Even with all of the wonders of the internet, there's a limit to what you can learn from researching a team.  When it gets down to it, it's best to talk to someone who's watched a squad over an entire season, and we have two of those people right now (with more to come tomorrow).  The first writer helpful enough to give Irish fans some extra insight into the George Mason Patriots is Ryan from the aptly named George Mason Basketball Blog.  The second is Michael Lito, who runs the site The CAA: Life of a Mid-Major and is the author of "Cinderella: Inside The Rise of Mid-Major College Basketball".

If anyone has any other questions, leave them in the comments and I'll try to get them answered before 9:50 Thursday evening.

1) Could you explain Coach Larranaga's preferred style to Irish fans?  And how would you describe his other traits, such as demeanor, intensity in working officials, speed of hook after one of his players take a bad shot, etc., etc?

Ryan from George Mason Basketball: Coach L is a heavily defensive minded guy and his styles change from opponent to opponent.  His patented "scramble defense" which puts constant pressure on the ballhandler has been the key to most of his success.  He can be very intense on the sidelines but does not work the officials much.  He does have a quick hook on some players after poor shots or turnovers, he will quickly yank starters early which frustrates me but that's just his style.  His overall demeanor is quite comical if you remember him back in the 06 tourney.

Michael from The CAA: Life of A Mid-Major: Larranaga is a defense-first guy. He runs what he calls a Scramble Defense, which is really a matchup zone that REALLY looks like a man defense. (For the Domers with a lot of extra time, hit Amazon...I think he even wrote a book about it.) It's one of those things where if they are playing hard, seemingly open shots are highly contested. And that's the hallmark of the defense--contest shots.

On offense, it's a matter of getting the shots within their offense. Will Thomas has seen so many double and triple teams this year that he's created about five different counter-attacks. If a good shot comes within 10 seconds or all 35 he doesn't care. He wants the good shot. They will run and have the athletes to do so, but it is always when available. They aren't looking to push pace.

He's pretty middle of road in terms of working officials and the like. Nothing exceptional there. He will, however, urge his team on if he senses the moment--he'll give a loud whistle and wave his arms. But I don't know that I've ever seen him ride the officials.

He's got a fairly quick hook but is also forgiving. A short bench tends to make you more forgiving. In the CAA tourney a freshman forgot that he needed to inbound the ball and Mason was forced to call a timeout. Larranaga gave the kid the business and immediately sat him down, but got him back into the game in the second half. He will wince at bad shots and "gently remind" his players about them, but he's no lunatic.

All in all he's middle of the road and a pretty likeable guy.

2) From everything I've read, Will Thomas is an absolute beastmaster.  I'm not sure if you've got a chance to see Luke Harangody play, but if so, how would you compare the two?  Are there any other big men, either in the Association or college, that Thomas reminds you of?

Ryan from George Mason Basketball: Will Thomas is the team MVP and really should have been conference player of the year in my opinion.  He is a rock in the middle and uses his old school post moves to score on guys who have size on him.  He has been going up against bigger guys his entire career at Mason (i.e. Tyler Hansborough and Josh Boone) and has had success.  He is the most consistent guy on the team, never misses a game and rarely misses a double-double.  He does not stray far from the basket and does not have much range.  The offense runs through him and he is constantly double teamed opening up shots for guys like Folarin Campbell and John Vaughan.  He is dangerous when passing out of the post.  I have not seen Luke play very much but he seems to have a similar style to Thomas being that solid big guy in the middle doing all the dirty work.  I really don't see anyone else that compares to Thomas' style, it's pretty unique with that old school baby hook he's got.

Michael from The CAA: Life of A Mid-Major: I admit to being a mid major homebody, and my knowledge of Harangody is limited to highlights and a flip through the recent Sports Illustrated. So take my understanding of Harangody with a grain of salt.

Thomas is an absolute load. He is one of the strongest players I've seen, on any level. Everybody points to that little, lefty jump hook that he ate Connecticut alive with, but Thomas has all the moves. The odd thing is that he appears to have no game other than to his left, but somehow scores going to his right yet using his left. I'm not smart enough to figure out how that's possible.

The thing about Thomas that makes him special is that he is an incredible passer, especially out of the double team. He always hits the "right" guy and never panics.

He's taken a handful of shots outside of 15 feet but don't expect that. His range is severely limited to about 10 feet and if he gets the ball around the key he is looking to pass. I've seen him dribble the ball across halfcourt to beat a press, but again that is the outlier, not the norm.

