Will George Mason make noise at March Madness?

In case you forgot what ''George Mason'' meant, it's the entity that destroyed your brackets after it went all the way to the NCAA Final Four.

And with merely a few more days before the 2008 March Madness bracket tournament begin, we found it fitting to write about them George Mason Patriots again. And NO... It has nothing to do with us liking this team that bares a similar name, the New England Patriots...

The George Mason Patriots shocked the rest of the world, LITERALLY, in 2006 when they went all the way to the NCAA Final Four. Although they fell flat on their faces when they went up against the Florida Gators that year, their Final Four stint instantly let them become ''superstars'' of their own campus.

This year though, the George Mason Patriots are 20-9 and are ranked 72nd. As expected, all that fanfare they generated a couple of years ago died down a bit and for some reason, this particular Patriot, one of two remaining starters from the fabled George Mason Final Four team, likes it just the way it is.

Patriots forward Will Thomas, two years ago, would always have a pen beside his plate ready to sign autographs whenever he dines at the campus cafeteria for the fans their team generated in 2006.

Two years later, he's happy that everything is back to ''normal.''

''This year it calmed down,'' Will Thomas said. ''You can enjoy your meal, sit there and talk, just hang out a little bit longer.''

''It might sound weird, but we still have the energy and the competitiveness to get there again,'' George Mason senior guard Folarin Campbell, who also started on the 2006 NCAA Final Four team, said.

''And I'm talking about winning the C.A.A. and then getting back to the Final Four. Nobody thought we could get there the first time, either.''

Of course, you can bet your ass that they're lying about that part being contented about the way things are today.

Who will win the 2007-08 NCAA College Basketball Championship? Sportsbetting.com has the odds.

North Carolina Tar Heels 6-1

UCLA Bruins 9-2

Memphis Tigers 6-1

Duke Blue Devils 9-1

Ohio State Buckeyes 100-1

Florida Gators 100-1

Want more odds? Visit Bodog sportsbook for more basketball betting odds and the best betting lines on some of today's biggest sporting events.

March Madness George Mason Patriots