SB Nation 2011 NCAA Championship Game
+21
Jim Calhoun and the UConn Huskies win their third NCAA Title since 1999 after shutting down Shelvin Mack and the Butler Bulldogs in the NCAA Title game.
See what we did in the headline there? We put “highlights” in quotations marks. Because there really weren’t any, you see? Not to discredit UConn’s amazing run through the NCAA Tournament, and its third NCAA Championship game victory, but any time your opponent shoots 18 percent from the field — and makes THREE two-point field goals — then “highlights” must be in sarcastic quotations. It’s a rule.
So, if you dare re-live the 2011 NCAA Championship game, here are the video “highlights” of UConn’s 53-41 win over Butler:
As SB Nation’s Andrew Sharp wrote on Tuesday morning, at least the miserable basketball played on Monday night gave us something memorable. Sure, UConn blew out Butler in the end, but it was the ugliest blow-out we may ever see. For the rest of basketball history, anytime you’re watching a game and it’s boring and sloppy, you’ll be able to say, “well, at least it’s not UConn-Butler.” See, history made!
When it comes to the 2011 NCAA National Title Game between the UConn Huskies and the Butler Bulldogs, about the only thing people are going to remember is that UConn won the game, 53-41. And frankly, that's probably for the best.
Otherwise, future generations will have to know just how ugly a game it was.
Butler has no reason to hang its head. They went to back-to-back National Title games in a sport where just going to one is a major step for a mid-major program. They've beaten more Top Ten teams and elite programs in the last two years than just about anyone.
That said, they really did stink up the joint Monday night. Butler finished with the 2nd-lowest number of field goals ever made in an NCAA Finals. The only worse shooting performance? Oklahoma State, who only made nine field goals in 1949.
Butler shot 18.8% on the night, far and away the worst shooting performance in Finals history. Butler shot 12-of-64 from the field, 9-of-33 from the 3-point line and 3-of-31 on 2-point attempts. They didn't just have an off-night. They had the off-night to end all off-nights.
O course, to merely say that UConn won because Butler couldn't hit a shot would be a disservice to the Huskies. Kemba Walker didn't have a magical night but he did plenty of things late in the game to make sure his team took over and never looked back. Freshman Jeremy Lamb had a sensational second half and showed the rest of the nation that the Huskies don't go away simply because Kemba Walker is leaving.
UConn played solid defense, blocking ten shots (tied for best Finals performance), including four each by Oriakhi and Roscoe Smith. The defense also shut down Butler's big stars, Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack.
It wasn't a pretty game. You certainly wouldn't want to watch it again. But at the end of the day, UConn earned the victory and the National Title. One Shining Moment? The Huskies had had plenty of them.
It's been one heck of a five week run for Kemba Walker.
Walker finished the National Title game with 16 points and 9 rebounds for the UConn Huskies, who won their 11th straight game since closing the regular season, winning the National Championship over Butler, 53-41. Combine that with his 18 point, 7 assist performance in the National Semifinal against Kentucky and Walker was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player.
Walker's performance in the finals weren't amazing, but the award might as well before Kemba's performance over the entire 11-game winning streak which saw the Huskies win five games in the Big East Tournament before running the table in the NCAAs. Walker put the UConn Huskies on his back at times, especially in the Big East run, and anchored the squad as Jeremy Lamb and Alex Oriakhi provided help when needed.
And so, Walker ends his UConn career in the best possible fashion. Fans won't remember that his performance was "pretty good" in the finals, they'll remember that his run through March and April was, quite simple, madness.
For more on Walker and the 2011 National Champion UConn Huskies, visit The UConn Blog.
The Butler Bulldogs started hitting three-pointers with about two minutes left to close the gap to eight. Shelvin Mack scored his first points of the second half and all of a sudden it looked like there was a chance for Butler to make this a game, finally.
Alas, UConn closed the door on that real quick and then shut down the entire game, held on to the ball and waited out the clock to clinch the 2011 National Title with a 53-41 defensive victory. With the win, Jim Calhoun and UConn win their third National Title since 1999.
Butler finished the night shooting 18% on the evening, the worst shooting night in the history of the NCAA Title game. The Bulldogs were the first non-major conference team to play in back-to-back title games since Houston, and just like the Cougars, they lost both times.
Kemba Walker finished with 16 points and Alex Oriakhi finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Along with Jeremy Lamb (12 points), the trio of Huskies held down the fort while the offense found its way in the second half.
Shelvin Mack led Butler with 13 points in a losing effort.
