SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO - George Mason coach Jim Larranaga has won some big games.

The Patriots beat Michigan State, North Carolina and UConn en route to their improbable Final Four appearance in 2006.

"To win today was very significant for us," Larranaga said.

Obviously, there wasn't nearly as much on the line for George Mason in its game against Indiana in Puerto Rico, but both teams came into the contest having lost their first two games in the event.

This is a young, inexperienced George Mason team that is well ahead of schedule after a near-miss against Villanova and then a victory over Indiana.

Sure, Indiana isn't the Indiana of old or the Indiana of the future. But they remain a BCS team.

George Mason starts three sophomores and played four other freshmen in the 56-53 victory.

The best news besides the victory concerned junior guard Cam Long, who banked the game-winning 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds left. Long, who finished with 18 points and logged 30 minutes, was unable to play in the second half of the Villlanova game after cramping up.

It's been a major concern for Larranga and the staff since it's been an issue for much of the preseason.

However, Long has played the last two games – a loss to Georgia Tech in which he went 29 minutes and Sunday's win – without any issues.

Sophomore big man Mike Morrison was the best player on the floor against the Hoosiers. The 6-foot-8 ½ Morrison dominated in the paint and finished with 17 points, 13 boards and seven blocks.

While it was Long who sank the game-winner, freshman Luke Hancock connected on a huge trifecta in the final minute and finished with nine points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

"We're not a finished product," Larranaga said.

With this many young guys, they aren't supposed to be.

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STUD: It was a tough call between Syracuse guard Scoop Jardine, Kentucky freshman big man DeMarcus Cousins and Villanova frosh Isiah Armwood, but I'm going with the guy whose first basket of the season was a game-winning 3-pointer that beat George Mason. Armwood was only in the game because four players had already fouled out. 'Nova coach Jay Wright admitted after the game that he was "The last one I wanted to take the shot."

DUD: Going with Richmond here because I have high expectations for Chris Mooney and the Spiders. They lost to William & Mary, 78-71, largely because they didn't get enough production from Dan Geriot and Justin Harper, who combined for just 12 points.

MID-MAJOR STUD: Seattle University's Charles Garcia – The former Washington signee followed ex-Huskies assistant Cameron Dollar to Seattle U. and put up 21 points and a dozen boards in a 85-84 victory against Fresno State. It was Dollar's first career victory as a head coach.

STAT OF THE DAY: Evan Turner collected another triple-double, although it wasn't exactly the way he would have liked. The Ohio State point guard struggled in the loss to North Carolina and had 10 turnovers to go along with 23 points and 11 rebounds.

ON TAP: Here are my four most interesting games for the night:

1. North Carolina vs. Syracuse, 7 p.m. ET: The length of the Tar Heels against the 2-3 zone with the Coaches vs. Cancer title on the line.

2. Mississippi vs. Kansas State, 8:30 p.m. ET: The two guys who were left to hold it together at Cincinnati, Andy Kennedy and Frank Martin, after Bob Huggins was fired will go up against one another in San Juan.

3. Dayton vs. Villanova, 3 p.m. ET: This is the other semifinal matchup in San Juan. The Flyers have the toughness that Jay Wright is hoping his 'Nova team can exhibit.

4. Seton Hall at Cornell, 7 p.m. ET: Talk about two coaches on the opposite end of the spectrum. Bobby Gonzalez of Seton Hall vs. Cornell's Steve Donahue. The Big Red have already beaten Alabama and UMass on the road .

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I'm not sure why Lewis Jackson's injury has managed to fly under the radar for the last 24 hours.

Purdue losing Jackson to a broken foot is a huge blow to the Boilermakers.

Jackson was Purdue's starting point guard last season and was set to reclaim his spot from veteran Keaton Grant once he became eligible after sitting out the team's exhibition games and season opener due to suspension.

The speedy 5-foot-9 Jackson had a year under his belt and was the key that would make life easier for teammates Robbie Hummel, JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore.

I understand that Purdue has had success without Jackson, when two years ago the Boilermakers went to the NCAA tournament with Grant as the starter. However, Jackson is a true point guard, and the Big Ten is loaded this season with a half-dozen legitimate top 25 teams.

