Welcome to our live blog of the Butler-Connecticut championship game. It’s not the marquee heavyweight fight many may have been hoping for but it’s hard to find a more intriguing matchup.
Butler has made their second straight run to the final and they are not quite the underdog this year. With Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard, they have two of the three best players in tonight’s game. And Brad Stevens is arguably the best coach in America right now- Coach K be damned. We were trying to avoid making any Hoosiers references but we’ll just go along with all the other cool kids: that 1954 Milan HS team that the movie was based on and has been compared to this Butler team, well they lost in the championship game the year before winning the movie inspiring title.
As for Connecticut, they have Kemba Walker. That’s been good enough all March long and Saturday night. King Kemba has been the best player in college basketball this season, dominating like no one else. The Huskies have displaced any fatigue issues by winning 10 games since March 8 in the Big East and NCAA tournament. Can they win just one more?
Mike Vorkunov and Max Scheiner will be here all night long as we follow the game live.
Max: I’m so glad this isn’t a Duke-Kansas or North Carolina-UCLA final. Championship games between big time programs just aren’t that interesting. Would you really care if one of those schools adds another championship trophy to their already cluttered mantle? I know I wouldn’t. But tonight? Butler vs. UConn. David vs. Goliath. Good vs. Evil. Brad Stevens vs. Jim Calhoun, who is old enough to be Stevens’ grandfather. Let’s do this!
Making it to two straight championship games is a huge accomplishment in itself. But Butler? Really? A small school out of the Horizon League with a head coach that looks like the nerdy high school kid who works at Dairy Queen? Amazing.
Mike: I’d love to see a battle of the beasts like Kansas-Ohio State because you see a larger number of NBA-level players and the quality of play would probably be better but in terms of general appeal and intrigue, you’re right. This is so much better. You have the best player in the country against one of the best coaching tacticians. And it’s not like UConn was expected to be here either.
Mike: Just like Butler, referee John Cahill making his 2nd straight appearance in the final. No, you can’t compare him to Hoosiers.
What’s differentiates Kemba from other star players is that he doesn’t use the first half or so to let his teammates contribute and get them going, a la how Jordan or Kobe would do it (yes I know they’re in the NBA and he’s not). He attacks right away, with three shots already in the first 3:25. He just tries to dominate from start to finish.
Max: This can’t be understated: are we really, REALLY, watching Butler play in the national title game AGAIN? Just ridiculous.4-3 UConn
Mike: First media timeout of the game at the 15:57 mark and UConn leads 4-3. Kemba is 0-4 shooting while Butler is 1-5 from 3pt-land. It hasn’t been pretty so far.
Max: Is it me, or is basketball on TV much better from the baseline angle? It’s much easier to see a play develop from behind. I would assume that the reason for the traditional sideline angle is that in the past, there was only one camera, and the best place to put that one camera was the sideline. Now? There are multiple cameras at every game, so why not always broadcast from the baseline angle? It’s definitely something to consider.
Mike: Hey Max, how impressive has Jeremy Lamb been since March 1. He’s got such great length and athleticism. If he didn’t become a consistent second option for UConn, I don’t think they get here. Hope he doesn’t come out early for the draft. I feel like if he stays for next year, he could be a lottery pick.
Max: I have a man crush on Jeremy Lamb, I can’t lie. He’s just such a well rounded player: long wingspan, smooth stroke, high basketball IQ. He’s been the key to UConn’s run; we all knew what Kemba could do, but we weren’t sure about his supporting cast.
Max: Over/under on number of times Jim Nantz mentions The Masters tonight? I say 8. I love Steve Kerr and all, but this game would be much better off with Gus Johnson and Bill Raftery on the call. Just saying.
Mike: Doesn’t everyone wish that would be the announcing team? And throw in Jay Bilas. At least Nantz isn’t using his golf voice tonight. That’s not the norm for him.
Mike: UConn holding a 13-9 lead as Kemba hits two in a row, going to the basket for his last bucket and making the old school three-point play. We’re eight minutes in and he’s already taken seven shots.
Mike: Butler is 2-15 shooting, both of those makes are three-pointers. Ouch.
