Bedeviled Butler
When Gordon Heyward launched that 35 foot shot as time was expiring, everyone wanted that ball to go in. It really would have been Hoosier's 2, the Butler story. It would have rocked the sporting world. The Butler win would have ranked up there with Miracle on ice 1980 U.S. Hockey team, Namath's jets upsetting the Colts and Texas beating USC in the Rose Bowl. The shock wave through the sports world would have been mammoth. But alas, it hit the front rim and Duke escaped with Coach K's fourth title. Coach K wanted to talk about his team's amazing story but the game was and will always be about how Butler almost did the impossible.
A Little History
In the history of the tournament, the odds of a true mid-major making it to the Final Four and winning it is almost unheard of. True "mid-major" is a team that does not have any national name recognition, teams that haven't been true national powers. George Mason made the Final Four in 2006 and got blown out. Before that, Utah led by Andre Miller, Michael Doleac and Rick Majerus got run beat by UNC. I'm not counting UNLV because they had an all-star lineup when they run, Louisville is another national program as well as Memphis and Marquette. The "mid-major" has never really had a real shot of winning until last night and that is why this will sting a little more for Butler and all the rooters of the little guy.
Butler had their opportunities to win the game. They missed too many point blank layups and free throws. I said that they needed a Villinova effort to win and they did that on the defensive end, just not on the offensive end. For the hard core basketball fans, that game was an instant classic. You team defense, smart and efficient players who listen to their coaches. Both teams played the game the right way.
But you still wanted that shot to go in...
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