MBB NCAA Final: Connecticut 53, Butler 41

[marinbobbyduhon]

Butler 61-59

And Kemba missing a half court shot at the buzzer after Oriahki sets a viscious pick on Howard!

[Cameron]

And Kemba missing a half court shot at the buzzer after Oriahki sets a viscious pick on Howard!

It ALMOST went in, it almost went in!

Kemba missing from half-court on an air ball to lose Jim Calhoun's last national championship game appearance would be the greatest stop-short since Frank Costanza. I for one hope it happens this way. Give Jim and Kemba some hope that they they finally did it, finally reached the Final Four and finally won it all (God I hate that line; if you don't remember it, that was Jim Nantz's cute line after the '99 championship game). I want those two guys' dreams crushed and I want to see crying. Doubt you'll get it out of those two emotionally-stunted droids, however. Listening to a Kemba Walker interview is like watching a rock try to participate in conversation.

[striker219]

Let's Go Butler!

It's like happens so often in the Super Bowl. A team gets there for the first time and loses, but when it gets there again the next year, it wins. Not the Buffalo Bills, of course, but just about every other team! Hmmm. Let's hope there isn't a BB curse - Buffalo Bills, Butler Bulldogs. Nah, Butler will take care of business on Monday night!

You know, if Butler is still following the Milan High School path to success demonstrated in Hoosiers they should take care of business. Although the movie obviously didn't show it, Milan won the state championship in 1954 after losing in the semi-final in 1953. Yeah, I know, Butler lost in the final last year, not the semi-final, but it's close enough for me.

Fun related fact, any time a Carolina fan mentions four-corners as one of the many wondrous innovations bestowed upon the game of basketball by the great and powerful Dean Smith, feel free to mention that particular 1953-54 Milan High School team which rode the strengths of a four-corners/stall offense to a state title (they called it "cat-and-mouse"). That includes a stretch of over four minutes near the end of the championship game where Bobby Plump (the real life Jimmy Chitwood) just stood at the top of the key, ball in hand, before missing a shot, and on their next possession another solid minute of standing still with the ball before hitting the game-winner.

While not the first time this type of offense was used, it is one of the better known situations.

[SoCalDukeFan]

Calhoun is one of the best if not the best game coaches in college basketball.

He will have the Uconnvicts well prepared.

Of course, Brad Stevens is pretty good also.

Walker is the best player in the game. Butler actually has more experience.

Go Bulldogs

SoCal

[uh_no]

Calhoun is one of the best if not the best game coaches in college basketball.

He will have the Uconnvicts well prepared.

Of course, Brad Stevens is pretty good also.

Walker is the best player in the game. Butler actually has more experience.

Go Bulldogs

SoCal

While calhoun is no doubt a great in game coach, I don't think I'd call him best. That said, uconns lack of experience hasn't hurt them thus far, I think part of it is that the super freshmen don't realize they're supposed to be inexperienced.

What I'm worried about is fatigue for uconn. We saw it yesterday, will it comme back to bite them?

[Cameron]

“You’re known by the company you keep.” –Jim Calhoun last night on SportsCenter

And if by "company you keep" you mean Danny Almonte, CCNY, Tiger Woods, Charles Ponzi, Shoeless Joe Jackson and Al Capone (minus the mass murder), then I agree.

Laughing out loud at you, Jim. You are a cheat and will always be remembered for being a cheat. With your marvelous record of compliance, we should probably check and see if the equipment in Storrs is even regulation. Who knows, you might have been using nerf balls.

Please, if you're up there listening, Wilt, Pistol and the rest of the basketball Gods, let Butler win this game. Keep this game pure and let one of the greatest stories in the sport's history unfold. Let the Milan Indians' run 57 years ago in the Indiana state basketball tournament prove prophetic. What a wonderful story it would be.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Don't like UCon. Never have, never will. Will be rooting for Butler all the way.

That said, I really like Kemba Walker. He seems like a great guy. I remember watching that interview between Nolan, Jimmer, and Kemba and all the three of them did was praise one another. He's such an exciting player. This may be the first time that I like a UCon player. It's a strange feeling.

