Duke may have won the National Championship yesterday, but the Butler Bulldogs are the real winners. People may say there are no moral victories in sports, but all one would have to do is watch last night’s game to prove them wrong. Now it might not be a true ‘Cinderella Story’ since Butler was a 5th seed and was a highly ranked team all year. In fact if anything, Butler should have been a 3rd or 4th seed, but wasn’t because they play in a small conference. What this story is really is a ‘David vs. Goliath’, and while David didn’t win, it is a great story nonetheless.

Butler is the smallest school to reach the Championship game since the field expanded to 64 (65) teams in 1985. And while they might have been a highly ranked team, their seeding and respect level in the Tournament fell given their deficiencies. Those weaknesses should have long ago been exposed, but it was figured that they would be fully visible against Duke the ‘Goliath’. Butler couldn’t match up with Duke’s size, athleticism, and strength. And Butler didn’t have a chance to compete with Duke’s pedigree, not only with their school and coach, but their entire roster. Duke is made up of a whole stable of 5-star recruits, with a few 4-star players thrown in their. On paper the Bulldogs didn’t have a chance, and that’s exactly what we heard for 48 hours from every talking head in college basketball.

No one thought Butler’s defensive style could slow down Duke, yet the Blue Devils managed just 61 points. And no one thought that the Bulldogs could run with Duke and keep the game close, but Butler never trailed by more than 6 points. It really was a fantastic game from start to finish, because the entire time Butler was in the game, and you believed that they could upset the Blue Devils. I was amazed with how well Butler dictated their game plan on Duke. And was highly impressed with their ability to avoid unnecessary fouls (for the most part), especially when some of their players were in foul trouble. Butler exceeded every expectation, and in fact when Gordon Hayward’s final shot left his hands I thought it was going to fall. Because Butler deserved to win that game, and very well could have if one or two plays turned out differently.

I think there was a blown call on the Hayward charge late in the game that unfortunately, should have been an and one situation. Those two points would have tied the game, and had Hayward made his free throw (he went 8 for 8 from the line), Butler would have been up by one as the clock ticked away. All-in-all though I don’t think you can blame this game on the officiating. While I think they let Duke get away with some extra contact in the 1st half, they called a much closer game in the 2nd half.  The difference in the game was Butler wasn’t able to capitalize on their opportunities.

The Bulldogs really did control the tempo of the game, but were plagued with some cold shooting. Their 34.5 % shooting was 11% off their season average. The worst part about it is a number were open shots, and a bunch more were drives to the basket that they were just too strong. I really think their inexperience and the big game played into their cold shooting day. Had Butler been able to shoot like they did during the season, they would have won last night’s game handily.

While we might have to endure a year of Duke being the National Champions, and inexplicably they will be a highly ranked team next year despite the fact pretty much everyone is leaving, Butler will finally get the credit they deserve. They will be back and if Gordon Hayward doesn’t turn pro, they will be a very dangerous team next season. And don’t be surprised if Butler makes a return trip the the Final Four and Championship game.

It was the tale of two games last night in watching the Final Four. The Butler vs. Michigan State game was indicative of the entire tournament. A mid-major team ‘upsetting’ a perennial powerhouse team. And to add to the drama the game came down to the last shot, with the ‘home team’ Butler Bulldogs surviving against Michigan State, one game away from turning their dream into a reality. Game two though was anything but reminiscent of the tournament, and can only be described as a nightmare for any West Virginia fan (or anyone who hates Duke). Not only did the Blue Devils dominate on their way to a 21 point victory, but WVU saw their star player Da’Sean Butler fall to a horrific knee injury (which of course the foul was called on WVU).

While Duke was well in control of the game, you could put a ‘W’ on the scoreboard as soon as Butler went down. He has been their most consistent player all season and if anyone could spark the comeback it would have been him. But with 9 minutes remaining in the game Butler was down on the ground and the Mountaineers were down for the count. Already without one key starter, the loss of Butler was too much for WVU to handle. And someway somehow, Duke played their best basketball of the season. They shot lights out yesterday, particularly from downtown, where they knocked down 52% of their 3-pointers.

Duke will now face the upstart Butler Bulldogs, who will not go down without a fight. Butler has been a surprise team this entire tournament and have knocked off teams with just as much talent as the Blue Devils, so the game isn’t written in stone yet. Though as tough as it is for me to admit, Duke seems unstoppable this season. If West Virginia’s length and athleticism, as well as their stellar defense wasn’t able to overcome Duke (or at least keep the game close), I’m not sure what Butler will be able to do.

