I can’t believe bigger name schools weren’t in the men’s NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) basketball 2011 championship game on April 4th.
I do love a good “Cinderella story” so that’s why I applaud Butler University for being in the final game for the second year in a row. As an underdog, Butler beat all expectations and moved on to the championship game after beating Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in the semi-finals, 70-62.
The championship game was called the “dog fight” because of the two mascots, the Butler Bulldogs and the UConn Huskies.
Butler played hard in every game all season. They deserved to play in the finals. The same respect goes for University of Connecticut (UConn). In the beginning of the season it appeared as though they weren’t going to be in the bracket. However, they stepped up and won five games in five days to win the Big East conference title. UConn continued on and won the final five games to get to the championship game. Butler’s path was very similar.
Butler was a favorite to win the 2011 championship game, but once again it slipped through their fingers. Last year Butler made it all the way to the 2010 championship game against Duke, but they lost by three points when player Matt Howard took a shot from half court. The ball hit the backboard then hit the rim without making the shot. The Bulldogs lost 61-59.
The “dog fight” was a very close game but as in all basketball games the second half is what defines the winner and loser. The 2011championship game was no different. UConn was the first on the board with two points but then Butler quickly followed with a three pointer by Shelvin Mack.
Butler and UConn were closely matched throughout the first half and were always within three points of each other. Even though Butler was ahead at the end of the first half (22-19) UConn came out strong for the second half and ready to play. It was their third championship game since 1999.
Although the scores were always close, this 2011 championship game was the lowest scoring game in NCAA history. These two teams were so closely matched that a low scoring was the outcome. However many Americans were rooting for Butler to win this championship.
This “dog fight” was also a battle of ages, old versus young.
UConn’s head coach, Jim Calhoun, is the oldest coach in NCAA history to win a national championship title at the age of 68. Butler’s head coach, Brad Stevens, is the youngest coach in the NCAA at the age of 34. Both coaches are geniuses when it comes to basketball because without a smart coach there is no plan.
The stats at the end of the game show that UConn came to play, whereas Butler put up a fight but ended up just crumbling. UConn’s defense shined when at the end of the game the stats showed that Butler only made 12 out of their 64 shot attempts. That’s 18.8 percent, the worst in any championship title game.
Butler was my choice to win but even though they lost, 53-41, they did put up a good fight. I hope Butler will be remembered because there is no doubt that they have built a bridge for future mid-major teams.