Butler-Duke thread

[JonLP24]

Good game so far.

[taterguy]

1. A game so good I feel like paying attention to it instead of posting here

And that's keeping me up way later than I'd like.

Why not start the game at a civilized hour?

Oh, it's to appease you fucking people in other time zones.

Grumpy old man alert.

[madinmaryland]

4. It's only 9:10 here, Francis. You really are old!!

:hi:

[taterguy]

9. Either you're not in Maryland or you don't know what time it is

Unless you don't recognize DST

[JonLP24]

6. Probably so

It's only a quarter past 7pm here so that's nice for us. I feel bad for east coast folks. :(

[RiffRandell]

2. Go Butler!

Great game!

[CatWoman]

3. it is, isn't it?

:)

[CatWoman]

5. one point game at the half

:)

[madinmaryland]

7. One point game at half-time. Great game so far!

[izzybeans]

8. Bulldogs!

[bigwillq]

10. Real good game

Hoping Butler can pull it off.

[Lex]

11. Me too!

:hi:

[fishwax]

12. That was a fun first half

I'm not surprised that Butler is playing Duke close, but I am surprised that they've been so successful rebounding. They've got to keep up the defensive intensity and get a few more shots to fall and they can win this thing.

[JonLP24]

14. I'm not surprised either

Arizona St as you know is my team kept it close with Duke until they pulled away at the end. Won 64-53.

Butler won so many games in a row and beat 5 top 25 teams to get there and the one team that wasn't ranked was a Murray St team that won 30+ games. I also believe Syracuse was ranked higher. What was surprising is to me is people not giving them a chance.

[msatty99]

13. Butler passed the first test

Can they hang with Duke. Answer: YES

Now its Duke that has to worry.

[elleng]

15. Not watching,

but close game throughout, eh?

http://stats.washingtonpost.com/cbk/boxscore.asp?gamecode=201004050173&home=173&vis=67&hpid=skybox

[JonLP24]

16. Yeah

Butler has been making mistakes the last 5 minutes or so but they are still keeping it close.

[JonLP24]

17. 1 point game guys

Come on Butler!

[madinmaryland]

18. Damn! Howard with the bucket. One point game!

:wow:

[JonLP24]

19. BUTLER BALL!

[madinmaryland]

20. holy crap..

13 seconds. butler ball still.

[JonLP24]

21. So close

They still got a shot though.

[madinmaryland]

22. Incredible game.

[JonLP24]

23. Bummer that bank shot didn't go in

It would have been HUGE!!

Good game and congrats Duke. :toast:

[fishwax]

25. yeah, that would have been beautiful

Alas :)

[fishwax]

24. damn, what a game

Best championship game I've seen in quite a while :applause:

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

26. Jon, Kyle, Nolan, Lance, Brian, Andre, Miles, Mason, Casey, Ryan

and everyone else...

Thank you for a terrific season. I would have never thought you would win a national championship. In your first games of the season, you seemed to lack something... a presence in the post, leadership and scoring...

But then Brian found his place and Nolan, Kyle and Jon asserted themselves. A good team, not an excellent team, led by the best college basketball coach alive, one who can gain the respect of college players and pros like Kobe and LeBron, one who, despite his political persuasions, was born in a less-than-fortunate Chicago neighborhood, went to West Point and learned from another master, Bob Knight.

I was at NC State when Duke won its first championship in 1991 and later repeated in 1992, blessed with Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley and Christian Laettner. In 2001, I knew Duke had the prowess to win it all with the likes of Carlos Boozer and Shane Battier.

Next year, Seth Curry will be able to play, as will incoming super-freshman Kyrie Irving. Hopefully, both Nolan and Kyle will choose to remain one last year. Whatever happens, 2010 was a wild ride, a fourth championship that in many ways feels more special than 1991, 1992 and 2001. They won against a superb Butler team with grit and perseverance, as well as workmanlike resilience.

As a fan, that's all one can ask for.

[RevCheesehead]

27. What a nice post!

I was at Duke for the 1991 and 1992 seasons (I was in Divinity School), and got to experience the magic of those seasons. And, like you, I had my doubts about how far Duke could go this year. I really appreciate your comments (since so many people seem to hate Duke), and look forward to another superb season next year!

[Corgigal]

28. My daughter went to high school with Nolan

They are still friends and he really is a nice young man. I'm very happy for him and his team mates and we enjoyed the game.

[PRETZEL]

29. Great game,

Butler did everything they could except get the ball in the basket.

Biggest difference in the game, Duke hit their uncontested shots, Butler didn't.

Everything else was equal.

Both teams played fantastic defense, Butler managed not to let Duke's big men control the game.

Sheyer, Singler and Smith came up huge on both ends of the court.

Butler's top scorers were something like 7-25.