UConn fans should join the celebration over at The UConn Blog while Butler fans should go drown their sorrows at SB Nation Indiana and Mid Major Madness.
Five minutes left and the UConn Huskies have a double-digit lead on the Butler Bulldogs. With a lead of 46-35, they are minutes away from their third National Title since 1999.
The trio of Kemba Walker, Jeremy Lamb and Alex Oriakhi are leading the Huskies on the night. Walker has 12 and Lamb have 11 but Oriakhi has come on strong in the second half and leads the way with 11 points and 9 rebounds.
Oriakh and the Huskies also have ten blocks so far, which ties the National Title game record, and goes a long way towards understanding the shooting woes for the Butler Bulldogs tonight.
Butler has improved to 17% shooting on the night (10-58) but it's still as rough as it sounds. No Bulldog is in double-digits and Chae Stigall leads the team with 9 points. The only area Butler is doing well is three-point shooting, in which they're 8-of-15. At this point, they might not have any other options.
For more on this game, UConn fans should join The UConn Blog, and Butler fans should join SB Nation Indiana and Mid Major Madness.
In a perfect metaphor for Butler's night so far, Bullsog Andrew Smith took the ball in the paint and posted up with about 10:30 left in the game. He spun, found an open lane in front of him, took two steps to the basket, layed the ball up and watched it roll off the rim. A UConn player grabbed the ball and Smith immediately fouled him, his third of the evening.
Everything looked great leading up to Smith' shot. And everything went wrong as soon as he took it. That's your evening so far, Butler, and a big part of the reason they trail 39-28 with ten minutes left in the game.
UConn has outscored the Bulldogs 20-6 so far in the half and Butler is 8-for-49 on the night (16%). Barring a drastic momentum shift, things are about to slip away from the Bulldogs. And the way they're shooting right now, chucking up threes, it's not looking good. It's as if the Bulldogs
For more on this game, UConn fans should join The UConn Blog, and Butler fans should join SB Nation Indiana and Mid Major Madness.
Second-half adjustments are in effect and UConn's are working a little bit better. The Huskies lead the Butler Bulldogs 31-26 with 13:31 left in the game.
The Huskies have their FG percentage up to 26% while the Bulldogs' shooting continues to fall off a cliff. It now stands at 16% for the game. Butler could indeed make history tonight, but it might not be the history they were hoping for.
Kemba Walker leads the Huskies with 10 points, followed by Jeremy Lamb with 7. Meanwhile, Shelvin Mack has 7 for the Bulldogs and has not scored in the second half.
UConn seems to have found a bit of a groove and Butler is beginning to let things slip away. Lamb and Walker have a chance to create some space and could do so very soon.
For more on this game, UConn fans should join The UConn Blog, and Butler fans should join SB Nation Indiana and Mid Major Madness.
Shelvin Mack swished a deep three as the least-eventful first half in non-Big Ten basketball ground to a close. Butler holds a 22-19 lead over UConn at the break, with Bulldogs coach Brad Stevens chalking the low score up to both teams "guardin' hard." The world will never again question your defense's solidity, coach.
With the score, Mack joins Kemba Walker as the game's other most-productive player. Both have seven points. They should team up.
UConn's shooting percentage has dipped below 30 percent after coming in at a scalding 33 at one point, but their interior edge is holding strong. They've out-rebounded Butler by eight so far. So why is Butler winning? Well, three-point shots like Mack's. They've hit five of 14, which isn't fantastic in most games but is downright lethal in a game like this.
For more on this game, UConn fans should join The UConn Blog, and Butler fans should join SB Nation Indiana and Mid Major Madness.
The 2011 NCAA basketball final has not been a treat so far. Highlight of the night for me: Jim Nantz semi-predicting the game between Butler and UConn would come down to another "launch," a la last year's half-court heave that nearly beat Duke, before adding, "We are in the Space City." Oh you Nantzy, huh!
Five minutes remain in the first half, and Butler has just forced a 19-19 tie.
Compared to Butler's 23 percent, UConn is shooting the lights out of the place. Kemba Walker has seven points on 10 attempts from the floor and has lost the rebounding mastery that defined his role during that weird few minutes that saw even Kemba rendered useless. Shelvin Mack, Alex Oriakhi, and Charles Okwandu now all have four boards. There are kind of a lot of them to go around, I'm saying.
Chase Stigall leads Butler with six points, which he got by making two shots.
For more on this game, UConn fans should join The UConn Blog, and Butler fans should join SB Nation Indiana and Mid Major Madness.
