NCAA National Championship Game

Last week, against all odds, the #5 Butler Bulldogs beat Michigan State in an intense game to advance to the NCAA national championship game. The Duke Blue Devils smoked the West Virginia Mountaineers after West Virginia's star player, Da'Sean Butler, hurt his knee and was forced to sit out for the rest of the game.

Duke was the heavy favorite to win the national title, but Butler kept right with them for the entire game, and the lead changed 11 times. Butler was never down by more than 5 points, and they were down by 1 at the very end of the game.

A Blue Devil was fouled, and he drained his first free throw to give Duke a 2 point lead. On his next free throw he missed intentionally to give his 7 foot 1 center a chance for a rebound. However, Gordon Hayward, Butler's sharpshooter and leader of the team, leaped over his Duke opponents, grabbed the rebound, dribbled furiously past several Blue Devils until he got to about half court, and as the final second ticked off the clock, he launched up a prayer. . . that clanged off the backboard and over the rim.


The Duke Blue Devils rushed out onto the court, along with their famed coach Mike Krzyzewski (pronounced shah SHEF skee), while the players, coaches, and fans of Butler hung their heads. Their dream season was over. They had gone undefeated in their conference. They had won 25 games in a row. They had come so close to winning a national championship. . .

Perhaps if their best center, Matt Howard, hadn't gotten into foul trouble, Butler could've pulled off a win. It was a great game, but it would've been more enjoyable to watch if Butler won.