Monday, April 5, 2010
National Title Game heartbreaker
(5)Butler fell to (1)Duke 61-59 in the NCAA men's basketball championship game tonight. It was rough and I felt like I'd had my guts ripped out after watching Gordon Hayward's half-court shot nearly go in as it hit the backboard and rim before glancing aside. It would've been so cool to see a non-BCS team win the national title, but I think Butler's run this way showed that there is indeed parity in college basketball and that the so-called "mid-majors" can play with the so-called "power conferences." Both Duke (35-5, 13-3 ACC) and Butler (33-5, 18-0 Horizon) played gritty, tough basketball and neither team deserved to lose if you ask me. On a personal note, my power went out with about five minutes left in the game, causing me to freak out. I drove to my parents' place and arrived just in time to see Hayward miss his long three. It's a shame it didn't go in, but still one heck of a run for Butler.
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I'm just proud of Butler for making it to the title game and putting up the fight that they did. Like you said, they were able to prove that there are teams out there that can compete at the highest level even if they're not in an "elite" conference. Basketball, too, is a game of inches; had Hayward's last jump-shot or his half-court heave been an inch or two one way or the other Butler could have been the national champs. However, they are not a worse team for having those last shots not fall.
ReplyDeleteAlso, congrats to Duke even though I can't stand them. I respect Coach K but I just find some of his players really annoying. This being the case, my favorite part of the whole game happened about two seconds before the worst part of the game -- Singler getting leveled on that screen right before Hayward missed the last second toss.
You don't need to respond even though this is just a polite comment from your loving Aunt Jane. I will be following your blog but don't really have enough knowledge on the subject to comment wisely but admire your knowledge and sharing it on your blog, Derek!
ReplyDeleteThanks Aunt Jane, glad you'll be following. Hope all is well. Andrew, you're right, Butler was just off by a couple inches and they would have been the champs. Hayward walked by the court on his way out and said "just a little long." It's a shame, but you're right there is much for the Bulldogs to be proud of. Coach K is a class act and I guess I'm happy for him, even though I really, really wanted Butler to win.
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