PROVIDENCE, R.I.
Every decade, Jim Larranaga shows up in Wichita State’s NCAA Tournament path.
In 2006, Larranaga’s George Mason team handed the Shockers two painful defeats, 70-67 at Koch Arena and 63-55 in the Sweet 16 game in Washington, D.C. The Patriots continued on to the Final Four, a landmark season that in many ways pioneered the changing landscape in college basketball.
“I really wish we were both back in the Sweet 16,” he said. “That means we both won the second game on the weekend.”
Before 2006, the high-profile teams from the most powerful conferences dominated the Final Four field.