These two games surely didn't dissapoint. (11) VCU and (8) Butler traded blows throughout most of the game and it seemed as though neither could pull away from the other in the 2nd half, but Butler did enough to win it. VCU looked like they could stage a comeback with a potential 4-point play with 2:32 left in the game, but it wasn't meant to be. VCU obviously had a hell of a season and I'm sure the seniors enjoyed their magical ride out. Unfortunate, though, that senior guard Joey Rodriguez had to end his career as a Ram with a 1-8 shooting performance.
On the other side, senior Matt Howard on Butler didn't have a great game either, shooting 3-10 and 0-5 from beyond the arc, but he had a clutch put back to essentially seal the game, similar to the game-winner he had against (9) Old Dominion in their first game of the tournament. Shelvin Mack did huge things for Butler all night and really was the play maker, as he shot 8-11 and 5-6 from deep. Another huge reason Butler was victorious was the size of the team. They out-rebounded VCU 46-30, with a 15-5 advantage on the offensive glass. Butler is going to get another shot at a national title when they face (3) UConn. I have to give credit to VCU, though. I said it wasn't going to be close, but they proved me wrong. Every game they played I thought they would perform poorly but they played consistently well all tournament long and simply lost to a better Butler team. But not without going down with a fight.
(3) UConn and (4) Kentucky was just as intense as advertised in a low scoring affair. I thought it would be close and (3) UConn would win, and finally I was right. UConn seemed like they'd run away with it thanks to a 10point half time lead, but the young guns on Kentucky came back and almost stole the victory due to some turnovers by UConn guards. Though it was low scoring, UConn shot extremely well from inside the arc, at 22-for-37. It was their 3-point shooting that was atrocious, at 1-for-12. Kentucky certainly didn't help themselves either, shooting 4-for-12 from the charity stripe. Kentucky had a couple chances to extend the game at the end but couldn't find the basket despite decent looks. A very though night for Brandon Knight will end the dream for Kentucky. The freshman finished shooting 6-23. Kemba and the Huskies will be playing in the last game of the season.
Title Game
(3) UConn vs (8) Butler
A great matchup with two great story lines behind them each. At the beginning of the year, I don't think anyone thought these teams would be as good as they are. When looking at it from a preseason poll, UConn was less expected to be here. Butler was ranked 18 in the preseason poll after coming off a loss to Duke in the championship game. UConn, on the other hand, wasn't even ranked. They actually received 0 votes to the top 25. This was supposed to be a big rebuilding year for them and Jim Calhoun. They finished the regular season as the 9th best team in the Big East, and they something improbable happened. They did something that was never done before in Big East history. They won 5 games in 5 nights and took the crown of the Big East tournament behind the phenomenal play of Kemba Walker. Coming into the Big Dance, they showed no signs of slowing down and are still going strong. If they beat Butler, what an unreal run they had. Storming through the Big East tourney after going 9-9 in-conference during the season and still playing on fire where it really matters. Maybe a run in one tournament and not the other, but I don't think anyone could've predicted they'd be so consistent and do it in both after how their regular season played out.
I'll tell you what, I'm really excited to see the matchup between Shelvin Mack and Kemba Walker. These two guards have played great team basketball as well as individual play.
The Pick
The same thing I said for UConn vs Kentucky applies here. I think Butler has the better team, but UConn has the best player and the game changer in Kemba. I picked UConn in that matchup, but this time around I think the team is going to override the player. I'm going against what I've said since the Sweet 16 and am picking Butler all of a sudden. Butler has so much fun on the court and you can tell each guy trusts their teammates and no one is selfish on that team. They really understand how to play. I think their defense will shut down the Huskies not named Kemba Walker and UConn will struggle to shoot the ball. I will say this, though. I am a big fan of the Big East and hope UConn comes out victorious, even though like everyone I love rooting for the underdogs. Surprisingly, though, I don't think too many people feel that way about Butler. They have more experience in this situation than UConn does and they've been playing just as well as of late so I don't think they can really be considered big underdogs if underdogs at all.
Final Score: Butler (65) UConn (57)
I'll be back to discuss the title game.
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