Butler is not playing beautiful basketball in the first half, going over five minutes without a score before an Andrew Smith layup brought them up to speed. You'd think they'd be well behind UConn and Kemba Walker after an opening like that, but both teams are looking equally challenged on offense. Only five combined turnovers so far, though.
After trailing early, Butler has taken a 16-15 lead with about seven minutes left in the first. Prime evidence that the game is being played on Butler's terms: the Bulldogs reached the bonus with well over nine minutes left to go, with two fouls called on Alex Oriakhi already.
Charles Okwandu made his first score of the night on a simple putback of a Jamaal Coombs-McDaniel three, putting UConn's interior advantage to good use. Butler may not need to bang it inside if they continue shooting threes better than twos, as Chase Stigall drilled his second three of the night just before the last TV timeout.
For more on this game, UConn fans should join The UConn Blog, and Butler fans should join SB Nation Indiana and Mid Major Madness.
Kemba Walker missed his first five shots in the 2011 NCAA championship game, but might have finally figured out Reliant Stadium's architecture. With 13 minutes to go in the first half the UConn star drilled his first score of the game, following it shortly after with a layup and one.
Butler now trails 13-9 with about 12 minutes left in the period. The Huskies are owning the paint early on.
Ronald Nored is having a frisky game so far, drawing a Kemba foul and aiding a Zach Hahn steal on UConn's next possession.
Wallker made up for a poor shooting start by pitching in on the glass, pulling down a game-high four rebounds so far. He's trailed by Shelvin Mack's three. This game will come down to which guard can grab the most rebounds. No, it probably won't.
For more on this game, UConn fans should join The UConn Blog, and Butler fans should join SB Nation Indiana and Mid Major Madness.
The 2011 NCAA Championship game began with UConn winning the tip and Tyler Olander making the first score. You picked Olander in your prop bet, didn't you? This game has the makings of an ugly one based on the early going, with Butler missing five of its first six shots and somehow only trailing by one in the process.
Four minutes in, the entire score is 4-3, UConn. That's the whole thing!
Chase Stigall provided all of Butler's offense, hitting a three with assistance from Shelvin Mack. Alex Oriakhi made UConn's other score, and this is going to be the easiest game in the world to blog if it keeps this pace going.
Three-of-18 combined shooting. Maybe there's something to that Reliant Stadium sightlines talk after all. At least Jim Nantz is in top form already: "It's time to settle the madness," he declared at tip-off.
For more on this game, UConn fans should join The UConn Blog, and Butler fans should join SB Nation Indiana and Mid Major Madness.
Ahead of the 2011 NCAA Championship Game, Mid-Majority Madness has a great piece up on how both Butler and UConn score, and the differences between the two teams are interesting. Walker is obviously the key weapon for the Huskies, but as good as Shelvin Mack is, he's hardly the same kind of consistent scorer. Instead of focusing on one guy, Butler has a variety of options.
Butler doesn't have anyone on the roster that is nearly the singular weapon on a consistent basis like Walker has been for Connecticut, though Shelvin Mack has shown on many occasions that he is more than capable of carrying an equal load to the All-American. Both he and senior Matt Howard split the heavier scoring load (about 23% of total points each), while Alex Smith and Shawn Vanzant have been the secondary scorers throughout the season. These numbers tend to hold true when examining the usage rate metric as well with Mack and Howard both above 26% (heavy usage) and no other member of the roster posting a mark above 18%. Slow and steady has been the key for Butler, as the Bulldogs have managed to slow down the pace against every team they've faced in the NCAA Tournament and avoided turning the ball over - the combination has yielded wins even on nights when they haven't shot well.
If Butler are going to win tonight, they're going to need to force UConn to play at their pace, on top of getting offensive contributions from multiple players. Mack is an outstanding player, but he's not going to do all of the scoring by himself.
For more on this game, UConn fans should join The UConn Blog, and Butler fans should join SB Nation Indiana and Mid Major Madness.
In the build-up to tonight's big matchup between Butler and UConn, SBNation Indiana discussed their keys to the NCAA Championship game, and one of those had to do with the vastly underrated Jeremy Lamb. Despite the fact that Kemba Walker is the headliner for the Huskies, the Bulldogs should ignore Lamb at their peril.
Walker may get all the headlines, but Lamb has been the catalyst for this NCAA Tournament run, and he poses a little bit of a match-up problem for Butler, especially when he is playing with two big guys. He's taller and thinner than Shelvin Mack, but could be guarded by Khyle Marshall, who has a couple inches on him, but isn't used to guarding a perimeter player. Lamb is averaging over 15 points per game during their 10 game winning streak, and could be a major factor in the game.
