Well, this was a huge letdown.
In what was expected to be a climactic end to a March full of madness, Connecticut emerged as the 2011 NCAA basketball champion. But the way that they did it was, in a word, boring.
The Butler Bulldogs couldn't make a shot to save their lives, shooting an abysmal 19% from the field. For the entire game. Making 12 of 63 shots is unheard of... for a high school basketball team. This was a real embarrassment for the team and the sport of college basketball.
The first half was a plodding mess, two stubborn teams playing stubborn basketball. Both squads failed to impose their will on each other, and at the half Butler was up 22-19.
Butler continued to shoot ice-cold from the field, scoring only 19 points in the second half. Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack combined to shoot 5-28 from the field.
In the end, no one will remember exactly how Connecticut won this title, but for tonight, we can all agree that it was one of the worst games of college basketball that has ever taken place in the National Championship game.
Kemba Walker led the Huskies with 16 points, while Jeremy Lamb came on strong with 12 second-half points to help UConn blow by the hapless Bulldogs.