9:24 – Houston, we have tip-off! The 2011 National Championship is underway and it’s a battle of the dogs. The UConn Huskies and the Butler Bulldogs are ready to square off and it should be an excellent game, maybe Brad Stevens can make due for his team’s heartbreaking 2 point loss in last year’s National Championship game against Duke…while Calhoun looks to bring home Connecticut’s third championship.
9:27 – U-G-L-Y…this game is looking bad right now. UConn leads 4-3 early but neither team can connect on close and long distance shots. Honestly, both teams look like they should be competing for the NIT Championship at the moment.
9:31 – First TV timeout, UConn up 4-3 and it is not looking good for either team. Kemba Walker is unusually out-of-control and the timeout comes following an abusive blocked shot on the Big East’s Player of the Year.
9:35 – Big three there by Howard, Butler is going to need their dynamic duo of Howard and Mack to show up tonight if they hope to have any chance against the bigger, faster, and more physical Huskies.
9:36 – Oriakhi sinks a baby shot, ending an 0-8 streak for the Huskies.
9:40 – Walker gets it going with his fifth straight point. A beautiful, slicing drive through the paint culminates with a Kemba “and-one.” That is a site Big East opponents have seen all too often this season. UConn leads 13-9.
9:47 – Nearing the half-way mark here in the first half and the game is 13-11 after a nice hook shot from Butler. Both of these teams seem to be a little nervous and without much composure. Butler has to be happy with the inefficiency of UConn at the moment.
9:51 – 9:02 remaining here and UConn is already in the bonus. Mack hits one of two free throws and the Huskies are still clinging to a one point lead.
9:54 – Long range “Jimmer” three there for Butler, putting the Bulldogs ahead by 1 (16-15) with 8:44 left in the half. Calhoun needs to get some offense on this possession because Butler usually feeds off big shots. Lamb is also on the bench with his second foul, that could hurt their already anemic scoring output.
10:05 – Almost three minutes to go here and not a lot has changed. UConn continues to look bad on offense, ditto Butler. At least the Bulldogs can rest on back-t0-back ultra-range threes. Tie score at 19-19.
10:07 – Walker commits a charge and now must sit the rest of the half with 2 fouls. So far the combination of Walker and Lamb has been grossly ineffective, hopefully for UConn and the Big East that doesn’t continue in the second half.
10:10 – Return of the Mack! After being held nearly scoreless throughout the first half, Sheldon Mack connects on a monster “eye-goggle” three to end the half. Stevens’s squad takes a three point advantage into halftime (22-19) and Connecticut finished the first period with no points over the last 6 minutes of the half…that’s right. Zero. Nada. Zilch. While there has to be something to say abut the fact that Walker and Lamb both have 2 fouls apiece and Butler boasts 6 total as a team, the Huskies look completely clueless right now.
10:36 – Second verse, same as the first. Butler opens up the second half with a deeeep three and builds up a 4 points lead.
10:39 – And there you go! Walker and Lamb combine for 5 straight and UConn clearly knows what they need to do to pull out the win. Keep feeding your stars and see what happens, it has worked all season hasn’t it? UConn leads 26-25.
10:46 – Now it’s Butler’s turn to go stone cold from the field. Mack and Co. are 1-10 for the field this half while UConn is playing with a lot of energy on both ends of the court. Where is Matt Howard?
10:49 – Silence from the Lamb! A tip-out steal leads to fast break slamma jamma for the freshman Lamb. If the Bulldogs don’t respond soon this game could get out of their control, as Kemba and Lamb are running the show right now. UConn extends the lead to 5, 31-26.
10:54 – Butler connects on their first basket since their three to open the half. And yet they find themselves down by only 5. 33-28 going into the timeout.
11:01 – Four straight from UConn’s Lamb and a beautiful, twisting finger-roll form the All-Star Walker and the Huskies are up by 11 (39-28). Butler did fight back from this same deficit against Florida, but UConn is in complete control right now.
11:07 – Butler has scored 8 points this half and there is less than 7 to play. Just absolutely horrific offense from the Bulldogs, they literally just got their first points in the paint…just astonishing. Oriakhi’s thunderous “and-one” dunk gives UConn a 13 point lead with the free throw to come after the timeout. This game has been ugly all around but the Big East Champions definitely look superior in every regard.
11:12 – Matt Howard is alive! I thought a Monstar had stolen his powers and was running roughshod on the street courts of Houston. His two free throws pulls Butler to within 12 but the Huskies keep getting easy looks in the paint.
11:14 – A three from Butler cuts the lead to 11 but Calhoun’s troops continue to play stifling defense. Ball back to the Huskies now.
11:18 – Back from the last media timeout here at the 2011 NCAA National Championship and the University of Connecticut is up by 13. Under three minutes to go now and this is UConn’s game to lose now.
11:21 – Mack snags his fourth point of the half on a clutch three but it’s not going to be enough. Lamb continues to score and now boasts 12 points in the half.
11:22 – Don’t look now but Sheldon Mack just collected his second three. However, Walker answers on the other end after an obvious intentional foul that wasn’t called. It’s a ten point game with under 1 minute to play.
GAME OVER – The University of Connecticut Huskies are the champions of college basketball for the 2010-2011 season. After completing a stunning 5-game run through the Big East tournament to capture the championship, Walker and Lamb led their team through a dream stretch in the NCAAs to bring home UConn’s third National Championship.
Player of the Game: Jeremy Lamb – His 12 second half points were key to his team’s success and whenever there was a play to be made or a rebound to be had, Lamb was there to bring home the bacon. Kemba Walker was undoubtedly the team’s greatest player in the tournament, but Lamb stole the show tonight…and he is only a freshman.
State of the Game: 18% Butler set the record for the worst shooting performance ever in an NCAA National Championship game. They only recorded 19 points in the second half and nearly half of those came in the closing minutes. Though UConn was the more impressive team, and their defense surely had an effect on Butler’s performance, Brad Stevens’ team has no one but themselves to blame for this loss…unfortunately for the small private school from Indianapolis, it is their second in row a National Championship game.
UCONN WINS! THE BIG EAST CAPTURES YET ANOTHER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP! ALL IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD!
thebigbeast 