Max: Now 3-16. Butler only trails by two. I think if you told Brad Stevens before the game, ten minutes into the game, that his team would be shooting under 20% yet still only down two, he’d take it.
Mike: How alluring is this Butler team and their story? My girlfriend is watching. Making that her first and probably only college basketball game of the year.
Max: Oh, how I hate the possession arrow. So random. Just make it a jump ball. Would that really be that difficult or time consuming?
Mike: Two fouls for Lamb and Alex Oriakhi. That’s big because the Huskies’ bench isn’t that deep or that good.
Max: JIMMER RANGE!
Stigall from Jimmer range!
Mike: I’ll throw in some tweets throughout this thing to freshen it up. This feels like a good time.
@BrendanPrunty: I’m convinced Andrew Smith doesn’t have hands. Those things where his hands are located are a hologram or something. Because they don’t work
@LennRobbins: FITTING THAT THIS GAME IS BEING PLAYED IN A FOOTBALL STADIUM,,,SORRY FOR CAPS LOCK
Mike: That last one was just funny.
Max: Butler being outscored in the paint fourteen to nothing. And yet still they still only trail by three. Something tells me Butler has UConn exactly where they want them.
Mike: But with UConn up three and Kemba shooting just 3-10, do the Huskies have Butler where they want them?
And right as say that, Mack with a three to tie the game up at 19 with 3:49 left in the first half.
Mike: This whole CBS/Turner tourney combo has had its highs and lows but how great has Steve Kerr been? Like he’s been covering the college game all year long.
Max: Tied at 19 with three minutes left in the first half? An optimist would call this a defensive battle. A realist would say that this has been one of the most poorly played halves in championship game history.
Mike: I know this may seem trite and maybe blasphemous, but with Kemba shooting 3-11 so far and struggling against Kentucky: is Kemba spent?
@HarveyAraton: When women play sloppy like this, critics always say they are setting the game back
Mike: Roscoe Smith is not a good decision maker. He gets an offensive foul there. And there was this.
Mike: Mack from about 24 feet with a three-pointer to beat the first half buzzer! That’s six points in a row for Butler and they go into the half leading 22-19.
Max: Steve Kerr brings a different element to the table compared to Nantz and Kellogg. Kerr actually adds interesting and intriguing commentary. Nantz and Kellogg are like the Tim Duncan of broadcasting crews. Sure, they’re solid all around, and very good at what they do, but they’re just kind of boring.
Mike: Up three, we’re 20 minutes away from BUTLER as national champions.
@FisolaNYDN: What are the Vegas odds of Jim Nantz saying “The Butler did it!” at the final buzzer should Butler prevail?
Mike: I’d say 5-2 at this point.
Max: Greg Anthony just said this is one of the worst halves of basketball he’s ever seen. My opinion now feels validated.
Mike: “The team that made six field goals now has the lead. That’s sad.”- Charles Barkley.
Max: Wonderfully creative sign made by a fan of Rice University, which could be seen in the background of the CBS halftime show. “RICE OWLS. We didn’t make it to the Final Four this year. But neither did Texas.”
Max: I really hate to be a party pooper but even if Butler wins this game, it still doesn’t erase the pain of losing the title game last season. If Gordon Hayward’s halfcourt shot went in, it would have been the greatest ending to a championship game in sports history, with no close second. I find myself watching the video of that shot, over and over again, hoping that eventually it will go in. Yes, I’m quite deranged.
Mike: On top of that, they’d have beaten DUKE- a No. 1 seed- a long run away from their campus. I wouldn’t even go watch that movie.
Charles Barkley: “This game reminds me of my high school days before I was rich and successful. I used to go out with ugly girls.”
@AKinkhabwala: Did Charles Barkley just say before he was rich he used to only date ugly girls?
@usat_jzillgitt: Those complaining about the NCAA title game: A lot of college hoops looks like this. It can be ugly. Doesn’t mean it isn’t competitive.
Max: Lowest scoring half in a championship game since 1946. And FORTY of those games since were played without a shot clock. Yowza.
Max: 41 combined points for UConn and Butler in the first half at Reliant Stadium, which of course the NFL’s Houston Texans call home. In Week Six of the NFL season, the Texans and Chiefs combined for 45 points in the second half of a 35-31 Texans win.