One thing I do know is Butler will have the support of the nation, in Monday night’s showdown. Not only do people enjoy rooting for the underdog, but college basketball fans’ favorite past-time is rooting against Duke. The Blue Devils haven’t done themselves any favors of late to change their reputation, as Duke didn’t make any friends with their play this tournament, including last night’s game. Given the way this year’s Tournament has been going, anything is possible so Monday night could (hopefully will) be a surprise.

Last night was a crazy night for the teams out West, as 1 seed Syracuse was knocked off by 5 seed Butler, and 2 seed Kansas State needed double overtime to hold off Xavier. It was almost going to be an all mid-major Elite Eight in the West, but Kansas State was able to pull it out at the end of the 2nd overtime. In retrospect I probably shouldn’t be so surprised that Butler won last night, though we should maybe ask the selection committee what they were thinking assigning them just a 5 seed.

Butler has been a dangerous team come tournament time for a couple of seasons now, even advancing to the Sweet 16 in both 2003 and 2007. It still seemed weird seeing them as a 5 seed though, but the reality is this team should have been at least a 3 seed. The Bulldogs finished 11th in the AP Top 25 poll, and 8th in the ESPN/USA Today poll. Why they weren’t a 3 or 4 seed is a fair question. Now I know some might ask, why does that matter if they were 1-2 seeds higher, but in reality it does matter. Seeding is a sign of respect, the higher the seed the easier road you have (theoretically). And I don’t know anyone who watched last night’s game that didn’t think, this is a top 10 team in the country, and their rankings prove that. Unlike teams like Xavier, Saint Mary’s and Northern Iowa, who were barely in the Top 25 or just missed, Butler had been recognized as a top team. Now I realize that seeding isn’t solely done by their final rankings, but remember Butler was an 8th seed in the ESPN poll, I don’t think it would be a stretch to put them down only a few spots as a 3 seed. And dropping them as low as a 5th seed makes them seem like they are more in the middle of the pack.

After last night, I don’t think anyone will take them for granted any longer. Butler controlled the game in the first half, leading by 10 at the break. But the top seeded Orangemen came storming back in the second half. With five and a half minutes to go in the game Syracuse held a four point lead, that’s when Butler took the game over. Scoring 11 straight points and holding Syracuse scoreless until just under a minute left in the game. Syracuse managed 5 points in that final minute, but it wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs won 63-59. Butler showed that they can play with anyone, and while Syracuse was missing their big man, the Bulldogs won that game outright. They out hustled the Orangemen, and to take over in the last five minutes of the game against a team like Syracuse is extremely impressive. The Bulldogs will now face Kansas State (oh so close to a fun mid-major match up) for the chance to advance to Indianapolis for the Final Four. For most teams the NCAA Tournament is ‘win or go home’, for Butler it is now ‘win and go home’, so don’t be surprised if the Bulldogs ‘upset’ another top team, because they have something extra to play for.

Kansas State needed 50 minutes to knock off Xavier last night, as the Musketeers just wouldn’t go away. The game turned out to be pretty much what was expected–a battle between Kansas State’s guards, Jacob Pullen and Dennis Clemente and Xavier’s, Terrell Holloway and Jordan Crawford. The game also turned into a 3-point shooting contest as both teams were over 42% from behind the arc. For awhile it looked as though the superior pure shooting ability of Xavier from the 3-point line and charity stripe would win them the game, but Kansas State’s depth and size did play a factor down the stretch. Xavier had one of their starters foul out, as well as three starters and one top reserve playing with four fouls at the end of the 2nd overtime. Kansas State on the other hand had two players foul out (one starter, one reserve) and another top reserve playing with 4 fouls. Their depth allowed them to handle losing two good players, spread the fouls out so none of their top guys were playing timid when the game was on the line. The Wildcats depth also helped them with the extra minutes as their guys weren’t nearly as tired at the end of the game. It was another great finish, in what has been one of the most competitive and exciting tournaments in the last 10 years.

With the way the West Region has turned out this year, nothing will surprise me in the Elite Eight match up between Butler and Kansas State. The only thing I do know is that it will be fun to watch (and to expect the unexpected).