National Championship Doesn’t Provide Much Excitement

The Men's National Championship didn't live up to the billing last night, as Butler and UConn played a game that set shooting a basketball back 20 years. The first half was a slug fest as both teams shot a combined 25 percent from the field.

Not exactly championship caliber basketball.

I will say that the defensive intensity was strong from both teams, and that is rarely seen in today's game. But, when a team shoots 18 (yes, 18!) percent from the field for the game, my attention span is very short.

In the end last night it was UConn's speed and athleticism that was able to pull away from Butler, as the Bulldogs couldn't keep up with UConn. I could also tell that Butler became very dejected in the second half as they continued to miss shots. Some people will probably make the argument that this is why having Cinderella's in the championship is bad for the tournament.

I disagree.

Cinderella was still competitive until the last 5-7 minutes of the second half last night. They had a historically bad night shooting the ball. That caliber of shooting isn't going to happen again in a national title game. Plus, I must remind people that two "staple" programs in North Carolina and Michigan State played one of the most lopsided games in championship history just three years ago.

Bigger name doesn't always mean better results.