The potential Lamb-Marshall matchup sounds like an interesting one. Marshall was eased into his role as a freshman, but he's really started to show his potential in the NCAA Tournament, taking on an expanded role. It's tough to guess if Marshall's inexperience will be a problem, but his length and athleticism should frustrate Lamb at the very least.
For more on this game, UConn fans should join The UConn Blog, and Butler fans should join SB Nation Indiana and Mid Major Madness.
I know what you're thinking, world. You're thinking "I wish there were some quality blogs writing about this upcoming 2011 NCAA Championship Game between UConn and Butler. That would be just swell." Luckily, you have come to the right place. The UConn Blog has Connecticut fans covered, and they spent some time focusing on the likely pro-Butler crowd and how their team has dealt with similar hostile environments in the past.
I would expect that a good 80% or more of the arena crowd will be rooting for Butler, and that 90% or more of America will do the same.
That's not generally a good thing, but if there's one guy who can motivate the hell out of his guys and one guy who thrives on being backed up against the wall by the closing-in mobs, it's Jim Calhoun.
The Huskies have displayed incredible toughness in pretty much every game since the Pitt Big East Tournament game. They've battled back from deficits, played basically every game (save perhaps the BET championship game) in front of an at-the-very-least-majority unfriendly crowd.
Hopefully, this is right in their wheelhouse.
Obviously, a team playing in the Big East is going to have to play in front of some hostile crowds throughout the season, but they could be dealing with upwards of 50,000 people who are cheering for Butler tonight, which is not something they can say they have faced before.
For more on this game, UConn fans should join The UConn Blog, and Butler fans should join SB Nation Indiana and Mid Major Madness.
ESPN's Dick Vitale, Hubert Davis, Jay Bilas, and Digger Phelps all just picked UConn to win the 2011 NCAA Championship Game. But I think Butler is going to win. Here's why.
At this point in the season, everyone is tired. I don't think that this is an earth-shattering statement, but in the case of Kemba Walker, this statement seems to be more applicable than it has been to any other player in any other Final Four. Not just because of his borderline legendary Big East Tournament performance, but because he's been carrying the UConn Huskies on his back since November, bringing his A game week after week.
As good as Shelvin Mack is, Walker is probably more important to his team than any one player was to any team in the country this year, save for Jimmer Fredette and BYU. Now, he's in the 2011 NCAA Championship game, and his legs just need to hold out for 40 more minutes. Louisville coach Rick Pitino, for one, doesn't think UConn will be able to pull through, but SI's Seth Davis has UConn winning 64-59.
I don't know either Walker or Mack personally, nor do I work for the training staff of the UConn Huskies or the Butler Bulldogs. However, based on the fact that I've watched a lot of basketball over the years and that I'm a human being who has engaged in athletic activity, I can reasonably infer that both of them are getting tired. Purely because they have the knowledge that this game is their last of the season and because this is what they've worked for all year, the adrenaline will take them through the game.
But, regardless of the fact that they will give it 100%, don't expect Mack and Walker to be blowing by their defenders or draining 25 foot jump shots over and over again. Adrenaline can only do so much for your legs.
The game shouldn't be a blowout in either direction, so if it comes down to the final couple of minutes, the determining factor might be who has more gas left in the tank, Mack or Walker. They have other players around them, and as cool as it is to see role players step up in huge situations, the stars will likely try to shine.
My prediction? Mack is the guy going stronger at the end of the game, and that's why Butler are going to win in an extremely close encounter, as Washington coach Lorenzo Romar predicts, along with Lost Lettermen. However, you would have to be an idiot with a serious gambling problem to lay money against Kemba Walker.
For more on this game, UConn fans should join The UConn Blog, and Butler fans should join SB Nation Indiana and Mid Major Madness.
The 2011 NCAA Championship Game between UConn and Butler begins Monday night, April 4. It's the second trip in a row for the Horizon League Bulldogs, while the Huskies are going for their third NCAA title in just over a decade.
Game time, TV schedule, and announcers: Tip-off is set for 9:23 pm ET, with CBS' coverage beginning at 9 pm ET. Jim Nantz will prep for his Masters weekend by trotting out a piece of wordplay so obvious that somehow Twitter will prove to be incapable of predicting it. He's joined by the capable Clark Kellogg and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson, who will be kept far from Kemba Walker's Kemba Kem Juice.
