Jim Larranaga, who took George Mason to the Final Four two years ago, signed a three-year extension to remain coach of the Patriots on Wednesday, turning down an offer to move to his alma mater, Providence.
The deal is on top of an extension Larranaga signed shortly after George Mason’s Final Four appearance in 2006. He is now under contract to the university through the 2014-15 season.
The new extension came after a strong courtship from Providence, which is looking for a replacement for Tim Welsh, who was fired last month after three losing seasons in the past four years.
“We offered him a very substantial package, but he was too comfortable in his current situation and opted to stay at George Mason,” Providence Athletic Director Bob Driscoll said.
Larranaga, 58, has led George Mason to the N.C.A.A. tournament four times (1999, 2001, 2006, 2008) and the National Invitation Tournament twice (2001, 2002) in his 11 seasons. His 207-131 record gives him the most victories in the university’s history.
“I’ve said before that I hope to retire here at George Mason, and this contract extension allows me to do just that,” Larranaga said in a statement.
MEMPHIS SUSPENDS RESERVE Memphis suspended the senior reserve guard Andre Allen for violating team rules, leaving him out of the Final Four. Allen played in 37 games, averaging 3.3 points and 14.1 minutes.
NEW COACH AT KENT STATE Geno Ford, an assistant during a chunk of Kent State’s 10-year run of 20-win seasons, was named the Golden Flashes’ new coach. He takes over for Jim Christian, who resigned last week and is heading to Texas Christian.
This season, Kent State went 28-7 and won the Mid-American Conference East’s regular-season title and the conference tournament to earn its fifth N.C.A.A. bid in 10 years.
KENTUCKY FORWARD ON MEND The Kentucky freshman forward Patrick Patterson may need four to six months to heal from surgery to stabilize a stress fracture on his left ankle, doctors said. Patterson averaged 16.4 points and 7.7 rebounds in 25 games.
BRADLEY EVENS C.B.I. SERIES Jeremy Crouch scored 20 points to help Bradley (21-16) force a deciding third game in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational championship series with an 83-74 victory over visiting Tulsa (24-14). The title will be determined Friday at Tulsa
W.N.I.T. FINAL IS SET Krystal Ellis scored 27 points and Marquette advanced to its second Women’s N.I.T. title game in three years, beating host Colorado, 86-72.
The Golden Eagles (20-14) will play at Michigan State (23-13) in the title game Saturday. The Spartans beat North Carolina State, 58-57, on a game-winning putback by Allyssa DeHaan.