As the seconds ticked down, the chants grew louder and louder until they were as unmistakable as green on St. Patrick's Day.

C-A-A! C-A-A!

It was a fitting tribute to the little conference that got no respect, least of all from CBS' Billy Packer - he would hear his own name chanted that day in derisive unison - as George Mason of the Colonial Athletic Association stunned Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Two days later, North Carolina's Roy Williams slammed a chair to the ground in disgust, then top-seeded Connecticut fell just as hard in the regional final - both victims of an 11th-seeded Cinderella that dared believe it not only could dance, but could tango all the way to the Final Four.

"What George Mason accomplished last year shows that if you play well at the right time, it's a road that anybody can travel," said Mark Fox, whose 10th-ranked Nevada Wolf Pack, led by former Ralston Valley High School standout Nick Fazekas, is among the favorites to make a March Madness run this year.

It's all about want-to, all about matchups, all about not being intimidated by the big boys from the big conferences.

It is March Madness.

"I've been an ambassador of the game, a cheerleader for college basketball, and it solidified for me that those are the greatest three weeks of them all," ESPN analyst Dick Vitale said. "You can talk about the Super Bowl, baseball's World Series, and the (NFL) playoffs, but there's nothing that captivates America more than when the Davids and George Masons of the world go up against the Goliaths. And the Goliaths can't run away and say, 'We're not going to play them.' They have to hook it up and play against these teams that have a bunch of kids with chips on their shoulder."

As conference championship week winds up and the NCAA selection committee hunkers down for Selection Sunday, it's time to ask: Who will be George Mason this year?

Who will be the next midmajor, or low major, to shock the world, or at least the bookmakers in Las Vegas, and scramble office pool brackets?

Will it be little Winthrop in the Big South Conference? Or Davidson, which quietly has amassed 29 victories, in the Southern?

Or will it be Virginia Commonwealth, which made sure George Mason won't be around for a tournament encore after it beat the Patriots in the CAA final?

Or will the run start in the heartland of midmajors - the Missouri Valley Conference, which might see its bids cut in half this year but still boasts perennial tournament teams Southern Illinois and Creighton?

"It could come from anywhere, but I'll also say this: I don't anticipate that's going to happen every year or every other year or even every five years," Doug Elgin, commissioner of the MVC, said of George Mason's run. "The route they took to the Final Four was nothing short of miraculous. When you consider schools like Missouri, and a lot of other big- name schools, have never been to the Final Four, it's a long shot for any program to get there, let alone the smaller program."

Though they might not consider themselves midmajors, two teams making waves are Nevada of the Western Athletic Conference and Air Force of the Mountain West Conference.

They have enjoyed big-time success even though they're not from the so-called power conferences (Big East, Southeastern, Big 12, Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Pacific-10).

Nevada is 27-3 and WAC regular-season champion for the fourth straight year.

"We were upset in the first round last year, and the year before that we ran into a tough Illinois squad (in the second round)," coach Fox said. "But the year before that, we made it to the Sweet 16. We've had our share of success in the tourney. If you get the right matchups, I think George Mason showed it is possible."

Fazekas, who opted out of the NBA draft to return for his senior year, leads the team and league in points, rebounds and assists.

"He definitely made the right choice," Vitale said. "He's a kid you can count on. What I like are kids that are consistent. You know you'll get a double-double from him every night."

Four Nevada players average more than nine points a game, and the team is shooting 49 percent from the floor, 75 percent from the free-throw line and 42 percent from behind the arc.

Fazekas scored 24 points and had 12 rebounds in the opening-round loss to Montana last year that still burns in his mind.

"We had the ability to make a run last year; we just didn't do it," he said.

He had to admit, though, what George Mason accomplished was amazing to watch.

"It was neat," he said. "They're in a conference that gets zero respect and zero love. No one even knew who they were or where they were from. For them to be able to do that was great. It helped basketball as a whole."

Vitale also likes Air Force, or at least he did before the Falcons' recent struggles.

"They've had games earlier this year where they passed the ball and executed very well," Vitale said. "Jeff Bzdelik has done a phenomenal job of getting them to understand the concept of spacing, of passing the ball. They play so well together. They can be an extremely dangerous team, and the way they make the threes, it may be tough to keep up with them."

Air Force, with a 23-7 record, is one of three or four teams from the Mountain West with a chance to dance this year, heading into the conference quarterfinals today.

"This team is capable of great things when we're playing well," Bzdelik said. "When we're not, we're not unlike anybody else. We become very average, very beatable. I think our players understand that."

BYU won the regular season title and is 23-7 overall. Nevada-Las Vegas finished second and is 25-6. San Diego State might need to win the conference tournament to receive an NCAA bid. That's what Eastern Kentucky did in upsetting Austin Peay in the Ohio Valley Conference final.

Many, though, will have to sit on pins and needles for the brackets to be announced Sunday.

The question is whether what George Mason accomplished last year will help other smaller schools get in.

The simple answer is no. Committee members are instructed to ignore past tradition or brand-name recognition.

"What happened last year happened last year. So be it," said Tom Yaeger, CAA commissioner. "But, hopefully, at least subliminally (the committee) will be affected."

Vitale said George Mason has to be in the back of committee members' minds.

