It is truly incredible to see how the Washington-area college basketball scene is booming. Three local teams: Georgetown, George Mason, and George Washington made it into the NCAA tournament, and all won at least their first-round game.

It is truly incredible to see how the Washington-area college basketball scene is booming.  Three local teams:  Georgetown, George Mason, and George Washington made it into the NCAA tournament, and all won at least their first-round game.

George Mason’s victory over U.Conn on Sunday at the Verizon Center was an upset for the ages.  Offhand I can’t think of another school that has had such an improbable run to the Final Four.  Coach Jim Larranga and his team deserve all of the accolades they’ve received, and I hope they know that everyone is rooting for another upset, and a chance at a national championship.

I was the commencement speaker for last year’s graduation ceremony at George Mason, and a number of AOL’s employees attended the school.  It truly is a world-class institution with almost 30,000 students.  The national media’s attention must be a boon to the school, and it will surely help build the George Mason brand, but those of us who have been living in Northern Virginia have always known that GMU is a winning program and a winning school.