John Riordan
AFTER a gripping month of March Madness, the NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship final proved to be an ugly anti-climax - but for Jim Calhoun and his University of Connecticut Huskies, it was the perfect end to an incredible season.
It was a sad evening for the losers from Indianapolis, the Butler University Bulldogs who, despite playing off a budget one fifth the size of the newly-crowned champions, had made it to their second final in a row.
Last year they almost beat Duke at the buzzer in an incredible finish. This year, they failed to draw on that experience and looked a spent force just after half-time even though they had taken a strangely muted 22-19 lead into the break.
But the Huskies came back out a different side, Calhoun claiming afterwards that a few choice words had really shaken up his team. From the moment they took the lead, they never looked back, charging to a 53-41 victory, the university’s third title.
All three of those titles came under Calhoun’s watch who, at 68, is the oldest coach to ever secure the top prize.
“It’s so special for our players, our university, our fans,” said Calhoun afterwards.
“This group of kids have given me a year that any coach would wish for. It’s wonderful to bring it back to Connecticut. It’s the happiest moment of my life.
“We made some good adjustments. We gave them some shots in the first half and the half-time speech was rather interesting. i’m glad there were no cameras in there.”
UConn did it the hard way. Having being out of the picture in the pre-season rankings, they had a very average regular season in the high profile Big East conference. Led by Bronx-born guard and NBA prospect, Kemba Walker, they came to life in the Big East tournament in Madison Square Garden, winning it outright.
They carried that form into National Championship where the bigger seeds fell away during a remarkably open tournament at the end of which they were the only ones left standing after what was the lowest scoring championship game since North Carolina State beat Houston on this day in 1983 (54-52).
And yet, Walker still top scored for his side, notching 16 points, further building his portfolio ahead of the NBA draft. He fell four points short of the tournament record. His freshman team mate Jeremy Lamb (12 points), a star all along, had a quiet night before a second half burst proved key for his team.
“After we lost to Virginia Tech last season, the coach gave me the keys and I just drove,” Walker said afterwards. “We had a lot of doubters but I told everyone in our team that we were going to go for it and be there for each other.”
By contrast, it was a particularly frustrating night for two of the Butler players who ended up tasting disappointment for the second year in a row: Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack shared 20 points as their side suffered a total offensive collapse.
But the nations favourite underdogs won’t be forgotten for a long time.
“Our guys fought,” said Butler coach Brad Stevens. “If we hit a couple more shots, we’d have been in it. What they’ve done for Butler University, what they’ve done for the sport... you can’t even put it into words.”
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/CzB3W2ux5aE/post.aspx
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