As for Jim Nantz and Packer, who openly criticized the selection committee for including schools such as George Mason and Air Force, and four teams from the MVC over teams like Maryland and Michigan, Yaeger had one comment: "I imagine they'll be a little more reserved on the last of the bubble teams that might get in."

Said Elgin: "I think CBS researchers will have them better prepared. I think it was a good lesson for everybody to not prejudge who gets in and who doesn't."

No regrets for Fazekas

At this time a year ago, Nick Fazekas had the NBA on his mind, at least in the back of his mind. But realizing he wouldn't be a first-round pick, he pulled his name out of the draft and decided to return for his senior season at Nevada. Now the Wolf Pack (27-3) is a favorite to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, and the 6-foot-11 Fazekas, from Ralston Valley High School in Arvada, is a projected lottery pick. A look at how his decision has played out:

• Fazekas' view: "It was definitely a tough decision up and down, nonstop, but it turned out to be a good decision to come back. I've improved every aspect of my game. It was critical to improve my body. I'm stronger, I weigh a lot more than I did last year and I move even better than I did last year. There are no regrets at all."

• The numbers: Led the Western Athletic Conference in scoring (21.1 points a game), rebounding (10.5 rebounds a game) and shooting percentage (.571) and is one of five players in WAC history to have 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in his career.

• The honors: All-American, Western Athletic Conference player of the year.

• Nevada coach Mark Fox on Fazekas: "His basketball IQ is off the charts. As good as he is as a player, he's just as good a person. He's been a first-class kid both on and off the floor."

• Supporting cast: Guard Marcelus Kemp is averaging 17.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 points a game, and Ramon Sessions is contributing 13.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists. Both are juniors. "These guys won two games without me and went to Hawaii and won. It's far from a one-man show," Fazekas said.

• Fazekas on the NCAA Tournament: "There's no doubt we're still burning from what happened last year with Montana (in an 87-79 opening-round NCAA Tournament loss). We've got a lot of offense around here now. It's always good when you can go without a scoring drought. I feel like we can score and can play defense."

• Fazekas on being an NBA lottery pick: "I definitely think I played my way into the NBA draft."

Did you know?

A trip to the 2006 Final Four put tiny George Mason on the map. Here are some claims to fame for a few potential Cinderellas this year:

• Southern Illinois: Basketball Hall of Famer Walt Frazier led the Salukis to the 1967 National Invitation Tournament title. His number is one of two retired by the men's team.

• Wright State: Ohio school first captured national headlines in June 1983 when paraplegic Nanette Davis Ferrall walked to receive her diploma with the assistance of a computer-controlled electrical stimulation device created by Dr. Jerrold Petrofsky. The movie First Steps dramatized her story.

• Winthrop: Actress Andie MacDowell attended Winthrop in 1977 (as Winthrop College) but dropped out as a sophomore in 1978 to sign with Elite Model Management.

• Oral Roberts: All students are required to sign a pledge stating they will live according to the university's honor code. Prohibited activities include lying, cursing, smoking, drinking, gambling and illicit sexual acts. Notable alums include Kathie Lee Gifford and Ted Haggard, former president of New Life Church in Colorado Springs.

Bracket banter

What they're saying about midmajors in the NCAA Tournament:

• Craig Thompson, Mountain West Conference commissioner:

"We have a chance to have higher seeds than we've ever had in the past. We've had multiple teams (get in), but we've always been in the 10-11-12 (seed) range. History shows when we've had a single-digit seed, we've won."

• Jeff Bzdelik, Air Force coach:

"Our staff put together a schedule that will put to rest any controversy about who we played. We played road games, games at neutral sites. We've gone out to play the very best schedule we can play to prepare us and challenge us."

• Doug Elgin, Missouri Valley Conference commissioner, on Bradley and Wichita State advancing to the Sweet 16 last year:

"It was gratifying to see both those fan bases and players celebrating and chanting M-V-C, because we were under attack by the media and by CBS' people, saying we were undeserving. It was vindication."

What a ride

A look at George Mason's improbable run to the Final Four last year:

• March 12: Patriots receive the school's first at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. CBS analysts Jim Nantz and Billy Packer rip the selection committee for overloading the field with midmajor teams, including two from the Colonial Athletic Association.

• March 17: In the first round, GMU stuns a Michigan State squad that returned four starters from a team that made the Final Four the previous season.

• March 19: The Patriots dig out of a 16-2 hole to upend North Carolina 65-60 and advance to the Sweet 16. "A lot of people's brackets are messed up right now," center Jai Lewis said. "I love it."

• March 24: George Mason beats fellow midmajor Wichita State 63-55 to advance to the Elite Eight.

• March 26:- Coach Jim Larranaga hums the theme to Mission Impossible, then the Patriots shock top-seeded Connecticut 86-84 in overtime to become only the second No. 11 seed to make it to the Final Four.

• April 1: George Mason loses 73-58 to eventual champion Florida in the NCAA semifinals.

• Final word: "To crash through and make it to the NCAA Final Four has changed everything. . . . We are going to be talking about them down the road, years and years, generations to come, as the team that broke through and really made this NCAA Tournament totally up for grabs." - Nantz

debruinl@RockyMountainNews.com

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