His strength allows him to play solid defense. Size and strength don't bother him; however, a wiry player can maneuver around him. If he gets his hands on a rebound, it is his. He has very strong but very soft hands, if that makes any sense.

As for comparable players, you'll have to look back to about 1982. A short Kevin McHale, maybe?

3) Could you just talk a little about the games of Folarin Campbell and John Vaughan?  It seems like the former is capable of filling it up at any time, while the latter's gone cold recently.  The Irish have trouble with quick guards capable of penetrating to create open threes: does that seem like something Campbell and Vaughan, as well as Dre Smith, are capable of?  How good is the Patriot perimeter game?

Ryan from George Mason Basketball: Folarin Campbell and John Vaughan are the guys on the perimeter who can beat you with three point shooting and driving to the lane.  Campbell has been      inconsistent on the season but towards the end and currently he has been on a tear and a huge reason for the teams run through the conference tournament. Campbell can hang with any guard in the country when he's on.  John Vaughan and Dre Smith have been the team's best three point shooters but that is not saying much.  At times this season they have lit up the scoreboard with long range shooting (Dre's record breaking 10 for 10 night at JMU) and other times they are cold as ice. Campbell and JV are excellent at creating shots, Dre not so much.  The perimeter game is what we will live and die by in the tournament, if it's totally off we have no chance no many how many points Will Thomas is putting up.  We don't have depth in the front court so it's all about our guards, true with any mid-major team I feel. Campbell and Vaughan getting to the free throw line is important to this team success and I notice that statistically Notre Dame does not give up many free throws to opposing teams, so that could be an issue on Thursday.

Michael from The CAA: Life of A Mid-Major: Campbell is one of those face-of-the-program guys. He can do everything, but none of it great. He can handle the ball, shoot, drive, post up smaller players, etc. He can beat you in all of those ways, but nothing he does jumps out at you as being especially skilled. He's too big and a scorer, but Larranaga made him the primary ballhandler because he trusts Campbell. He is by no means quick, but he will penetrate. Savvy is probably teh best descriptor.

Vaughan and Smith are the keys. Vaughan is the toughest wing defender on the team and will draw NDs most skilled offensive player. He is a slasher type and can get to the hoop. He had about 17 straight double figures games during the regular season but you are right. He slumped badly in the CAA tournament. And it was a bad-bad slump. The kid can fill it up when he is on, but he was throwing up wide open airballs. It was odd. Still you cannot turn your back on him or he will beat you.

You will know how much you need to worry about Dre Smith three minutes into the game. First, he is an energy guy. High energy guy. Very high energy guy. A nut ball. Second, his first two three pointers are the keys. If the first two go in, don't blink, because he will knock them down from anywhere, anytime, in the "how in the world did he make that shot" mode. Smith broke an NCAA record by going 10-for-10 this year, and many were NBA range. However if the first two don't go, he is on his way to a 1-12 night. I think in the three games after the record, he went about 3-26.

Louis Birdsong deserves mention. He is about 6-7 and a horse, but also very athletic. Birdsong caused matchup problems in the CAA--the opposition was either too small or not athletic enough to cover him. In the CAA tourney, Larranaga isolated Birdsong on his defender and Birdsong just went to the hoop. But teams with someone who could neutralize him did so easily.

4) Does this team have a glaring weakness Notre Dame might be able to exploit?  Opposite that, what is their strong point you think Mike Brey's crew will be unable to counter?

Ryan from George Mason Basketball: Frankly the team has a couple of glaring weakness that have been a problem all season.  The one that stands out the most is our size and rebounding.  Besides Will Thomas we don't have another guy up front consistently boxing out and grabbing boards. Offensive rebounding has been non-existent in some games.  Another weakness is perimeter defense which is something I think the Irish will be able to exploit. Our overall bench depth is cause for concern especially if any of our forwards get into foul trouble, we are deep at guard though.

The teams strong point that the Irish might not be able to counter will be Campbell and Vaughan using their size and quickness to drive to the lane and get to the line.  Also guys like Vaughan and Dre Smith could be x-factors in the game and take some of the scoring load off of Campbell and Thomas.  Campbell (6'4") could create mismatch problems I feel and that is something I don't see the Irish being able to counter.