@ballinisahabit: Another three from Stigall starts the half. Butler up six. That lead looks insurmountable right now.
Mike: UConn with seven points in a row and they take a 26-25 lead. Is this offense we’re seeing?
Max: Great anticipation by Kemba on that long rebound. He started the fast break well before he even had the ball, doing a great job reading the ball off the rim.
Mike: First media timeout of the second half and UConn has the lead. Kemba is still off but they are up, 27-25.
@bruce_arthur: Prince and the Blouses would DOMINATE this game.
Max: Combined, UConn and Butler are shooting 19-79 from the floor, which is just under 25%. I thought the women’s final was tomorrow night.
Mike: Oof, please direct your emails to Max Scheiner. But on that note, guy rooting the hardest for Butler tonight? Geno Auriemma
Mike: Heat check shot by Lamb and he bricks it. Does anyone in this game really deserve a heat check? UConn leads 33-28 with 11:50 to go.
Max: Wow, 28 minutes in, that really was only the second two point field goal that Butler has made in this game. That’s…unfathomable.
Mike: I feel like I’m solely writing about UConn and you’re touching on Butler. Want to switch?
Mike: Guess not. Napier goes with the backdoor alley-oop to Lamb for a touch finish to extend the lead to 37-28. Andrew Smith answers for Butler with a missed layup. Oh, oops.
Mike: Now that lead is in double-digits, 39-28, after Kemba finishes at the rim and Brad Stevens needs a timeout.
Max: UConn is a on a 20-3 run.
@DVNJr: Jim Nantz’s Hackneyed Metaphors: A tradition like no other.
@bomani_jones: i don’t care if it’s 20-3. when it takes 9 mins to score 20 points, it’s not exactly a run. like a trot against a one-legged man.
Max: UConn has nine blocked shots on the night. Butler has eight field goals. I wonder how many times in NCAA history that has happened over the course of a full game. My guess is not many.
Mike: Stop the Internets, Butler scored a basket!!
Mike: And then Oriakhi answers with a jam and he’s fouled. Media timeout, Huskies lead 43-30 while Butler is shooting 17 percent (9-53) from the field.
Max: “Walker, Texas Ranger?” Really, Jim Nantz, REALLY? Kindly retire, please.
@AdamHache: A shame fans didn’t get a better title game in one of the better tourneys we’ve seen
Mike: It’s 11:11 everybody wish for some made jumpers.
Max: Butler’s best shooter tonight? Chase Stigall, at 3-11 (27%). There are no words.
Mike: This must be what watching Big Ten basketball every night must feel like.
@defiantlydutch: Butler’s lone hope is the 25-point shot. #RockAndJock
Max: Butler keeping a glimmer of hope alive. Even if they somehow shut out UConn the rest of the way, it’s too bad that it will take them another 20 minutes of basketball to score 10 points.
Mike: Back to back Mack threes make this an eight-point game, 49-41, with 1:39 remaining. But after a foul, Butler is now in the double-bonus the rest of the way. Walker hits two free throws and UConn extends the lead to ten.
Mike: 30 seconds remaining untiL UConn completes a miraculous run.
Mike: That last possession for Butler sums it up: 2 missed threes and then a missed hook from Matt Howard.
Mike: It’s all over. “The Huskies are top dog” as they “win best in show” 53-41. Kemba Walker with a game-high 16 points.
@bruce_arthur :”But one thing was VERY CLEAR tonight in Houston. CONNECTICUT … wins best in show.” — Jim Nantz, doubling down.
@FisolaNYDN: Please, someone make Jim Nantz stop with the dog puns. He just might be the whitest man in America
Mike: OK, that’s it for us. Thanks for sticking around. We’ll see you next season.
.http://twitter.com/HarveyAraton/status/55088917959024640
Charlie Brown got a rock, Butler and Connecticut are shooting rocks. William Refrigerator Perry is a bricklayer and Butler and UCONN tonight so far also. Hinkle Fieldhouse may be rocking but Foxwoods Casino can’t be happy
The worst ncaa championships game ive ever seen.