The 2011 NCAA Tournament schedule is now out, and we know when George Mason will get its run underway. The Patriots will play No. 9 seed Villanova Friday at 2:10 p.m. in Cleveland on TNT. Gus Johnson and Len Elmore will be the announcers.
The Patriots earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after having their 16-game winning streak snapped by Virginia Commonwealth in the semifinals of the CAA Tournament. They will play a team heading in the complete opposite direction. Villanova has lost five games in a row, and it's a testament to how much the Wildcats did earlier in the year that they still earned a No. 9 seed in the East region.
The winner of the game will play the winner of the game between No. 1 seed Ohio State and the winner of a play-in game between Texas San-Antonio and Alabama State. That game will take place at 4:50 on TNT.