Location: Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, the football arena whose sight lines received much hurrumphing for perhaps contributing to some sketchy shooting during Saturday's Final Four games. This could be a problem, and Nantz smells catch phrase opportunity.
How did we get here? Both teams had largely disappointing regular seasons, but caught fire at the right time. UConn famously won five games in five nights to take the Big East title, while Butler pulled off a last-second win against Old Dominion in ... well, actually every Butler win is a last-second win.
Vegas says: UConn was favored by 4 to start the week, but Butler's now only a 3-point underdog.
For more on this game, UConn fans should join The UConn Blog, and Butler fans should join SB Nation Indiana and Mid Major Madness.
We have reached the end of the 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket: the NCAA Championship Game matches Butler vs. UConn in a semi-literal dogfight — you know, because it's Bulldogs vs. Huskies — that has all the makings of a scrappy game for the record books. Kemba Walker has UConn on a historic run in the postseason, but Butler's second straight NCAA Tournament final appearance may be more incredible, and the Bulldogs' titanium spines have helped them withstand a series of thrillers in this year's March Madness. Tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, we get the last game of the 2011 Final Four, and Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, and Steve Kerr will have the call in Houston.
Butler's NCAA Tournament run has been nothing short of spectacular, but the Bulldogs have done things differently on their second consecutive trip to the national title game. These Bulldogs were buoyed by their offense all year, then have alternated between winning with offense (Pittsburgh, Florida) and clamping down (Wisconsin, VCU) in the NCAA Tournament. If Shelvin Mack is on, the Bulldogs can do either: he's Butler's best perimeter player, has great range, and takes good shots. But if he's not, expect the Bulldogs to grind inside, using Matt Howard's post play as the fulcrum of their offense. Ronald Nored, Butler's renowned defensive stopper, is all but a cinch to draw Kemba Walker on defense; Shawn Vanzant's quickness could provide a spark if he's matched up against Walker on offense, especially if he takes advantage on possessions after Walker expends a ton of effort on offense.
The Huskies will have more tools to work with on offense than Butler does. Mid-Major Madness broke down the Xs and Os of Butler vs. UConn to show how both teams score, and while you can see there that Walker is the Huskies' leader and workhorse, he's got a strong trio in his supporting cast in the form of Alex Oriakhi, Shabazz Napier, and Jeremy Lamb. Walker will get his points, but if the rest of the young UConn roster can play well for another game, Butler is going to be picking its poison all night. Oriakhi, Charles Okwandu, and Roscoe Smith will also have a tough task before them in the wily Howard and the tall, raw Andrew Smith and Khyle Marshall, but their interior defense has been superb throughout the NCAA Tournament.
Star Watch: Kemba Walker will be by far the best player on the floor tonight. But Lamb's play will determine whether the Huskies win: if he can give UConn a second reliable shooter and Walker a target on dribble-kick plays, Butler is going to struggle to keep up with the Huskies' offense.
Prediction: If Walker hasn't convinced you by now that he has been college basketball's best player this season, he might do that Monday night: expect UConn's star to get his 20-30 points, even against Butler's suddenly stiff defense. But in a game like this, with Butler's Bulldogs more than aware that they are playing for history and may never even sniff glory like this again, I have to lean to the team that has been tougher than Damascus steel throughout the NCAA Tournament: Butler wins, 59-56, in a game for the ages.
More Reading: SB Nation Indiana has full coverage of the Butler Bulldogs' tremendous NCAA Tournament run, while The UConn Blog is your fan community for the Huskies and Kemba Walker. Want to learn more about the 2011 NCAA Tournament in general? Check out SB Nation's NCAA Tournament hub.
Butler basketball is in the NCAA Championship game for the second straight season, a fact that has received a ton of justified attention over the past few days. It is worth noting, though, that the Butler team that will take on UConn on Monday night is not the same team that nearly shocked Duke in the 2010 NCAA Championship game.
The key difference is the loss of Gordon Hayward, a lottery pick in the 2010 NBA Draft that nearly gave Butler the win over Duke with his half-court heave. Last year, Hayward, Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard took most of the shots for Butler, splitting up the lions share of the offensive load fairly evenly. But with Hayward now in the NBA, the three-headed monster has become a two-headed monster. Mack and Howard have shouldered an even heavier offensive load, picking up most of Hayward's shots for themselves.
