Michael Conroy / AP

Florida's Joakim Noah celebrates a dunk. Noah and the Gators advanced to the national title game with a win over George Mason on Saturday.

Florida built a 10-point lead in the first half and withstood a couple of George Mason runs for a 31-26 lead at halftime. Appropriately enough, Green closed the opening period with a couple of 3s.

Humphrey took over in the second half. The Gators pushed their lead as high as 19 points and the Patriots never got any closer than nine the rest of the way.

“George Mason has been playing great,” Donovan said. “But I thought the key to the game was the 3-point line. That was one thing missing from what people were talking about.”

Tony Skinn and Jai Lewis scored 13 points apiece for the Patriots, who missed countless layups and easy shots in the lane that might have gotten them in position to pull off another stunner.

The George Mason band played “All I Need Is A Miracle” as the Patriots warmed up before the game. The players didn’t seem too nervous — Jordan Carter and Charles Makings joked around with each other during the layup drills, while several teammates glanced toward their school’s green-and-gold-clad section, as if trying to see if their family and friends had found their way into the RCA Dome.

The underdog Patriots trotted on the court past the Florida section, which greeted them with Gator chops. But the rest of the crowd seemed to be pulling for George Mason. A fan wearing an LSU shirt held up a “Go Mason” sign. The UCLA fans also cheered every time the Patriots scored.

But Florida wasn’t intimidated by the crowd or the knowledge that nearly everyone outside the Sunshine State was pulling for one of the most unlikely teams in Final Four history.

“What they’ve been able to do this year is great for basketball,” Donovan said. “Most teams don’t get a chance to experience what they’ve been able to experience. In this tournament, they were able to inspire a lot of people. There was no resentment on our team for feeling like they got all the attention or we got slighted.”

George Mason’s only lead was 2-0. Florida was ahead 16-6 before the game was 7 minutes old.

The Patriots tried mightily to get back into it. Florida went cold in the first half, missing six straight shots during a scoring drought of nearly five minutes.

George Mason went on an 11-2 spurt, closing within one point of the Southeastern Conference school where football is king but basketball is on the brink of a title. But the Patriots never caught up.

Before the final seconds ticked away, Larranaga pulled out his starters so they could get one final ovation from the crowd.

It was well deserved.

From now on, every mid-major will feel like it has a chance to compete with the big boys.

“I think we did something tremendous for college basketball and for teams out there who watched us play,” Skinn said. “We showed them that all you need is opportunity and a chance.”

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