Any more questions about whether George Mason belongs in the NCAA tournament?

Didn't think so.

The upstart Patriots turned Carolina a whole different shade of blue Sunday, knocking the third-seeded Tar Heels out with a 65-60 victory that set up a mid-major matchup in the round of 16.  Lamar Butler and Folarin Campbell scored 18 and 15 points respectively to lead George Mason to victory. 

George Mason (25-7) will play Wichita State on Friday in the Washington Regional semifinals, pitting the Colonial Athletic Association against the Missouri Valley's regular-season champion. The Patriots won 70-67 at Wichita State last month.

"There's been talk about the Missouri Valley all year," said Lamar Butler, who led the Patriots with 18 points. "Hardly anyone has talked about the CAA. It's hard to believe we're both in the Sweet 16."

Not for Michigan State or Carolina, the two pedigree programs that got upset -- if that's the right term -- by an at-large team from an overlooked league. George Mason is the first Colonial Athletic team to make the round of 16 since Richmond did it in 1988, and only the third overall.

This one has everything it takes to play with the big boys. That was coach Jim Larranaga's message to his green-uniformed team before the opening tip.

"The last comment I made to them was, 'What color is kryptonite?'" Larranaga said. "They said, 'Green.' I said, 'Look at your jerseys. You have everything you need to win this game."'

Carolina showed it wasn't anything like the super team that won the NCAA tournament last year. The Tar Heels (23-8) lost their top seven scorers from that team, forcing coach Roy Williams to use four freshmen much more than he'd prefer.

Three of them were on the floor at various times Sunday, and played down to their age for the first time since early in the season.

"We're going to cry about it, be sad, but it just wasn't our time," said senior forward David Noel, who was on the floor for the final seconds of last year's title game.