This has had a reverse effect on both players. Howard has seen his efficiency rise with increased usage, developing a three-point shot and playing more on the perimeter. Howard's true shooting percentage went from 58.4 percent to 61.4 percent, a truly elite number given the amount of shots he takes. Mack, meanwhile, went through a shooting slump at midseason as he struggled to adjust to being the only major perimeter threat. For the season, his true shooting percentage of 53.2 percent is actually below average. But Mack has really turned it on in the NCAA Tournament, averaging nearly 22 points a game on 55 percent shooting in leading Butler to this point.
Mack's hot shooting and Howard's solid play offensively has masked the fact that Butler's defense hasn't been quite as good as it was last season. In last year's NCAA Tournament, Butler held every team but Duke to under a point per possession. Three of the five teams Butler beat (UTEP, Kansas State and Michigan State) scored less than 0.9 points per possession. This year, though, Butler's defense has been shaky at times, especially against Pittsburgh (who scored 1.19 points/possession) and Florida (who scored 1.08). This isn't to say Butler's defense this year has been bad -- just ask Wisconsin (0.87 points/possession) and VCU (0.94) -- but whereas last year's team won solely because of it's defense, this year's club has won in many different ways. One could argue this makes them even more dangerous.
Butler's success against UConn will therefore depend on what kind of defensive effort it gets. The Bulldogs struggled against the elite guard play of Florida and Pittsburgh, only winning because Mack was able to bail the team out with some hot shooting. The Bulldogs cannot afford a similar defensive lapse against Kemba Walker if they want to have more success this season in this game than they did last year.
Does Kemba Walker have 40 more minutes of basketball left in him? We'll find out in the NCAA Championship Game on Monday night, but there is no question that UConn's star guard is starting to feel the wear of the past month.
First, he was asked to lead UConn through the Big East Tournament, which the Huskies won, earning them a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament. And over the past three weeks during March Madness, Kemba has continued to lead his team, playing 384 of the 405 minutes of basketball the Huskies have played. In UConn's last three games, Kemba has played the full 40 minutes. After their win over Kentucky in the Final Four, Walker finally admitted that he was tired.
Louisville head coach Rick Pitino -- the only man to beat both Butler and UConn this season -- says fatigue will be a deciding factor in the NCAA Championship Game:
"I think Butler will win the game, and it won't be at the buzzer," Pitino said Sunday, reached by telephone. "It'll be by seven or eight points."
"My observation is that Connecticut's a tired team right now," he said. "I think Kemba [Walker] is worn out. I think Butler is the winner because of it."
When the ball is tipped at 9:23 p.m. ET on Monday night, we'll all learn just how tired Kemba is, or isn't. And if the supporting UConn cast can help carry the Huskies to a National Championship.
The 2011 NCAA championship game was guaranteed to include one insurgent and one established power -- the only question was which teams would fill those roles. The Butler Bulldogs reached their second-straight title game by outlasting VCU, while the Connecticut Huskies held off the Kentucky Wildcats late Saturday.
So much for that thing about the Big East having a bad postseason, I guess. And so much for Butler being a one-hit wonder. Brad Stevens has a chance to be regarded as perhaps the best coach in the country, while Jim Calhoun can turn a lot of attention away from his pending suspension.
If Player of the Year voters were able to factor conference tourneys and the NCAA tournament into their voting, Kemba Walker would be the hands-down honoree. Walker's only got so many more NCAA Tournament minutes left in him, which, great! This is the last game, and then young Kemba can take a very well-deserved rest.
Keep in mind Butler has been just as hot down the stretch as UConn has, which is saying something. Matt Howard has been the awkward but relentless engine, becoming college basketball's most annoying player to root against. That's a good thing, right?
The game is scheduled to tip off at 9:23 pm ET on CBS. UConn is currently favored by 3.5 points.
For more on this game, UConn fans should join The UConn Blog, and Butler fans should join SB Nation Indiana and Mid Major Madness.
UConn Basketball To Celebrate NCAA Championship Game Win With Pep Rally
On Tuesday, hours after UConn's win over Butler in the NCAA Tournament final, the national champion Huskies will return to Storrs, Connecticut. The team is expected to appear in Gampel Pavilion for a pep rally at approximately 5:30 p.m. local time. The Hartford Courant has the details:
The team is scheduled to fly out of Houston at noon Tuesday and arrive in Connecticut around 3:30 p.m., at which time UConn fans are encouraged to greet them at Bradley International Airport.
For more on UConn's championship, check out the rest of this StoryStream. And to celebrate with Huskies fans, check in with SB Nation's UConn blog, the appropriately-named UConn Blog.
Apr 05 11:06a by Jon Bois - 0 comments