David vs. Goliath?

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

Hoosiers Part 2: Gordon Hayward and Company

I think we have all seen the classic sports movie “Hoosiers” (with the exception of my ignorant co-writer the Breeneback) about a small-town Indiana high school basketball team that wins the state championship. On the back of Jimmy Chitwood, Hickory High School is able to overcome overwhelming odds to beat a deeper and more athletic South Bend team. This movie is also the story of the Butler Bulldogs, who have proven time and time again this year that they are a better basketball team than the big schools with big money. Every day the Bulldogs walk into practice on the same court where Hoosiers was filmed, which is also a mere 6 miles away from where the Bulldogs will play their final four game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Fortunately, the Bulldogs also have their own Jimmy Chitwood in guard/forward Gordon Hayward, who has been so originally nicknamed baby faced assassin (pictured left).
Sure I knew Gordon Hayward was a good college basketball player when he was honored as the Horizon League Player of the Year this year, but until I watched him play against Syracuse and Kansas State, I didn’t understand just how good he really is. Hayward is arguably the most versatile player in college basketball this year and he has his father to thank for that. Both of Gordon’s parents are 5’9” so when he was growing up his father, believing that Gordon was destined to be short too, pushed his son to work on his guard skill set. To everyone’s surprise, Gordon actually grew to be 6’9” 207 pounds. So Gordon Hayward is a guard in the body of a power forward. How many power forwards can do this: (look at what he does at the 35 second mark)

These Hoosier teams are similar in their commitment to solid fundamental defense and just playing old school basketball. Having a dad who is a basketball coach who always preaches the old school style of basketball, I can’t help but appreciate what Butler does on the defensive end. The art of the box out is lost among most basketball teams across the country; now it is all about out jumping the guy on the other team. But Butler did a great job blocking out yesterday, enabling them to outrebound a bigger, more athletic Kansas State team 36-27. As for the man defense Butler runs the majority of the game, it is the best team defense I have seen all year. The Bulldogs are very disciplined and, as a result, have very few breakdowns and give up very few easy buckets.
As much as the Bulldogs have screwed my bracket over (I had UTEP upsetting them in the first round), they are my new favorite team in the tournament. Butler plays basketball the way it is supposed to be played, and the players have great (humble) attitudes that you never see anymore these days. Don’t be surprised if the Butler Bulldogs finish with a storybook ending and cut down the nets in Indy. Also, watch for Brad Stevens to continue to out coach whomever they face. He is only 33, but trust me, Brad Stevens has a very long, successful career ahead of him in basketball. Who knows, he may even draw up the “picket fence” to get Hayward an open shot to win a game.

-The Southern Gentleman

The End of the "Mid-Major"

The end of the term “mid-major” is finally upon us. By definition mid-majors are teams that are in conferences other than the big 6. And if the tournament thus far isn’t an indication that the discrepancy between the big 6 and the other conferences no longer exists, then I don’t know what is. Of the 16 teams remaining in the field, 5 of them are so called “mid-majors.” And we automatically consider these teams as underdogs just because they play in conferences such as the Horizon league and the Atlantic 10. But this era of college basketball where the best players are one-and-done has really leveled the playing field. While the big names schools may get the best players, their coaches have to spend the entire season babysitting and keeping their young stars’ egos in check, hindering their ability to coach. The coaches send their athletes on the floor and hope their talent alone allows them to make plays and win games.

On the other hand, mid-major schools get players who are not as highly touted out of high school and need four years of college basketball to develop their game. In these four years, the mid-majors develop great chemistry that seems to elude the big 6 teams because they lose their players early on to the NBA. And their coaches don’t have to deal with prima donnas, so they are able to coach without the drama. This is exactly how Jim Boeheim managed to get out coached last night by a man who looks like he just graduated from the eighth grade, Brad Stevens (pictured above).
After watching the game last night, I am convinced that Butler is simply a better team than Syracuse. A lot of people think that the recipe for an upset is for the underdog to sit back in zone and hope the favorite has a bad shooting night, while the underdog knocks down a bunch of threes. But last night Butler’s strategy was anything but passive. The Bulldogs aggressive man defense never allowed the Orange to get comfortable, forcing Syracuse to turn the ball over 18 times and creating Syracuse’s largest half time deficit of the season. As for the underdog needing to hit the long ball, Butler shot a measly 6-24 from behind the arc…so much for that. The score doesn’t do Butler justice; they dominated all aspects of the game and are just a much better basketball team than the Orange, plain and simple. For most of the Butler Bulldogs it is nothing but “babies and memories” after this tournament, so they are going to continue to play their hearts out in hopes of a return home to Indianapolis for the Final Four.

-The Southern Gentleman