Former Bowling Green coach Larranaga leads George Mason

Ok, so in yesterday’s post I discussed the George Mason Patriots and their unlikely run to the Final Four. Unfortunately I failed to remember how I could connect them to the state of Ohio since this is a Ohio sports blog. Well it hit me last night why the name Jim Larranaga has sounded so familiar for the past few weeks and why the BG fans were talking about him on the main Bowling Green Falcons fan site last week.

Jim Larranaga, the current head coach for George Mason, formerly coached at Bowling Green. For 11 year Larranaga was the head man at BG, leading the Falcons to a 170-144 record. His 170 victories are the 2nd most in school history and Larranaga was names the MAC Coach of the Year in 1997 as he led Bowling Green to a 22-10 record and a NIT berth. During his time at Bowling Green Larranaga’s teams defeated Michigan State (twice), Ohio State, Kentucky, Purdue and Penn State.

So, while I missed it yesterday, I can today justify posting about George Mason. The run the Patriots are on is possibly one of the most amazing in the history of college basketball and the NCAA Tournament. And it’s no surprise to me that a former MAC coach is at the lead of it all.