Connecticut 53 Butler 41 – One Dog of a Game

Anybody hear the joke about Matt Howard? He tried to shoot himself after the game last night! He missed. (rimshot)

I'll bet that if Plaxico Burress had three wishes from a genie, the first one would be able to go back to 2008 and have had Matt Howard's shooting ability from last night. 1

I will stick to my day job and leave the stand up to the professionals. Many pundits are calling the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament one of the best tournaments in 20 years. That may be true. However, the conclusion had a face that only a mother could love. “Connecticut Huskies”…”Butler Bulldogs”…there couldn’t have been two more aptly named teams for one dog of a performance. I could only imagine my part of a dialogue at a bar with one of my readers happening somewhat like the following:

Last night's game was a dog, with a face only a mother could love. 2

“Yesterday, I said that I thought Butler would win. Any time an informed sports prediction is off, there are one or more variables that factored differently into the equation than anticipated. I cited, specifically, that Butler’s defense would be too much for Connecticut to overcome. Hmm…how well did I do on that one?

Let’s see. Connecticut averaged 73 points per game this season. Butler held them to 20 fewer points. Check! UConn shot 43% during the season, not very hot to begin with. Butler’s defense held them to a paltry 35% from the field, including 1 of 11 from beyond the arc. Well maybe the Huskies’ ball handling was superb…oh never mind. Butler forced 11 Connecticut turnovers and the Huskies only managed 6 assists. I guess Butler’s defense was smothering.

A picture is worth a thousand words. 3

So, how did I miss on my projection? I thought Butler’s defense would be overpowering and it was. Did Butler fall behind early? They led at halftime! That’s right. Nobody can win a championship game with a mere 53 points, can they? Well, certainly, Butler must have suffered an injury to Matt Howard or Shelvin Mack, their best players. Oh? Both of them were healthy. Well then Matt Howard must have gotten himself into early foul trouble? Only two fouls the whole game…?

I don’t get it. Butler shot 45% all year and averaged 73 points per game? That doesn’t add up! Heck, if they just shot 40% they would have blown Connecticut out of the building! They didn’t shoot 40%? Even 35% would have…they shot LESS than 35%??? Looking at these numbers, even 30% would have kept the game awfully close. Butler shot HOW much? EIGHTEEN POINT EIGHT PERCENT!?!?!?! BARTENDER!!! Jager bombs, please!!!”

Butler's shooting coach.... 4

The Bulldogs shot 18.8% from the field, the lowest field goal percentage in the history of the title game. No game is played in a vacuum, but with all other factors held constant, Butler would have won the game if it had shot 30%, which is still laughable by any standard. Connecticut forced the Bulldogs to play to the Huskies’ up tempo pace and surrendered absolutely nothing in the paint, making the Bulldogs’ three point percentage more than 25 points higher than its percentage inside the three point line. Butler could not manage a 10% field goal rate inside the arc.

Connecticut got into early team foul trouble, handled the ball poorly, with an abundance of careless turnovers, could not buy a three point shot, trailed at the half, and only mustered 53 points. Not only did UConn not get blown out…not only did UConn win…the Huskies won by 12 points: a four to six possession margin! CBS’s long standing tradition of “One Shining Moment”, a music video with highlights of the tournament a the conclusion of the championship game broadcast, could have been renamed “Someone Had to Win”. Butler’s defense was excellent; UConn was nearly perfect. Connecticut’s shooting was poor; Butler’s shooting was almost non existent.

Don't get too full of yourselves. You guys won by default! 5

Congratulations to Connecticut and Coach Jim Calhoun, with his third National Championship at UConn. A win is a win, no matter how ugly. If you didn’t like what you saw, too bad...! In the words of Coach Calhoun, “Not a dime back!”

Not a dime back!

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1) Image from nydailynews.com
2) Image from stuckon-stupid.com
3) Image from goodnewspic.com
4) Image from smh.com.au
5) Image from theglobeandmail.com