Michael from The CAA: Life of A Mid-Major: You look at Thomas--judiciously listed at 6'7"--and you think you can single cover him on the block. You can't. Calhoun tried three different players on him and none could stop him. That was when Thomas was a sophomore. You've got to get a second body on him and force him to pass.

Mason also has a short bench, and one of the key players is a freshman point guard (Cam Long). Get guys tired and get into their bench.

I think the key is not allowing "the third guy" to beat you. Thomas and Campbell, to be honest, would play for anyone. Give Thomas his 18 and 12, and let Campbell get his 20. But don't let Vaughan or Smith or Birdsong get into a rhythm.

5)      This Patriots team seems to have a Notre Dame-esque bench, meaning its quite short.  While Thomas seems to stay out of foul trouble, is there anybody lurking on the pine the Irish should worry about stepping and being a big, unexpected factor?

Ryan from George Mason Basketball: Mason does have a short bench, it's been a problem at times this season.  Louis Birdsong starts but sometimes gets into foul trouble and especially when we are playing an opponent with more size overall. That gives guys like Chris Fleming more playing time who was suprisingly good in our last game against W&M.  But the true x-factor from the bench would be freshman Cam Long. He's a 6'4" guard with great ball handling skills and the ability to drive the lane, he's young I don't think he will see much action in this first game.  With that in mind senior guard Jordan Carter, who was on the 2006 Final Four squad could see more playing time than Long due to his experience. Fans and myself aren't big on Carter but he has had his moments this season and can make the tough shots when called upon.  

Michael from The CAA: Life of A Mid-Major: As before, Louis Birdsong can cause problems because he can do a lot of different things. Chris Fleming spent most of the season being the guy everybody wondered why he was playing, but the kid had an amazing CAA tournament. I'm not sure what to make of that.

Cam Long is very good for a freshman, but he is a freshman.

6) It appeared like this team rose to the occasion early in the season in games against Kansas State, Dayton and Villanova (a close loss), got bored for a while at the end of the CAA regular season and then turned it on in the tournament, benefiting from VCU's loss.  Compared to what it was two years ago, what's your gut feeling about this team's chances?

Ryan from George Mason Basketball: After the Dayton and Kansas State victories we thought we would be ranked and lock up an at large early in the season.  Than we really have some questionable losses (East Carolina and Georgia State). The woes on the road started and we didn't know what to expect from this team.  Against VCU they guys looked amazing but then we still had some road bumps in the conference after that.  But the team showed up and played the way we fans all knew they were capable of in the conference tournament winning three impressive games.  I would be a little more confident if we beat VCU in the finals but I still say I like our chances.  The reason I am confident is the experience of the teams best two players, Campbell and Thomas.  They are the leaders of the team and they have been here before, they are not going to be afraid of anyone in this tournament.  It might seem like huge deal for the young guys on the team but Campbell and Thomas know that they can beat anyone on any given night.  That being said I don't think Notre Dame will look past Mason like some teams might have in 2006.  If Mason can rebound and keep up the defensive intensity I see a victory possible.  

Michael from The CAA: Life of A Mid-Major: You are spot on--well done. I believed if Mason were going to lose in the CAA tourney, it would be early and not late. They are a big game team. The whole television show that is the NCAA tourney is not going to scare them. That said, I don't know that they have the dimensional depth at guard that they had two years ago. Plus, Thomas has no inside complement.

They have the mid major recipe: a shooter, inside play, experience/leadership, and they play defense. I just don't know that they have enough consistency to counterpunch. It's gonig to be a tougher game than I think many people believe. I will say that I think the winner of this game beats Washington State.

7) You've done some research on the Irish at this point, so I'll let you get away with a simple "Who ya got?" and a slightly less simple "And why?".

Ryan from George Mason Basketball: Notre Dame is much more battle tested than Mason during the season, but I think the overall experience of the Patriots in the tournament could be the difference in this game.  If the Patriots can grind this game out defensively like they did against Kansas State, Luke Harangody having a 25+ might not matter.  But with Notre Dame's three point shooting they will never be out of the game which should make for an exciting game.

Michael from The CAA: Life of A Mid-Major: UNFAIR!!! Of course I'm going with Mason, but I'm an admitted homer. Seriously, though, the margin is thin. Vaughan will likely check McAlarney, and his defensive focus will probably make him ineffective on offense. The margin becomes even thinner.

Let me put it this way: the uglier the game, the more it benefits Mason.

Put my hands in the fire, I'll say Notre Dame 69, Mason 64. But my heart tells me differently.