By FITSNews || After watching arch-rival North Carolina celebrate a year ago, Duke is back on top of the college basketball world.
The Blue Devils – led by legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski – won their fourth NCAA tournament championship Monday night in Indianapolis with a bruising 61-59 win over the upstart Butler Bulldogs, who narrowly missed their chance to play hometown heroes.
Very narrowly, in fact …
Butler’s Gordon Hayward had two chances to pull off the improbable upset – first when he took an off-balance running jumper at the four-second mark that ended up being just a little bit too strong, and then when he lobbed a half court heave at the buzzer that actually drew iron after hitting off the backboard.
“We just came up a bounce short,” Butler coach Brad Stevens said after the game.
Indeed, but that’s no shame against one of the tournament’s No. 1 seeds – a team that manhandled basketball’s toughest conference and thrashed West Virginia by 21 points in the semifinals.
Butler was not intimidated, though, sticking with Duke every step of the way and clawing back at the last minute after Duke had gone up by five points with two minutes remaining.
Kyle Singler led Duke with nineteen points, but our game ball goes to the Blue Devils’ gargantuan 7′ 1″ center Brian Zoubek, who forced Hayward’s awkward last-second shot – one of many disruptive plays he made during the game. Zoubek also finished with two blocked shots and ten rebounds.
“Both teams and all the kids on both teams played their hearts out,” Krzyzewski said. “There was never more than a couple, a few points separating, so a lot of kids made big plays for both teams.”
All four of Duke’s championships – 1991, 1992, 2001 and 2010 – have come under Coach K. The Atlantic Coast Conference has now won five of the last ten tournaments – Duke’s two most recent wins, Maryland’s 2002 title and North Carolina’s 2005 and 2009 crowns.
By Truth Seeker April 6, 2010 at 2:27 am
Amen to that!
By James F. April 6, 2010 at 8:12 am
Here is something you never read in the MSM.
INDIANAPOLIS – He’s been cursed by fans from North Carolina and taunted in road arenas throughout the ACC. Still, the chant that Duke guard Jon Scheyer remembers the most occurred during an AAU game back in high school.
Time and time again as Scheyer dribbled up the court, the opposing coach stood on the sideline and barked orders to his players.
“Get the white boy!” the coach said. “Get the white boy!”
Scheyer was the only non-African-American on his team.“Obviously,” Scheyer said, “he was talking about me. I had a number and a name [on my jersey]. But instead it was ‘Get the white boy!’ “
Article from Yahoo Sports
4/5/10 -2:52AM
Jason King
Duke,Butler defy racial stereotypes
But you sure heard the lies about the Duke Lacrosse Team!
By sid April 6, 2010 at 9:10 am
Hey, what’s up with that picture? I thought Duke and Butler were “white” teams.
Technically, I don’t think Duke was the “tournament’s No. 1 seed.” I believe that was Kansas. I also think you’d get a lot of arguments about the ACC being “basketball’s toughest conference.”
By fitsnews April 6, 2010 at 9:17 am
People … it was a good game. Featuring two great teams.
There were some white players, there were some black players.
Is it really that big of a deal?
-FITS
By Dottie April 6, 2010 at 9:19 am
sic…scoop the state….
http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/david-kaplan-chicago-sports/2010/04/breaking-news-depaul-has-candidate-on-campus.html?loc=interstitialskip
By Myles Keogh April 6, 2010 at 9:28 am
Probably one of the best, most competitive National Championship games I have seen in a long time. Congrats to Duke and Coach K. Well earned. Congrats to Butler as well. They have a great team.
Butler and their coach reminded me a lot of Coach K’s first national championship game back in 1986 when Duke lost to Louisville by by 3 points. I hope Stephens stays at Butler cause if he does we could be witnessing a coach build up a program to prominence just like K did at Duke. Would be harder but possible.
By Concerned Charlestonian April 6, 2010 at 10:17 am
Purnell leaves Clemons for……DePaul?????
By sid April 6, 2010 at 10:36 am
Not even a small deal, for me, so don’t include me among the “People.” I was being sarcastic, since a previous discussion included some folks who chose to try to interject a race component.
By Harumph April 6, 2010 at 10:56 am
Damn good game. Damn good.
By Crooner April 6, 2010 at 11:59 am
Agree with Sid. Down year for the ACC, Big East probably tougher.
I sure wish they would have started the game at a reasonable time. I would have liked to have seen it all. A 9:21 tip on a Monday night? Hell, even ESPN moved up MNF. Screw the west coast.