Any time I look at the brackets at the start of the NCAA Tournament, I always consider the possibility.

I allow myself to wonder, for a brief moment, what it would be like for a double-digit seed from outside the major conferences to advance all the way to the Final Four. Every year a couple of teams fitting that description reach the Sweet 16, of course, and once in a blue moon they even make it to the Elite Eight, as Kent State did in 2002.

But the Final Four? No. It seems absurd, almost impossible, to suggest a team of that ilk could win four times in a row against higher-seeded teams, especially given the near-certainty of having to play at least one top 10 team in that stretch.

But anything is possible in a single elimination tournament, and George Mason proved it yesterday. Seeded 11th in the Washington, D.C. regional, the Patriots bounced top-seeded Connecticut to advance to the Final Four, blowing up countless tournament pools and unleashing a frenzy of “By George” headlines throughout the nation. It was the latest twist in a spectacular weekend of basketball that has to go down as one of the best in tournament history.

As far as improbable stories go, you can’t get much better than George Mason. The Patriots had never won a game in the tournament before, much less been to a Final Four. This season, they lost to Old Dominion, Creighton (by 20), Mississippi State, and Wake Forest – none of which made the tournament. Heck, they lost to Hofstra twice.

Just look at their roster – the tallest rotation player is 6-foot-7. Surely George Mason couldn’t get through a tournament bracket loaded with dominant big men like Michigan State’s Paul Davis, North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough, Wichita State’s Paul Miller, and Connecticut’s Josh Boone and Hilton Armstrong. Guess again. GMU’s “twin towers” of Jai Lewis and Will Thomas combined for 39 points and 19 rebounds in the win over UConn, continuing strong tournaments for both.

In fact, of all the reasons to contemplate why the Patriots beat UConn, here’s the biggest: They were better. No, seriously. Look at the first three games of the tournament by each team. UConn trailed Albany by double figures in the opener, barely squeezed by Kentucky in the second round, and then needed some incredible fortune to eke out a win over Washington in overtime.

George Mason, on the other hand, beat Michigan State and Wichita State rather handily, even with second-leading scorer Tony Skinn suspended for the opener, and knocked off North Carolina after rallying from a 14-point deficit. Take the names off and just look at the results, and you’d have thought Connecticut was the Cinderella.

This is amazing, especially because I’ve always thought if a team like this was going to make the Final Four, it would have to get incredibly lucky. But if anything, GMU was unlucky – check out that bounce off the rim UConn’s Denham Brown got to send the game into overtime. And look at who they beat. Instead of slipping past a bracket full of patsies, the Patriots knocked off the past two national champions and half of last year’s Final Four, and only the final game went down to the wire.

Certainly they’re more deserving than Connecticut. There’s a reason people referred to the Huskies as the “most talented” team in the country, but never “the best.” UConn had four starters who will be playing in the NBA and GMU likely doesn’t have any, yet the Huskies couldn’t get a stop and would have lost in regulation if the Patriots had made their free throws.

That’s nothing new, as Connecticut played virtually no defense throughout the tournament. How Lewis and Thomas could get so many unmolested shots around the basket is beyond me, but this season has to go down as the worst coaching job in Jim Calhoun’s otherwise esteemed career.

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If George Mason was the most heartwarming story of the weekend, LSU was the biggest revelation. I said before the tournament began that Duke and Texas were the two best teams in the country, so watching LSU beat both of them in succession was an eye-opener. The key was the continued development of freshman forward Tyrus Thomas, whose shot blocking has provided an added dimension to what was already an incredibly strong defensive team.

Against Texas on Saturday, Thomas had 23 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks to key the overtime win. He and imposing 6-foot-9-inch center Glen “Big Baby” Davis helped hold Longhorns sophomore LaMarcus Aldridge to a nightmarish 2-for-14 performance. Overall, the Tigers held one of the best offensive teams in the country to 30.4% shooting, and that was two days after completely shutting down Duke sharpshooter J.J. Redick in the regional semifinal.

LSU’s opponent in Indianapolis next Saturday will be UCLA, who pulled off the unique feat of playing in the best game of the tournament on Thursday and then following it with the worst on Saturday. Thursday’s come back from 17 points down against Gonzaga, leaving national leading scorer Adam Morrison in tears on the floor at the end of the Bruins’ 73-71 win, was certainly a game for the ages. In contrast, Saturday’s 50-45 win over Memphis was one of the worst games you’re likely to see.

Don’t get me wrong – I’ve seen great low-scoring games that featured unbelievable defense. Trust me, this wasn’t one of those. UCLA couldn’t make a foul shot – they ended up 20-for-39, including a 2-for-11 stinker from center Ryan Hollins. But the Bruins won because Memphis couldn’t make a shot from anywhere, going 2-for-17 on 3-pointers and missing countless lay-ups. Truly, both teams deserved to lose.

The final member of this year’s quartet is Florida. Despite being seeded third in their region – no top seeds made this year’s Final Four – the Gators may be the best team in the country right now. They are the one team that didn’t have survive a close call to make the Final Four, including an impressive 75-62 win over Villanova in the regional final yesterday. Center Joakim Naoh submitted another dominating effort with 21 points, 15 rebounds, and five blocks, and fans are already salivating over the idea of him and LSU’s Thomas going head to head in the final on Monday.

But while next weekend will likely belong to LSU and Florida, this one belonged to George Mason. It’s tempting to say the Patriots did the impossible, but in truth we all knew it was possible. We just didn’t think it would really happen.

Mr. Hollinger is the author of the 2005-06 Pro Basketball Forecast. He can be reached at jhollinger@nysun.com.