Prediction: Duke-Butler NCAA Championship Game
Most will bill it (incorrectly, mind you) as David versus Goliath.
In fact, Butler -- not Duke -- has the NCAA's longest winning streak (25 games). And as pointed out by ESPN.com's Eamonn Brennan, Butler became the first team since the 1985 Villanova Wildcats to hold five consecutive tournament opponents to 60 points or less.
That said, Duke opened as a 6.5-point favorite over Butler, the team that plays its home games at the same gym that was used to shoot the movie "Hoosiers," in Monday night's NCAA Championship game in Indianapolis.
As CNBC's Darren Rovell tweeted (via NBC Sports' Mike Miller) regarding player expenses, Duke spent more per player than Butler spent as a team. And in the everyone-roots-for-the-underdog manner, ESPN's Pat Forde wrote (of Duke basketball fans), "If you thought people were predisposed to root against your team before now, the dislike just went off the charts."
With a victory over Duke, Butler coach Brad Stevens, who is 33 years old, would become the second-youngest to ever win a national championship. The youngest was Indiana's Branch McCracken, who was 31 in 1940.
Monday night's game could come down to Duke's ability to limit Gordon Hayward, who is often compared to Duke's Kyle Singler, versus Butler's ability to contain Duke's trio of Singler, John Scheyer and Nolan Smith.
“I don’t know if it’s me matching up versus him; I think it’s our team matches up versus them,” Hayward said [of Singler].
Hayward, who DraftExpress.com projects as the 21st pick in their 2010 NBA Mock Draft, credits teammates by saying "...they sure do make me look good."
Another key will be the health of Butler PG Shelvin Mack (dehydration) and F/C Matt Howard (concussion) as they try to keep Duke from winning its fourth title under Coach K. Howard will be a game-time decision.
My brackets, which featured a Kansas-over-Kentucky final and no resemblance to this Final Four whatsoever, makes my updated prediction for the championship completely irrelevant. (But, then again, when has that ever stopped me?)
So here goes: Butler 68, Duke 65
Here are some other predictions:
- MidwestSportsFans.com: Butler 65, Duke 62
- BlueGrassPreps.com: Butler 61, Duke 59
- CollegeHoops.net: Duke win by more than 7
- LayupDrill.com: Duke 68, Butler 59
