Everyone is saying that the Butler Bulldogs are finally going to meet their match tomorrow night when they face the Duke Blue Devils. And on paper they are right; the national championship game has all of the characteristics of a David vs. Goliath matchup. The powerhouse Duke Blue Devils hail from the illustrious Atlantic Coast Conference. The mid-major Butler Bulldogs from the modest Horizon League. Duke hopes to win its fourth title in 19 years, while Butler hopes to win its first in school history. Duke spends $394,068 per player; Butler spends $347,108 on their entire team. Duke has six McDonalds’s All-Americans on their team this year. Butler has never had one in school history. Duke’s coach Mike Kryzewski is one of the all-time greats who boasts 76 NCAA tournament victories, the highest tournament winning percentage among active coaches, three national championships, and an Olympic gold medal. Butler’s coach Brad Stevens (who was still in diapers when Mike Kryzewski took over at Duke) was mistaken for a player by the Final Four security a few days ago.
Fortunately for Brad Stevens and the Butler Bulldogs, basketball is not played on paper. If it were, then the Bulldogs probably wouldn’t be on a 25 game winning streak and coming off wins over the likes of Syracuse, Kansas State, and Michigan State. The secret to Butler’s success has been their ability to play suffocating defense. Last night against Michigan State, Butler shot a dreadful 15-49 from the floor, but the Bulldogs were able to sneak away with a win because of their impressive defense that held the Spartans to just 50 points.
The outcome of tomorrow night's game could very well rest in Butler's ability to contain the big three of Duke and keep the Blue Devils off the offensive glass. Last night, Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer, and Nolan Smith, combined for 63 points, 17 assists, 12 rebounds, and 12 three-pointers. They scored 63 of Duke’s 78 points, which was also 6 more points than the entire West Virginia “Brokeback” Mountain-eers scored. (Skip ahead to 1:15)
The good news for the Butler faithful is that the Bulldogs have just the players to defend the big three of Duke in Shelvin Mack, Shawn Vanzant, and Ronald Nored.
The Bulldogs must also do something that no one has been able to do thus far in the tournament: limit Duke’s second chance opportunities. The Blue Devils are the sixth best offensive rebounding team in the country, and the Duke big men do a great job of kicking their offensive boards to wide-open three point shooters. Last night, Butler showed their defensive rebounding ability as they only allowed Michigan State (another top-10 offensive rebounding team) to grab six offensive boards. But the bad news for Butler is that their star big men Matt Howard left last nights game with a minor concussion and is listed as a game-time decision. Bulldog fans need to pray that Howard is able to remember his name tomorrow night so that he can help keep the Dukies off the boards. If Butler is able to contain Duke’s big three and keep Duke’s bigs off the boards, then they have a chance to make history and become the first five seed ever to win a national championship.
-The Southern Gentleman
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