UConn is your men’s hoops national champs after beating Butler, 53-41, tonight in Houston.
Here’s what we saw in the title game:
1. The first half wasn’t so bad
The first 20 minutes of the national championship tilt were roundly trashed around halftime. But they weren’t that bad. Sure, there weren’t many points. That doesn’t mean it was bad basketball. The shooting? Poor. The defense? Fantastic. There’s something to be said for the latter, at least. Oh, that’s right. If you started watching basketball past 2005 or so, “defense” means a team trying to stop the other team from scoring. Weird, right?
2. The second half was that bad
What a snoozer the second 20 minutes were. A very talented UConn team had its way with a team from a mini-conference. Yawn. How many people watched this thing to the bitter end? Thirty-two?
3. It’s disappointing, but it’s for the best
Everyone with a soul wanted Butler to win this game. But it’s better they didn’t. The Bulldogs had absolutely nothing, from shooting to rebounding to passing. If they’d won, they would have gone down as the least-deserving championship team ever. Better to walk away as a two-time loser than the product of a flukey run of upsets. UConn simply did what it had to do, and walked out with a trophy for its efforts.
