Times wires
Sunday, April 3, 2011
HOUSTON — Butler coach Brad Stevens loves an underdog, whether it's his team back in the Final Four or Connecticut making an unprecedented five-games-in-five-nights run through the Big East tournament.
A Big East team as an underdog? The coach at tiny Butler cheering for big, bad UConn?
Welcome to the bizarro world of college basketball in 2011 — a sport in which the story of a small school from a small conference making a run to a title is no more rare than that of the late-season magic conjured by a power program with one of the nation's best players.
Butler and UConn meet tonight in the national title game — the eighth-seeded Bulldogs trying to finish the deal after coming close last season and the third-seeded Huskies (31-9), led by Kemba Walker, talking about shocking the world with their 11th straight victory after a regular season that foreshadowed none of this.
"We were all rooting for UConn because it was a great story," Stevens said, "a lot of fun to follow."
As is Butler, the small school in Indianapolis that practices at Hinkle Fieldhouse, used as the backdrop for Hoosiers — the based-on-reality melodrama in which Hickory High stares down the biggest schools in Indiana and wins the state title. On its second try.
Last season, Butler (28-9) came one desperation heave from toppling Duke to become the first true mid-major to win the championship. This season, Butler wasn't even the biggest long shot at the Final Four. That was VCU, an 11th seed that fell to the Bulldogs on Saturday.
As recently as 2008, the NCAA Tournament landed all four No. 1 seeds in the Final Four. This year, there wasn't a single 1 or 2 for the first time in the 33-year history of seeding.
"It's as close to parity as there can be," UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. "It certainly can occur in a tournament a lot more than it could playing a Saturday night, then Big Monday. It's just the nature of things."
Led by Walker, a junior guard, UConn won five games in five nights to win the Big East tournament. A remarkable accomplishment in any conference, but especially the Big East — the 16-team behemoth that placed a record 11 teams in the NCAA Tournament this year.
UConn is still standing, a testament to Walker's playmaking ability (he's averaging 25.5 points during this 10-game winning streak) and Calhoun's ability to adjust to the fatigue.
"Our code has been very simple: 'The hell with it, let's just go play basketball,' " Calhoun said.
Butler, meanwhile, needed only two wins in four nights to capture the tournament title in the less-heralded Horizon League. Still, the Bulldogs are on a 14-game winning streak.
One win away from the pinnacle once again, the Bulldogs will try to finish the deal this time.
"We never thought we'd have this opportunity to be here, but we never think about it," guard Shelvin Mack said.
Maybe one of those days, the little guy will win it all.
"I think it's good for college basketball," said Calhoun, trying to become only the fifth coach to win three NCAA titles. "I think if it starts around 2012, 2013, it would be a wonderful thing."