2playoffs]

Teddy was here...

Theodore Roosevelt, one of six sitting presidents to serve as member of the American University Board of Trustees, gave an address outside Hurst Hall in 1908.  The 26th President was the longest serving U.S. President on AU's Board of Trustees, from 1900 to 1919.
   
President Theodore Roosevelt presiding over the ceremony that laid the cornerstone for the McKinley Building on campus, May 14, 1902.

The Fox television series Bones, produced by an American University alum, features many references to American University. The series' recording studio in Hollywood features a full-scale replica of the Ward 2 lecture-hall, where lectures are presented by one of the series' main characters who, in the series, is a part-time AU professor.

[sportsfan882]

Can't wait to go watch the game at a sports bar.  GMU has had a disappointing season but they can make up for it by winning the CAA Tourney and getting into the Big Dance.

[nats2playoffs]

George Mason University (23-10, 12-6) WINS the CAA tournament, beating William and Mary 68-59.  They earn the automatic bid to NCAA's March Madness.  Clever sign at the game: "George Mason is this year's George Mason."

   
George Mason's Louis
Birdsong shoots over
William & Mary's Laimis
Kisielius in the CAA
championship (AP Photo)    

[natsfan1a]

GMU

[ronnynat]

Great win by GMU and congrats to them on making it to the tourney, but William and Mary really did exploit a lot of their weaknesses tonight. I see them going out early, unfortunately.

[sportsfan882]

I have no idea how we did it but we have found our way back into the NCAA tourney again.  Gotta give Larranaga and the players a ton of credit.  Despite having a disappointing regular season they came up big when it mattered the most.  Hopefully we can pull off an upset or two in the NCAAs.   

[sportsfan882]

Great win by GMU and congrats to them on making it to the tourney, but William and Mary really did exploit a lot of their weaknesses tonight. I see them going out early, unfortunately.

GMU is a great defensive team which keeps them in most games.  The key is their offense and more specifically getting the ball down low to Thomas/Birdsong.  Tonight GMU uncharacteristically shot very poor from the FT line (until the end) and the 3-point line.  They still won easily.  That won't happen against better teams though.  If GMU continues to play their stifling defense and find a way to knock down some shots they have a good chance of pulling out an upset.

[ronnynat]

GMU is a great defensive team which keeps them in most games.  The key is their offense and more specifically getting the ball down low to Thomas/Birdsong.  Tonight GMU uncharacteristically shot very poor from the FT line (until the end) and the 3-point line.  They still won easily.  That won't happen against better teams though.  If GMU continues to play their stifling defense and find a way to knock down some shots they have a good chance of pulling out an upset.

I hope so. They'll definitely have some problems if they face a bigger team, but they certainly have a chance against most teams.

[2IPAs]

Congrats to GMU and here's hoping their win improves VCU's chances of an at-large bid.