Grant is a terrific guard who is best-suited coming off the bench to replace either Jackson or Moore.

Now, sources indicate, Jackson will miss 8-10 weeks after having surgery yesterday for a broken foot suffered in practice last week. That puts his return at February in a best-case scenario.

It could result in Jackson missing the entire season.

This is a Purdue team that has a chance to get to the Final Four an hour down the road in Indianapolis.

But Matt Painter's team could ill-afford injuries – since they aren't overly deep to begin with.

But already two of his top seven players are out. Freshman Sandi Marcius, who had the inside track to being the first big man off the bench, is out with a foot injury as well but should be back sometime next month.

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The SEC will be just fine.

There's a reason why Alabama and Georgia both made coaching changes this past offseason – and why Auburn's Jeff Lebo has been on the so-called hot seat for what seems like as long as he's been the Tigers' head coach.

None of the three programs have enough SEC-caliber talent.

Auburn, which lost to Missouri State, has a couple pieces with DeWayne Reed and Tay Waller, but the Tigers are trying to find a way to replace Korvotney Barber and Quantez Robinson.

Anthony Grant and Mark Fox, the coaches at Alabama and Georgia, both inherited teams with virtually one high-level SEC player.

The Crimson Tide has in-state big man JaMychal Green while Georgia's Fox will build everything he does this year around skilled forward Trey Thompkins.

So, it's not all that shocking Alabama lost to Cornell last week and Georgia went down against Wofford on Tuesday night.

The surprise was that Mississippi State lost in Starkville to Rider, but the Bulldogs are virtually the same team that was up and down a year ago until late in the season when they won the SEC tournament.

This league's top seven teams may be as good as any conference in the nation with (in no particular oder) Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Florida and Mississippi State.

Those are all potential NCAA tournament teams that could crack the top 25 at some point this season.

And don't discount LSU, either. The Tigers proved they may be better than people think with last night's win against a Western Kentucky team that is favored to return to the NCAA tournament.

Trent Johnson said that veteran Tasmin Mitchell, who was on the Tigers' Final Four team a few years ago, has done a terrific job in the team's first three games – all wins. Mitchell had 12 points and eight rebounds against Western Kentucky.

"People are doubling him, and he's not forcing anything," Johnson said. "He's making his teammates better and letting the game come to him."

"It's a shame," he added. "People don't talk about him, but he's one of the best players in the country. With everything he's been through, he's been to a Final Four and won two SEC championships."

Point guard Bo Spencer had 28 points and just one turnover against the Hilltoppers, and undersized power forward Storm Warren went for 20 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Aaron Dotson battled through a knee injury and did a nice job containing Western Kentucky standout A.J. Slaughter, holding him to 11 points on 3-of-17 shooting.

"We played well, but we have a long ways to go," Johnson said. "We still have a lot of guys trying to find their roles."

TONIGHT'S SLATE

I'll try and use this space each day to highlight a few things of note that I'll be watching each night:

1. How will Cincinnati freshman Lance Stephenson bounce back from a tough college debut when the Bearcats face Toledo?

2. The best matchup of the night is Nevada at UNLV. The Wolf Pack have rookie head coach David Carter and underrated forward Luke Babbitt, while the Running Rebels now have two transfers eligible – Derrick Jasper (Kentucky) and Chace Stanback (UCLA).

3. Can the Ivy League favorites, Cornell, follow up a win at Alabama with a victory at UMass?

RANDOM NOTES: Rhode Island is the last team standing. Of the 347 Division I programs, Jim Baron's Rams are the lone club not to have played a game. The Jimmy Baron-less Rams play tonight at Brown. ... Illinois freshman guard Brandon Paul went for 20 points in a win against Northern Illinois, which was without star guard Xavier Silas due to injury. ... How many coaches can see they beat Madonna? IPFW's Dane Fife, the youngest Division I coach in the nation at 30 years old, is able to after a victory last night over the Division II school located in Michigan. ... Isiah Thomas recorded his first victory at Florida International. ... Mississippi State's Kodi Augustus was hit with a two-game suspension for his comments directed at coach Rick Stansbury after the team's loss to Rider.

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