They were as gallant as they could be, but in the end, simply outmatched.
Riding a wave of momentum and representing every small school in the country that has dreamed about being there, Butler University ran into a wall in the championship game (otherwise known as the University of Connecticut Huskies), and fell woefully short by a score of 53-41 in a contest that was beyond ugly.
Both teams shot horribly from the field, but the Bulldogs set a new standard for futility at the worst possible time by connecting on only 12 of 64 shots from the field for an all-time championship game low of 18.8 percent. Butler also missed their first 21 shots in the paint, and while Connecticut could muster only 19 field goals in 55 attempts, the Huskies outscored Butler in the paint by a whopping 26-2 margin.
But this game was not solely decided by pathetic shooting percentages, as Connecticut pounded the ball inside all night and displayed a physical brand of defensive basketball that Butler was clearly unable to deal with.
Every time Matt Howard or Shelvin Mack looked to attack the basket they were met by multiple Connecticut defenders who derailed their efforts. Butler was limited to shots they would not normally settle for, and when they did not fall, it became a long night early on for the Bulldogs, who were appearing in their second Final Four.
While they couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean, Butler actually lead at halftime by a count of 22-19, courtesy of a Mack three point basket at the buzzer. Butler would connect for the first three points of the second half to stretch their lead to 25-19, and the Bulldog faithful were starting to think they had turned the corner.
But Connecticut smothered Butler with a physical defensive approach and went on a run that quickly turned Butler’s dreams into nightmares as the Huskies outscored the Horizon League champions by a count of 22-3, and for all practical purposes put the game on ice.
Connecticut was led by their “All Everything” guard Kimball Walker, who had 16 points and 9 rebounds to pace the Huskies. Walker had plenty of support from Jeremy Lamb, who ignited Connecticut’s second half run with 12 points and Alex Oriakhi, who posted 11 points and grabbed a game high 11 rebounds.
Butler was led by Shelvin Mack, who scored 13 points and pulled down 9 rebounds.
Danny Bridges, who apologizes to the Butler program for earlier saying they had no shot to get to the Final Four, can be reached at (317) 578-1780 or at Bridgeshd@aol.com.
