Congrats to the UConn Huskies on their victory as the best team in college basketball. They used an unparalleled run through the Big East tournament to gain momentum and tear up the NCAA tournament. Jim Calhoun, amidst the allegations he's gone through, was able to stay focused on the season and get the most out of his players. UConn, losers of two in a row and 4 of 5 going into the Big East tournament, ran off 11 straight wins to clinch the titles of Big East Champions and National Champions. They stayed hungry all season long and they deserve the win.
Butler, on the other hand, really didn't play well at all today. 19% shooting from the field pretty much sums up what went wrong for this team. As I watch the trophy ceremony, it was stated that this is the worst shooting performance in championship history, which probably shouldn't come as a surprise since the lowest teams would normally shoot is around 30%. I thought the guard matchup would be exciting. Both Shelvin Mack and Kemba Walker struggled, as they shot 4-15 and 5-19, respectively. Butler had difficulty making even layups. I'm not really going to go into individual stats because when a team shoots 19%, no one had a good game. But I feel Matt Howard shooting 1-13 is worth noting.
If watching the game wasn't indication enough of how poorly the teams played, the rest of the stats should. Luckily for UConn, though, Butler played significantly worse. They had 5 assists in the game whereas UConn had 6. 11 combined assists from both teams? Ball movement and teamwork was clearly a problem. UConn shot 1-11 from downtown, another stat showing how poorly they played. Granted, some of the missed shots were caused by solid defense by both teams, but shooting that poorly is inexcusable. Both teams needed to look for better shots or simply knock down the open looks they had.
UConn, the 9th best team in the Big East after the regular season, is the best team in college basketball. I think that says something about the depth of the Big East if the 9th best team can come in and win it all. Last blog I stated Butler would win, but I wouldn't be surprised if the game was a blowout in UConn's favor. Well, clearly the blowout one was the one that happened.
EDIT: Lowest scoring first half in a national championship game since 1946, when Oklahoma St and North Carolina combined for 40. UConn and Butler combined for 41. In 1946, there was no shot clock yet either.
It's been a fun tournament, folks. Since it's over I'll be talking about some NBA, NHL playoffs, NASCAR, and whatever else gets tossed into the news.
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