Why Duke Fans Should Want Butler To Win The National Championship
It should be simple. Every Duke fan should be pulling for Butler tonight against UConn in the National Championship game.
There is only one instance where it would be okay to pull for UConn tonight. If a UConn National Championship lets you win the office pool over that loud-mouthed jerk who claims to know ‘the secret to winning the brackets every year.’ If a UConn victory will allow you to wave a stack full of cash in his face during a dance where you sing “Winning”, then fine, you can pull for UConn.
If this is not you and you are a Duke fan, pulling for UConn tonight is akin to twisting a knife into your fellow fans backs. And here is why:
1) Butler deserves it more
The underdog is always the team to root for -unless its against Duke- and after getting so close last year, Butler truly deserves to win the National Championship this year.
It would be the blooming of the flower that was planted when the mid-majors began their rise to prominence a dozen years ago when Gonzaga started playing Cinderella. George Mason & VCU have helped fertilize the mid-major rise, but it could be Butler, kicking the door down, opening the way for more than just the 73 teams of the ‘Big 6′ conferences to win the National Championship.
2) UConn already have two
Let’s not get greedy there Husky fans. Plus, a third championship would move them closer to the number that Duke has, four. It’s bad enough we are behind UNC in the number of championships, what Duke fans don’t want is another team closing in on the number we have.
A third championship in 13 years would also be a better run than Duke is currently on and talk of UConn as the ‘best current program’ would gain steam. Yes, fine, I am petty and don’t want anyone to take away any of the Duke program’s shine, so sue me.
3) 1999
It might have been 13 years ago, but the loss in the National Championship to UConn still stings. What should have been the third NC in nine years and an exclamation point to a 38-1 season turned into an painful loss.
The unfulfilled promise of this team is still the second greatest disappointment of any Duke team in my memory as a fan. [Duh, 2002 is number 1.]
4) Twisted math
If 2011 Butler (without Gordon Hayward) > 2011 UConn, and if, 2010 Duke > 2010 Butler (with Gordon Hayward), and if, 2011 Duke was more talented than 2010 Duke, than Duke 2011 > 2011 UConn and should have been in the Final Four.
See, simple, twisted math. It makes more sense in my head than I can translate to pixels, but someone, somewhere must understand what I am trying to get across, even if I am comparing apples to potatoes via bad 10th grade math.
5) 2020ish
I know no one wants to look that far ahead, but there will be a time when Coach K will no longer be on the sidelines for the Duke Blue Devils. Right now, somewhere in Division I there is a coach who will be the next Duke coach. Why not Brad Stevens?
The back-to-back trips to the championship game prove that he’s no fluke. Just about every college basketball talking head gushes over Steven’s in game acumen, that he’s a wizard of X’s & O’s. He’s young, and still will be in 2020, and by winning it all at Butler there will be no ‘what ifs’ or ‘unfinished business’ keeping him at the Indianapolis school.
Whenever Coach K does step down, as long as Brad Stevens continues his winning ways, expect him to be on any short list for the Duke job.
6) A Butler win will be more memorable
Just like I remember where I was during the last two times Duke won the National Championship (an Irish bar in NY & a crappy apartment in Raleigh on an ugly couch), I will remember where I was if Butler wins the National Championship.
I remember where I was, and who was there, when Mark McGwire hit number 62, but I couldn’t tell you where I was when Barry Bonds hit number 71.
A Butler win will be a benchmark in the annals of sports and will become a ‘where were you when’ kind of moment. Yes, it will be that big. Trust me.
There they are. Six reasons why Butler should win tonight, and why Duke fans should root for them.
Duke Predictions – Fulfilled (Sort Of)
I made predictions at the beginning of the season, lets see how I did. You can go back in the archives and check in case you think I changed my answers.
Prediction: Regular season 26-4
Actual: 27-4, somehow I missed a game, don’t know how, but I did get the number of losses correct, so that needs to count for something.
Prediction: ACC Regular season champions at 14-2
Actual: 2nd place ACC regular season at 13-3 (close)
Prediction: ACC Tournament Champs
Actual: ACC Tournament Champs (ding!)
Prediction: Number one seed in the East with a 29-4 record
Actual: Number one seed in the West with a 30-4 record, again, missed game
Prediction: Duke’s win in its Sweet Sixteen game will give Coach K his 900th career victory and an 80th NCAA tourney victory
Actual: Since I missed a game, his 900th win put him in the Sweet 16
Prediction: He will be at 901 career wins when they head to Houston for the Final Four
Actual: They will not be going to Houston (sad)
Prediction: Once in Houston, anything can happen, so I won’t make any predictions beyond getting to the Final Four
Actual: Butler over UConn
So, as you can see, I wasn’t off by much. Still not sure how I missed a game, but the number of losses was correct. I have a feeling next season will be a little harder to predict.
Duke Rolls Colgate, Prepares For Early Season Tests
The Duke Blue Devils ran all over the Colgate Raiders 110-58 on Thursday night, extending their non-conference winning streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium to 80 games.
And they made it look very easy.
In a game which two of last years Big Three shot 10-for-27 (34%) and 3-13 from three (23%), they still outscored the Raiders by 52. Five players scored in double figures and three more had nine points.
Nolan Smith led the way with 18 points and nine assists. Freshman Kyrie Irving added 13 points and nine assists as well, without any turnovers. Andre Dawkins led the bench scoring with 16, including three of five from 3-point range. Miles Plumlee added eight rebounds (six offensive) from the bench. Both Plumlees fouled out of the game.
It was the swarming defense that led the way for the Blue Devils on the night. They held Colgate to 30.9% shooting for the night, turned them over 24 times. Duke scored 40 points off the turnovers and ran away from them in the second half, turning a 44-26 half-time lead into a 40-point margin with a 31-9 run to start the half.
The win was the 798th win of Coach Ks career at Duke and the final warmup before the schedule gets tougher in the next few weeks.
On Monday, Duke plays Marquette (4-0) in the semi-finals of the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic in Kansas City. If they win on Monday, Duke will play the winner of the Gonzaga-No. 3 Kansas State game on Wednesday.
After that, they play at Oregon next Saturday before returning home to take on the No. 2 Michigan State Spartans on Wednesday, December 1st as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Three days later, Duke and No.18 Butler will face-off in a rematch of last seasons Championship game at the Izod Center in New Jersey.
Duke will then finish December up with four more games before beginning ACC play, when they open at home against Miami on January 2nd.
Duke V Butler, Part 2
In what promises to be one of the top 5 non-conference games in the 2010-11 season Duke will take on Butler in a rematch of last seasons championship game. If the early pre-season rankings are accurate, this could be a #1 v #2 game.
The two teams will face off on December 4th at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ.[picappgallerysingle id="8440643"]
The Duke Blue Devils won their fourth NCAA title by defeating Butler 61-59 in Indianapolis on April 5th. The arena was located just 7 miles from the home of the Butler Bulldogs and they had the home crowd behind them.
This time it will be Duke with the crowd behind them. The December matchup will take place in an arena that the Blue Devils have an even higher winning percentage then Cameron. Duke is 18-1 in the Meadowlands, winning five NCAA regional finals there, while Butler has never played there.
The Duke team will look and play differently than they did in the championship game. They will be a smaller team, relying more on the perimeter game. They will also be quicker and press more. While Butler will be pretty much the same team, unless they lose Gordon Hayward.
Its going to be a good game either way and has the potential of being a #1 v #2 game, which makes this a very sexy game.
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