[Papa John]

With your marvelous record of compliance, we should probably check and see if the equipment in Storrs is even regulation.

Actually, given past behavior of some of Calhoun's recruits, we should probably check and see if the equipment in Storrs is still there.

[Nrrrrvous]

Actually, given past behavior of some of Calhoun's recruits, we should probably check and see if the equipment in Storrs is still there.

I just snorted cheerios milk out my nose...

[Billy Dat]

As a Duke fan, disliking UConn is a given (sans fans of both teams such as uh_no), and I certainly don't want Jim Calhoun winning a third ring, but I have to say that this UConn team is a lot more likeable than past elite UConn teams. There is a remarkable lack of woofing, shucking and jiving. Kemba Walker is really fun to watch, as is the rest of the perimeter with Lamb and Napier. I am rooting for Butler, but I don't find myself detesting the UConn players. I feel the same way about Kentucky, they just seemed a little more humble this year, but I guess that's easy compared to last year with Demarcus Cousins.

I echo the sentiment of those who feel like Butler is going to win. They play great defense, and they make big plays when they need to, especially Matt Howard. That kid's nose is always right in the action in the biggest spots. He plays ugly, but he defines winner.

For the match-ups, it is a perimeter tour du force with Walker/Lamb/Napier against Mack/Vanzant/Nored. I haven't paid close enough attention to Butler's rotations, but why does that kid Stigall start over Nored? Whatever, against UConn's talent, I am sure Nored's going to get most of those minutes. While I think UConn has the talent advantage, it's not huge and Butler has much more experience so I think it's a draw.

Up front, I think Howard is the best player by far because, again, he just knows what needs to be done to get the W. UConn did a great job in the semi getting points for their bigs. The big Nigerian kid, Okwandu, had a really unexpected solid game. On the Butler side, they got NOTHING from Andrew Smith...how many layups did he miss? I think they are more dynamic with Marshall in for Smith so it will be interesting to see who gets the more critical minutes. In typical Butler fashion, I see Howard staying out of foul trouble until midway through the second half when he'll pick up a few in rapid succession but somehow figure out how to play the last 5-6 minutes with 4 fouls and still make big plays. So, a frontcourt nod to Butler because of Howard.

From a coaching perspective, I give the edge to Calhoun because of experience, and I also happen to think he is an excellent in-game coach (as '99 and '04), but Stevens seems to be below no one in anything save experience...what a prodigy he is.

That leaves everything else, and I feel like Butler plays better team defense. Obviously, both teams have showed that they know how to win close games. It just feels like Butler is back for a reason, and while the hoops gods can be really cruel, it doesn't feel like they are back to be runner-ups again.

[bjornolf]

There is a remarkable lack of woofing, shucking and jiving. Kemba Walker is really fun to watch, as is the rest of the perimeter with Lamb and Napier.

What about Walker's flop after the shoulder bump that got the technical and changed the momentum of the SDSU game? What about the three-fingered monocle after he made the three-pointer? Or getting in the Texas player's face? It seems like every time I see Kemba, he's doing something to bring attention to himself or denigrate his opponent.

And if this ain't shuckin' and jivin', I don't know what is:


This wasn't the same finger time as I was thinking of, but he's doing the same thing:

[mehmattski]

What about Walker's flop after the shoulder bump that got the technical and changed the momentum of the SDSU game? What about the three-fingered monocle after he made the three-pointer? Or getting in the Texas player's face? It seems like every time I see Kemba, he's doing something to bring attention to himself or denigrate his opponent.

And if this ain't shuckin' and jivin', I don't know what is:


This wasn't the same finger time as I was thinking of, but he's doing the same thing:

To be fair, Nolan Smith and Seth Curry were doing the "three-finger monocle" thing all season. Often, it was in front of opposing teams benches.

[Duvall]

What about Walker's flop after the shoulder bump that got the technical and changed the momentum of the SDSU game? What about the three-fingered monocle after he made the three-pointer? Or getting in the Texas player's face? It seems like every time I see Kemba, he's doing something to bring attention to himself or denigrate his opponent.

