Last night was the NCAA national championship game and Connecticut defeated Butler 53-41. It was a game so ugly that only a mother could love it, or maybe basketball coaches. I agree, it was ugly, very ugly, but was played in a way that was conducive to Butler having a chance. Because of that it was interesting to watch. Why? Why was it so ugly? First, I believe that both teams came out to play hard. No easy anything for either team on offense. It seemed that very few shots were wide open or uncontested. The rotations were quick, hands were up and within reach to block or contest each shot. Inside, everything was physical and even though it looked like both teams were getting wide open looks, they weren't. I will watch it again and see, but it was a highly contested defensive game and UCONN was able to get a few more easier shots in the second half. I guess it comes down to your perspective on what "wide open" means. To me, it is catching the ball, checking the wind, and shooting. Not catching and releasing quickly because the defense is giving you nothing. Inside, wide open is not a 6'8 to 6'10 guy running across the lane attempting to block your shot when you are 6'4.
Second, I believe that if the officials would have called the game somewhat tighter it would have allowed for some of those contested shots to be a little more open. More FT's and more scoring, but they were letting it go on both sides and UCONN handled it better.
Third, Butler's lack of confidence started to show in the second half. It looked as if no one on the team wanted to shoot and every shot seemed like the last thing the shooter wanted to do. The more you miss it can become like a virus and spread to everyone on the team.
Fourth, in the first half, I truly enjoyed watching both teams compete and play hard. It was a championship defensive effort and really was for both teams throughout the game. 53-41...amazing. When you think about the UK vs. UCONN game being 54-53 defense was at a high level for UCONN in those two games. Defense wins championships.
It was interesting to follow so many people's comments during the game on facebook and twitter. Most of the people I follow on facebook are fans of the game, there are some coaches but most watch from a different perspective. I didn't say all, but most. And unequivocally they thought it was a terrible game (I don't think so, but I do agree with the word ugly). On twitter I follow mostly college and high school basketball coaches. Men and women who spend much of their time on basketball working to improve themselves and their teams and they were unequivocally enjoying the game.
Does that mean that I am right or that basketball coaches are right? No, last night was a game, a game played by young men in an ugly manner and everyone's opinion will be different. It doesn't make you unintelligent or even uninformed, but I found it interesting the different take by many of my "friends" in their varied backgrounds.
Now comes the awful situation that the NCAA has been put in or allowed themselves to be put in. UCONN is on probation, their coach will be suspended for 3 games next season and they are still under investigation. How bad will it be if the trophy is taken from UCONN? Maybe then, though, many people will get their wish and it will be recorded that the game never occurred.
