No. 8 Butler (28-9) vs. No. 3 Connecticut (31-9) - 9:23 p.m. - Reliant Stadium in Houston
Two types of dogs square off tonight in the men's basketball championship. A more traditional power, the Connecticut Huskies out of the Big East, take on a mid-major--the Horizon League's Butler Bulldogs. Butler is in search of its first national title. The last "mid-major" to win a championship was UNLV out of the Mountain West in 1990. What the Bulldogs have done though is quite remarkable. They lost their best player off last year's team, Gordon Hayward, and have made it to back-to-back national title games. No other team from the state of Indiana has ever been to consecutive title games. Butler came painstakingly close to winning last year--a Hayward half court bomb hit the backboard and rattled off the rim--and Duke escaped with a 61-59 victory. Butler is playing its best basketball of the year right now, but the Bulldogs haven't always been top dog this season, having lost three straight in late January and early February, culminating in a two-point loss to conference foe Youngstown State, which finished with two league wins and was 9-21 overall.
UConn has won two national titles--the last of which came in 2004, when it beat Georgia Tech. Before that, a Richard Hamilton-led Huskies squad beat Duke in the 1999 finals. Connecticut finished this year just 9-9 in the Big East but has been on a tear since then, having won 10 straight games. The Huskies are 13-0 in tournament play this season--3-0 in the Maui Invitational, 5-0 in the Big East tournament, and 5-0 in the NCAA tournament.
I'll refrain from making a pick in this game. Honestly, my track record picking games in this tournament has been atrocious and I don't deserve to pick. I don't have a record handy, but I'm pretty sure I was out of the running in my office pool after the first weekend. Besides, I'll just jinx whoever I pick anyway. I was 1-3 in Elite Eight picks and 0-2 in Final Four picks.
I'm just going to sit back and enjoy a matchup that should come down to the wire--an easy prediction to make given the results in this tournament. Kemba Walker has been sensational this season but I wonder if he can carry the Huskies tonight against a great Butler defense. The Bulldogs have especially locked down on opponents in the tournament, allowing just 63 ppg in five games. Walker will have to be solid, and the Huskies will also need to get good performances from Jeremy Lamb, Alex Oriakhi, and Shabazz Napier. Lamb has had a coming out party in the tournament, averaging 17 ppg after averaging only about 10 ppg during the regular season. Butler, meanwhile, has had a more balanced attack with Shelvin Mack, Matt Howard, Ronald Nored and Shawn Vanzant all making significant contributions recently. Khyle Marshall has also brought toughness and defense off the bench for the Bulldogs.
Should be a terrific game between two hard-nosed teams. One coach, Jim Calhoun, is a salty veteran and the other, Brad Stevens, is a rising star in the profession with a great mind for the game. Both know how to get their teams to win and both know how to get the most out of their squads.
Get your popcorn ready.
Two types of dogs square off tonight in the men's basketball championship. A more traditional power, the Connecticut Huskies out of the Big East, take on a mid-major--the Horizon League's Butler Bulldogs. Butler is in search of its first national title. The last "mid-major" to win a championship was UNLV out of the Mountain West in 1990. What the Bulldogs have done though is quite remarkable. They lost their best player off last year's team, Gordon Hayward, and have made it to back-to-back national title games. No other team from the state of Indiana has ever been to consecutive title games. Butler came painstakingly close to winning last year--a Hayward half court bomb hit the backboard and rattled off the rim--and Duke escaped with a 61-59 victory. Butler is playing its best basketball of the year right now, but the Bulldogs haven't always been top dog this season, having lost three straight in late January and early February, culminating in a two-point loss to conference foe Youngstown State, which finished with two league wins and was 9-21 overall.
UConn has won two national titles--the last of which came in 2004, when it beat Georgia Tech. Before that, a Richard Hamilton-led Huskies squad beat Duke in the 1999 finals. Connecticut finished this year just 9-9 in the Big East but has been on a tear since then, having won 10 straight games. The Huskies are 13-0 in tournament play this season--3-0 in the Maui Invitational, 5-0 in the Big East tournament, and 5-0 in the NCAA tournament.
I'll refrain from making a pick in this game. Honestly, my track record picking games in this tournament has been atrocious and I don't deserve to pick. I don't have a record handy, but I'm pretty sure I was out of the running in my office pool after the first weekend. Besides, I'll just jinx whoever I pick anyway. I was 1-3 in Elite Eight picks and 0-2 in Final Four picks.
I'm just going to sit back and enjoy a matchup that should come down to the wire--an easy prediction to make given the results in this tournament. Kemba Walker has been sensational this season but I wonder if he can carry the Huskies tonight against a great Butler defense. The Bulldogs have especially locked down on opponents in the tournament, allowing just 63 ppg in five games. Walker will have to be solid, and the Huskies will also need to get good performances from Jeremy Lamb, Alex Oriakhi, and Shabazz Napier. Lamb has had a coming out party in the tournament, averaging 17 ppg after averaging only about 10 ppg during the regular season. Butler, meanwhile, has had a more balanced attack with Shelvin Mack, Matt Howard, Ronald Nored and Shawn Vanzant all making significant contributions recently. Khyle Marshall has also brought toughness and defense off the bench for the Bulldogs.
Should be a terrific game between two hard-nosed teams. One coach, Jim Calhoun, is a salty veteran and the other, Brad Stevens, is a rising star in the profession with a great mind for the game. Both know how to get their teams to win and both know how to get the most out of their squads.
Get your popcorn ready.
I still think Butler's going to pull it out. They're much more battle-tested and I like their defense to limit UConn's supporting cast. That and the other stuff we talked about.
ReplyDeleteDidn't happen. Also there was no reason to get ur popcorn ready because there wasnt much of a show haha
ReplyDelete