--Close game, yes. Great game? One for the ages? Best ever? Hell no. First, take a look at the box score. Butler shot 32.8%, Duke 41.1%. The teams combined to go 11/37 from three point land and 23/35 from the free throw line. Second, think about whether you saw any overly athletic plays? Any great shots? Any dunks? No, no, and no (PYB does remember a Butler player getting rejected by the rim...hello D-II). To top it off, there was horrible officiating--not that that should surprise anyone.
Such is life when college basketball is completely watered down. The first final four in memory where there wasn't one outstanding team. Duke wins a title where the best team they played was Baylor--thanks to the NCAA selection committee. Butler almost pulls off a title, when 10 years ago a team of its skill level would have made the Sweet 16, at best, if it had the right draw. Creighton has had better teams than this. And somehow, some way, starting in the Syracuse game the Bulldogs got calls like they were the LA Lakers. Of course, the referees wanted to be part of history....part of the modern-day Hoosiers saga. Please spare us.
So, everyone had the right to enjoy this close game. The almost-game winning half court shot at the buzzer. The cross-body block (aka moving screen) that got Gordon Hayward open, that somehow wasn't called an offensive foul (See: refs hoping to be part of history). But if you'd watch this game a decade ago, and didn't see the names on the uniforms, you might think it was the Division II title game. Not one sure-fire NBA star on either roster, which of course is not the end-all of good basketball. But it is the main ingredient in the making of great games. Since PYB had its eyes on its laptop more than the game, last night does not qualify.
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