And if this ain't shuckin' and jivin', I don't know what is:

Surely that's Midnight Madness. That hardly counts as taunting, since there's no other team there.

[uh_no]

To be fair, Nolan Smith and Seth Curry were doing the "three-finger monocle" thing all season. Often, it was in front of opposing teams benches.

I brought that up and posted a couple videos. while i don't really appreciate that kind of thing, I can't blame kids for getting excited when they make a big shot/big dunk. There's a ton of adrenaline and people at all levels of the sport due stuff like that (the worst is in the NFL where people do dances for everything...pick up 1 yard running BETTER CELEBRATE.

Anyway, I just wish so many people here wouldn't criticize kemba for the same thing duke players do. it amazes me that despite doing so many things right, how many people on this board go to the ends of the earth to find things not to like about the kid.

[Jeff Frosh]

To me, this is one of the easiest choices for who to root for when Duke is not playing for the national championship. We all know the numerous and valid reasons to root for Butler and against UCon. This is good vs. evil, the Rebels against the Evil Empire, the U.S. vs. the Soviet Union, God vs. the (non-Blue) devil. Not to mention that I feel that K should have 6 championships and Calhoun should have none. The thought of him getting his 3rd is disgusting.

GO BUTLER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[uh_no]

This is good vs. evil, the Rebels against the Evil Empire, the U.S. vs. the Soviet Union, God vs. the devil.

So you were rooting for butler last year???

I kid. I kid.

[Jeff Frosh]

So you were rooting for butler last year???

I kid. I kid.

I know you kid you kid. I was careful to say "when Duke is not playing"! I am like everyone else: I love Butler, as long as they are not playing your team. I enjoyed your "Calipari free throw" comment.

[uh_no]

I know you kid you kid. I was careful to say "when Duke is not playing"! I am like everyone else: I love Butler, as long as they are not playing your team. I enjoyed your "Calipari free throw" comment.

I think part of what i was trying to convey is that most of the non butler, non duke, non uconn fans of the world view this as the same matchup: upstart butler who nobody thought could do it against one of the winningest coaches at a powerhouse school. Both years nobody expected the other team to get there, yet they still find themselves losing the 'cinderella' role because they ran into an even BIGGER cinderella. I think there is certainly folly in that argument, especially due to uconn's past transgressions. Despite uconn clearly being the more 'evil' of the two in terms of how the program is run, that is likely not the general view around the country as duke is the 'evil empire' in a win all the time like the yankees sort of way. I hate that people think that about duke, just as i hate that people think that every uconn player is a bad person.

[bjornolf]

Surely that's Midnight Madness. That hardly counts as taunting, since there's no other team there.

Note I said this was "shuckin' and jivin'" and put a winky face. I was just laughing along with the dancing on that one. I wasn't saying he was taunting there. I was trying to be funny. Sorry. I hate that these new smilies all look so much alike. It loses all the nuance.

[bjornolf]

I think part of what i was trying to convey is that most of the non butler, non duke, non uconn fans of the world view this as the same matchup: upstart butler who nobody thought could do it against one of the winningest coaches at a powerhouse school. Both years nobody expected the other team to get there, yet they still find themselves losing the 'cinderella' role because they ran into an even BIGGER cinderella. I think there is certainly folly in that argument, especially due to uconn's past transgressions. Despite uconn clearly being the more 'evil' of the two in terms of how the program is run, that is likely not the general view around the country as duke is the 'evil empire' in a win all the time like the yankees sort of way. I hate that people think that about duke, just as i hate that people think that every uconn player is a bad person.

I think one thing that makes us like Butler so much is that they REMIND us of the Duke teams of the late 80s, early 90s. Back then, Duke was a small school, upstart team, almost a mid-major, that was trying to play with the big boys, that kept getting to the sweet 16, elite 8, or even final 4, but couldn't win it all. Duke got DEMOLISHED by UNLV, then came back the next year and won the championship back to back, starting two decades of dominance not seen outside of UCLA. Will Butler do that? I don't know, but they seem to be headed in the right direction. I think that's why we like Butler so much. It recalls our memories of our own guys from 20 years ago.