Patriots to Fight the Notre Dame Irish in Denver

By Connect Mason Sports Director Damien Sordelett
Photo by Connect Mason Multimedia Director Grace Kendall
Video by Connect Mason Director Whitney Rhodes

The Patriots will enter the tournament as the No. 12 seed in the East region against fifth-seeded Notre Dame on Thursday in Denver. The winner of that matchup will compete against the winner of the game between No. 4 Washington St. and No. 13 Winthrop.

• Check out our photo gallery from the NCAA Bracket rally at Mason!

• See this ESPN video that breaks down the East Region bracket.

Patriots' fans packed the Johnson Center on Sunday evening to find out where they would be heading to watch Mason's 2008 contest in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

The feeling was almost akin to 2006 when raucous students packed the Johnson Center to watch George Mason reel off four straight wins to capture the nation's attention.

Mason's tournament resume was shaky prior to the CAA Tournament, alternating wins and losses for the past eight games of the regular season. However, that all changed with the CAA Tournament and the three straight wins that locked up the automatic birth.