There are so many things that went wrong during last night's National Championship game vs. Connecticut and they could have happened to the Huskies, but the Bulldogs were in fact victims of everything that could have gone wrong at the most inopportune times.
The Bulldogs played to the style of UConn and it worked for the Huskies. Connecticut outplayed and out-willed Butler to pull away in the 2nd half and win head coach Jim Calhoun's third National Championship, 53-41. Calhoun also won in 1999 and 2004.
UConn limited Butler to 12-of-64 (18.8 percent) shooting, the worst shooting performance in NCAA Championship game history. The Huskies can't really say that they shot considerably better. Shooting 19-of-55 (34.5%) overall and 1-11 (9.1 percent) from three-point range aren't numbers that come close to cracking any stat records by any means.
The problem that Butler had with UConn is that they weren't as big. The Butler frontcourt of Matt Howard and Andrew Smith just couldn't handle the size of the Huskies' inside presence of Alex Oriakhi, Roscoe Smith, Jeremy Lamb, Niels Giffey and Tyler Olander. Those five combined for 31 of UConn's 53 rebounds, including 11 from Oriakhi and Kemba Walker with 9.
Butler played with too much urgency in the second half to survive what UConn was throwing at them. Outscored 34-19 in the second half after leading 22-19 at halftime, the Bulldogs took every shot where they were given an inch to take one. With Chase Stigall knocking down a three with just 20 seconds gone by in the second half, Butler seemed confident. This was the point where UConn took over and didn't look back.
Alex Oriakhi's jump shot with 7:33 left, capped off at 22-6 run that left Butler stunned and trailing 41-28.
They say that all good things must come to an end. No one wanted this second consecutive Final Four and National Championship game run to end like it did. This Bulldog squad went through a lot in order to achieve the success that came with being exactly where they wanted to be Monday night in Houston.
Too many questions will be posed, if they haven't been already, all over television, print media and radio today. The bottom line consists of many answers that really aren't the best answers as to why Butler played they way they did last night. They almost played scared, taking so many inadvertant shots that they normally would feel a lot more confident when taking. They were forced to take shots that they just had to put up. UConn's defense was just in their face and Butler ultimately knew that shots had to be taken or they would have found themselves in a deeper hole than it ended up being.
It could have been a lot wider of a scoring margin than 12 points, that's for sure. Shawn Vanzant's two-point field goal with 12:32 left brought it back to a 33-28 deficit and still a glimmer of hope for the Bulldogs. Instead, Butler went stone cold from the field for the next 6:19 when Andrew Smith made a layup and the Dawgs trailing 41-30.
UConn shot 14-of-16 from the charity stripe. Butler struggled from the line, making only 8-of-14, most of those were missing the front or back ends of opportunities. It just puzzles me how players can't seem to capitalize and score at the free throw line with the clock stopped!
There are many questions that people want to ask, but won't get answered:
-Could they have been more patient on offense?
-Did free throws play that big of a role?
-Was their shot selection really as bad as it looked (12-of-64)?
-Were they out-matched size-wise down low?
-They defended Kemba Walker well. Should there have been more focus on defending Alex Oriakhi?
-Did the Bulldogs shoot way too many three-pointers (9-of-33)?
There are and will be plenty more questions or "what ifs" that people will always wonder about. Is it possible that Butler can get back to the Final Four next season. Absolutely. Seniors Matt Howard, Shawn Vanzant and Zach Hahn are three that will be missed at Butler, along with fellow seniors who were role players on the bench, Grant Leinedecker and Alex Anglin. There are already talks of Shelvin Mack possibly testing the professional basketball waters. He might think about attending the NBA camps this summer, but maybe just to get an idea from NBA scouts on where his personal game stands in regards to becoming a professional basketball player.
Next season, the Bulldogs could possibly do some more damage in the NCAA Tournament, just as they have these past two seasons. On the current roster, there are many returnees that could make Butler a great team again next year:
Name (2012 class)
1 Shelvin Mack (SR)
4 Erik Fromm (SO)
5 Ronald Nored (SR)
20 Chrishawn Hopkins (SO)
23 Khyle Marshall (SO)
30 Emerson Kampen
32 Garrett Butcher (SR)
33 Chase Stigall (JR)
44 Andrew Smith (JR)
Incoming 2012 freshman...
Andy Smeathers 6'6 forward Center Grove HS (Greenwood, IN)
Jackson Aldridge 6'1 guard Austrailian Institute of Sport (Austrailia)
Roosevelt Jones 6'4 guard/forward O'Fallon Township HS (Illinois)
Kameron Woods 6'8 forward Eastern HS (Kentucky)
I can't wait for the 2011-2012 version of Butler basketball. Brad Stevens will coach this team into something like they weren't predicted to do in 2010 and 2011. No one expected them to do what they've done. Stevens and his staff will find a way to mold this next group into another special team that is loved and appreciated, just like this group.
Congratulations on a great season Butler!! Also, to Matt Howard, Zach Hahn and Shawn Vanzant, thank you for 4 great years that you gave Butler Bulldog fans!! Your fame will live on forever in Butler Bulldog basketball lore!
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