CLEVELAND - The basketball programs at Ohio State and George Mason have rubbed shoulders in March before. It happened in Ohio, too.
The year was 2006. George Mason was an unknown 11-seed and one of the feelgood stories of the NCAA Tournament's first weekend. George Mason had defeated Michigan State in the first round to advance and play in the first game of a Sunday doubleheader against third-seeded North Carolina. Second-seeded Ohio State played Georgetown in the second game.
What happened that afternoon at the University of Dayton, both directly and indirectly, has led both programs to where they are today and here, to Cleveland, for Sunday's 5:15 p.m. NCAA Tournament game.
It's still the Big Boys vs. The Dreamers, No. 1 vs. a mid-major. But the scope is different -- and the main characters are, too.
George Mason upset North Carolina that Sunday afternoon in 2006, and a week later the Patriots upset UConn to become the lowest seed ever to advance to the Final Four. Basketball America was captivated. Cinderella had come to life.
Ohio State was upset by Georgetown that day, ending the college career of J.J. Sullinger, the oldest brother of current Buckeyes star Jared Sullinger.
Jared, an eighth-grader at the time, met his brother on the floor after the game. They embraced, and J.J. -- who started his college career at Arkansas before transferring home -- told Jared that he if ever got the chance to play for Thad Matta, he'd better take it.
Five years later, Jared Sullinger is the best freshman in college basketball and has a strong case to be National Player of the Year. Matta has spent this season as the happiest coach in college basketball.
"For (J.J.) to feel that way after playing for us, I'm extremely grateful to him for telling (Jared) that," Matta said. "And I'm even more grateful to Jared for listening."
The game has changed at George Mason. The 2006 team's run for the record books raised the program's national profile and extended its recruiting possibilities. The Patriots haven't been a perennial top-25 team, but they've earned more attention from fans, recruits and potential opponents than ever before. They entered this tournament seeded 8th, the highest they've ever been, after winning the regular-season title in the Colonial Athletic Association, which this year is a three-bid league for the first time.
Ohio State brought in three one-and-done, first-round NBA draft picks the following year and played in the national championship game. Matta has won three Big Ten titles since, and this team presents his best chance yet to not only get back to the biggest game, but to win it.
George Mason hasn't shot upward at the same angle, but the Patriots are a legitimate tournament team and a program that's proven in belongs on the floor with anyone. One of many differences in the two is that run in 2006, even though none of the current players were on the team then, is still what a lot of people want to talk about.
"The '06 team had a great year, had a great run in the tournament," George Mason coach Jim Larranaga said. "And they did it their way. This year's team, (those) guys are on a great roll. I told them to keep it rolling. Keep playing our way. And there's nothing wrong with us having teams that people talk about on the national level. In fact, it's very flattering.
"And I think our guys (have done) that. They understand that the '06 team had its time, and now these guys are getting their chance."
Larranaga's current team starts players from four different states. Reserve Isaiah Tate, who hit a clutch 3-pointer during George Mason's comeback over Villanova Friday, comes from DeMatha in Hyattsville, Maryland, one of the best high school programs in the country. George Mason still recruits regionally first, but now can chase a different level of athleticism and look to fill needs from a larger talent pool.
"That run definitely opened my eyes," Tate said. "George Mason had been lightly recruiting me. Until then I really didn't know how close it was to home."
"It's what put George Mason on the map," Luke Hancock, the hero of Friday's win over Villanova said. "People know about Davidson and Cornell and teams that make runs through the tournament."
It's a run that even the Ohio State players -- wherever they were then -- noticed. And appreciated. And though the Buckeyes are going to be awfully tough to beat playing in front of a raucous and biased crowd here Sunday, they respect George Mason.
"I remember watching Ohio State (that year), of course, and, you know, their games were around the same time," said Ohio State's David Lighty, who was a senior in high school in 2006. "I remember seeing them play, beating North Carolina, and making their run to the Final Four and just showing you that it's not about the name on your chest, it's about the players and the heart that they have.
"For them to go down and do that for their school and representing their school, they did something like Butler (did last year). It was very special."
All three CAA teams in this tournament came in believing their conference was underrated and prepared them well, and when George Mason finally got out of its own way in Friday's tournament opener it showed Villanova that it belonged on this stage.
Sullinger and the Buckeyes might be a different beast, especially in front of a partisan crowd. But the Patriots players seem anxious to find out.
"Coach kind of just tells us it doesn't really matter where you play, doesn't matter when you play, it just matters how you play," Hancock said. "We've got a big game (Sunday), and we're not going to let any of the outside stuff bother us. We've been in places where the crowd has been overwhelming for another team. So it won't be anything new."
The names have changed, but George Mason has been here before. Ohio State is the new bully, and both teams are expecting a fight.
