In some weird twist of fate, the Butler Bulldogs from Indianapolis, IN ended up in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. They faced 11th-seeded Virginia Commonwealth (VCU) and advanced, once again, to the national championship game. Big stage, big hopes. This was their chance to right the wrongs of last year, a second opportunity to take what they thought they earned a year ago when they lost the title to Duke.
But it wouldn’t happen that way.
Shots bricked, point-blank lay-ups slipped out of the rim and Connecticut plain out-hustled the Bulldogs on the biggest stage in college basketball. The Huskies took home the NCAA National Title for the third time, defeating Butler 53-41.
The main problem seemed to be shooting. The Bulldogs shot an abysmal 18% from the floor (12-64), good for a record low. They made just nine of 33 attempts from behind the arc, which goes to show that it’s true what they say; if you live by the three, you die by the three.
They were out-rebounded (51-40 in Connecticut’s favor), out-hustled and out-matched. The Huskies blocked 10 shots, which added to the offensive misery. One positive stat was turnovers; the Bulldogs had just six turnovers and five assists while UConn turned the ball over 11 times and had six assists.
Butler wasn’t the only team with low stats. Connecticut shot only 19-for-55 themselves and rattled home just one 3-pointer. UConn head coach Jim Calhoun probably wasn’t happy with his team’s performance, but on a grander scale he secured himself a third national title.
Some said Butler could be commended for sticking together under such somber circumstances. Normally playing your heart out constitutes a pat on the back, regardless of the outcome. But the Bulldogs played possibly the worst game of their careers on the biggest court most of them will ever see and they still slapped hands and hugged as the tears flowed.
It’s certainly easy to congratulate yourselves when the shots are falling and the wins are rolling in. It’s harder still to look on the bright side of not only losing two national championships in a row, but losing so terribly that you want to hide your face in a paper bag. But this is character-building for the Bulldogs, and it will hopefully send them a much-needed message; they were never meant to be national champions.
The LG Blog 