MMBOD Feb 23: Loren Stokes - Hofstra

At some point, a team will simply refuse to accept a national ranking; George Mason was the most recent mid-20's mid-major to fall, losing at Hofstra last night and setting up the most incredibly thrilling Colonial tourney in league history. With GMU, Hofstra and UNCW (even Astyle=font-weight:bold HREF=http://schools.basketballstate.com/ODU>ODU!) at 20 wins, we really and truly might see the first extra CAA bid in two decades.

Sometimes the ball has a string on it, and you can move and share it at will: all of Hofstra's starters finished in double figures, and the Pride only turned it over nine times all night. And the performance of their junior star helped ensure the ball went in a lot too. Hofstra dominated the final 30 minutes -- every time Mason got close, Stokes would hit a key shot, and hit the runner in the lane with a minute and a half to go that squashed the final comeback try.