NCAA Championship
It may not have been the best 2 games of basketball ever played by Connecticut, but after the game ended, nothing mattered to them. They were as happy as a husky, or a Connecticut Husky.
The reactions were very different for Butler.
Butler shot 18 percent, grabbed 11 less rebounds and played their worst game since early February as the Bulldogs were beaten 53-41 by Connecticut and Kemba Walker. Walker led Uconn with 16.
The game looked to be close for a while, and it started out in a 6-6 tie. Niels Giffey put Uconn up with a layup (and a lucky bounce), and a jumper by Kemba and a bucket+1 helped Connecticut take a 5 point lead.
However, Butler would get back in it with some free throws, and a 3 by Chase Stigall gave Butler a 16-15 lead. Kemba and Donyell Beverly would put Connecticut back up by 3, but another Butler 3, this time from Mack, tied the game at 19.
Hard defense was the key in this game, and it certainly took over in the last 4:17 of the half. Defensive rebounds, missed jumpers, turnovers, everything. No one scored in the last part of the half until Mack pulled up and drained a 3 from the left wing, giving Shelvin and co a 22-19 lead.
Butler and Connecticut had both played sloppily in the first half, and normally when that happens you are supposed to correct that. And while one did (or at least played better) the other's level of play just kept decreasing.
We thought it would be Butler who would play strong once Stigall knocked down his 3rd triple of the night, and Butler gained a 6 point advantage. But 2 free throws from Jeremy Lamb, a fadeaway from the corner for Kemba and a triple from the wing for Lamb gave Connecticut a 26-25 lead.
With Butler down 29-26, the ball was in the hands of Shelvin Mack, who could possibly tie the game. Instead, the ball was knocked out of his hands by Jeremy Lamb, and Lamb took it to the hole and put the Huskies up by 5. Another Lamb j put the guys from Storrs up 7.
Shawn Vanzant drained a jumper to make it a 5 point game, but a pair of free throws from Shabazz Napier quickly sewed that hole up. And that was just the start of an 8-0 run. If it doesn't sound great, well, we aren't talking about the 8, we're talking about the 0.
A layup by Lamb and a crazy layup by Kemba Walker gave Uconn an 11 point lead, and Alex Oriahki extended it with a bucket of his own. Connecticut's strategy of keeping Butler out of the paint worked like a magical charm. For 6:19, no points were added on to the Butler side of the scoreboard.
Butler would finally score on an Andrew Smith layup, but a dunk by Alex Oriahki, plus a free throw, put Connecticut up by 14. After a couple more baskets it went to the fouling game, and although Butler cut the deficit to 49-41, they sat back and watched 4 more free throws from Walker fall through the hoop, then confetti fall from the stadium. The Huskies were champions!
The reactions were very different for Butler.
Butler shot 18 percent, grabbed 11 less rebounds and played their worst game since early February as the Bulldogs were beaten 53-41 by Connecticut and Kemba Walker. Walker led Uconn with 16.
The game looked to be close for a while, and it started out in a 6-6 tie. Niels Giffey put Uconn up with a layup (and a lucky bounce), and a jumper by Kemba and a bucket+1 helped Connecticut take a 5 point lead.
However, Butler would get back in it with some free throws, and a 3 by Chase Stigall gave Butler a 16-15 lead. Kemba and Donyell Beverly would put Connecticut back up by 3, but another Butler 3, this time from Mack, tied the game at 19.
Hard defense was the key in this game, and it certainly took over in the last 4:17 of the half. Defensive rebounds, missed jumpers, turnovers, everything. No one scored in the last part of the half until Mack pulled up and drained a 3 from the left wing, giving Shelvin and co a 22-19 lead.
Butler and Connecticut had both played sloppily in the first half, and normally when that happens you are supposed to correct that. And while one did (or at least played better) the other's level of play just kept decreasing.
We thought it would be Butler who would play strong once Stigall knocked down his 3rd triple of the night, and Butler gained a 6 point advantage. But 2 free throws from Jeremy Lamb, a fadeaway from the corner for Kemba and a triple from the wing for Lamb gave Connecticut a 26-25 lead.
With Butler down 29-26, the ball was in the hands of Shelvin Mack, who could possibly tie the game. Instead, the ball was knocked out of his hands by Jeremy Lamb, and Lamb took it to the hole and put the Huskies up by 5. Another Lamb j put the guys from Storrs up 7.
Shawn Vanzant drained a jumper to make it a 5 point game, but a pair of free throws from Shabazz Napier quickly sewed that hole up. And that was just the start of an 8-0 run. If it doesn't sound great, well, we aren't talking about the 8, we're talking about the 0.
A layup by Lamb and a crazy layup by Kemba Walker gave Uconn an 11 point lead, and Alex Oriahki extended it with a bucket of his own. Connecticut's strategy of keeping Butler out of the paint worked like a magical charm. For 6:19, no points were added on to the Butler side of the scoreboard.
Butler would finally score on an Andrew Smith layup, but a dunk by Alex Oriahki, plus a free throw, put Connecticut up by 14. After a couple more baskets it went to the fouling game, and although Butler cut the deficit to 49-41, they sat back and watched 4 more free throws from Walker fall through the hoop, then confetti fall from the stadium. The Huskies were champions!
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