When No. 11 seed George Mason blew a late four-point lead and went into overtime with Connecticut in the Elite Eight, everyone thought the Patriots were done.

When they found themselves in a 16-2 hole against defending champs North Carolina, everyone thought they were done.

When it was announced George Mason was given one of the last four at-large bids to the big dance and it would have to play Big Ten powerhouse Michigan State in the first round — well, you see where this is going.

Once again the Patriots have found themselves in the underdog role, squaring off with Florida in the Final Four, and once again they will shock the world.

The stats and experts may be against the Patriots, and the fact they only go about six deep doesn’t help against a young and athletic Florida team featuring sophomore phenom Joakim Noah.

But George Mason has that mix of chemistry and balance coaches have attempted to concoct since the day basketball was invented.

If the Patriots hope to come out on top, they will need to neutralize Florida’s gritty interior defense with outside shooting much like their 9-of-18 effort against UConn, including six straight in the second half.

Senior guard Lamar Butler should set up camp outside the arch again and lead the Pats to a narrow victory over Florida and then it won’t matter who they face Monday, the script has already been written.