James Poscascio, a freshman at Butler, watches the action between his fingers during a viewing party of the Duke-Butler national championship game on Monday, April 5, 2010, at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. -James Brosher / IU Student News Bureau

The clock rang midnight at Butler University’s ball, as Duke University played the part of party pooper when it won its fourth NCAA national championship in the closest title game since 1989.
Duke’s victory wasn’t presented on a silver platter, however, as the fifth-seeded Butler Bulldogs fought to the final buzzer.
Up by two points with 3.6 seconds remaining, the Blue Devils’ seven-footer in Brian Zoubek intentionally missed his second free throw. As the Bulldogs’ Gordon Hayward pulled down the rebound, time slowed, fans stood and viewers across the nation held their breaths. The final 3.6 seconds would be remembered as one of the most memorable images not only of 2010’s March Madness, but also of the tournament’s existence.
Hayward dribbled around Duke’s Lance Thomas, received a rock-solid screen from Matt Howard and released desperation, halfcourt heave. All hands in Lucas Oil Stadium rose to the rafters. The last-second prayer banked off the backboard and rimmed out, sealing Duke’s championship run.
The bad bounce capped off a forgettable game for Hayward, who finished with a 2-for-11 performance for 12 points. Hayward had a game-winning opportunity with 14 seconds remaining, but a fade away over Zoubek hit off the far iron.
Butler Head Coach Brad Stevens said in the post-game interview that his team “came up a bounce short.”
That bad bounce snapped the Bulldogs’ nation-leading 25-game win streak and tied Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski with Kentucky great Adolph Rupp for second-most all-time championships in NCAA history with four – six behind the Wizard of Westwood in John Wooden.
Kyle Singler led the Blue Devils offensively and defensively, scoring 19 points and holding Butler’s leading scorer to a mere 12 points.
The traditional cutting of the nets couldn’t have been a better ending for seniors Thomas, Zoubek and Jon Scheyer, who saw their title hopes slip through their fingers in the first round in 2009.
Although Butler’s bench outscored Duke 15-0, the Blue Devils pulled in nine more rebounds in the second half. This factor is what analysts across the nation said would lead the ACC team to a title.
Duke held its opponent to 34 percent shooting from the field and used sharp shooting to hold off Butler late in the game. The Blue Devils may not have held a lead larger than six, but no baskets came easy, which was shown with five minutes remaining when Thomas committed a hard foul on Hayward that sent him slamming to the hardwood.
Indianapolis may be Butler’s hometown, but Duke might as well label Indy its vacation spot. The Devils won its first national championship in 1991there against Kansas University after recording one of the largest upsets in NCAA history after defeating the powerful Rebels of UNLV in the semifinal game.
Duke’s Nolan Smith has some history in the city as well because in 1980, his late father led Louisville to a title.
“I can’t explain how happy I am,” Smith said after the 2010 nail-biter. “Like father, like son. This is so special to me right now.”
So as the confetti fell on top of the dog-piled Devils, all 70,000 fans in Lucas Oil Stadium, Duke- or Butler-affiliated, applauded the hard-fought effort, because even if the Cinderella Bulldogs came up just inches shy of a “Hoosiers” remake, history was made in Indianapolis.

Correction:
Duke University defeated Kansas University in 1991, not the University of Kentucky. The Review apologizes for the mistake. (4/6/10)

Grant Lucas
Sports editor Grant Lucas can be reached at linfieldreviewsports@gmail.com

A worker straightens a Final Four banner on Thursday, April 1, 2010, across the street from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The construction site is expanding the Indianapolis Convention Center on the land once occupied by the RCA Dome. -James Brosher / IU Student News Bureau

It began with rebounds.

Duke earned more second-chance points off the glass in its 78-57 national semifinal win over West Virginia.

The Blue Devils now meet the Butler Bulldogs Monday evening in the national championship game.

Duke had an only eight-point lead going into the second half, but West Virginia couldn’t close the deficit.

“Some of those offensive rebounds really turned in big plays for us,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

Already playing without senior guard Darryl Bryant, West Virginia lost senior forward Da’Sean Butler more than halfway through the second half with a knee injury.

Freshman forward Devin Ebanks said the Mountaineers took it hard when Butler got hurt.

“It was very frustrating for us to have our best player go down, especially when we trying to make our run,” he said.

Before Saturday’s second semifinal game, both teams were praised for rebounding, with a .4 difference in their season averages.

But it was the winning Blue Devils who outmatched the Mountaineers off the glass, 29-27, including 17-10 in the first half.

The disparity began early in the first half, which ended with Duke grabbing seven more rebounds than West Virginia. The Mountaineers were especially beaten offensively, and they had no second-chance points in the first half.

From their seven offensive rebounds, Duke got 12 second-chance points.

The Blue Devils took advantage of their lead and relaxed in the second half. They finished with only two more rebounds more than West Virginia.

Long-range shooting also explained Duke’s early surge. The Blue Devils hit 7-of-14 three-pointers in the first half, while the Mountaineers only hit 4-of-7. Duke finished the game with 13-of-25 threes, while the Mountaineers hit only 5-of-12.

West Virginia lost its first-half shooting touch. While the Mountaineers hit 50 percent of their field goals in the first half, that number dropped to 30 percent in the second half.

Three-pointers were Duke’s specialty throughout the game, but they were West Virginia’s weakness in the second half, as the team only hit 1-of-5 in the last half. The Mountaineers finished with 41.3 percent field-goal shooting for the game.

The 21-point different was Duke’s biggest win since its first-round game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and the 78 tied their highest-scoring game in the NCAA Tournament.

“To score that many points against West Virginia is a lot,” Krzyzewski said.

The Duke coach said having two days of practice and one shoot-around allowed the team to get used to their surroundings.

“It really gives the teams time to get acclimated in a dome,” he said.

Krzyzewski had also said in Thursday’s press conference that both teams had high rebounding numbers from missing a lot of shots. That wasn’t true for Duke on Saturday.

The team shot consistently throughout the game, not having more than 5 percentage points difference of shooting between the two halves. They hit more than 52 percent of both field goals and three-pointers throughout the game.

“They played really, really well,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “I watched a lot of tape, and I haven’t watched them play that well.”

Krzyzewski said he was glad to see Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith and Jon Scheyer hitting from long range.

“It’s a plus, especially when all three of them are doing it,” he said.

The post-game press conference turned quickly from the win to Monday’s championship game — Duke against the Cinderella, Butler.

Krzyzewski said he did not consider the hometown team to be any sort of underdog.

“I think Cinderella would be more of somebody had eight, nine losses and pulled some upsets,” he said. “They’ve beaten Syracuse and Kansas State, and Michigan State tonight. I don’t really consider them Cinderella.”

Zina Kumok
IU Final Four News Bureau

A team of Indiana University journalists is reporting for the Final Four Student News Bureau, a project between IU’s National Sports Journalism Center and the NCAA at the men’s tournament in Indianapolis. The Review, a paying ACP member, has access to this material.

Tiffanie and David Snyder cheer on West Virginia during the team's open practice on Friday, April 2, 2010, at Lucas Oil Stadium. (Stephanie Kuzydym / IU Student News Bureau)

Butler coach Brad Stevens said he wasn’t happy with his team’s poor shooting in Saturday evening’s matchup against Michigan State.

The Bulldogs barely cracked 50 points. They shot 70 percent from the free-throw line. They were outrebounded.

Yet Butler continued its historic run with a 52-50 victory in its Final Four semifinal.

“I never would have dreamed we would’ve won if we shot 15 for 49,” Stevens said, “but our guys did a great job defending in the last 30 minutes of the game.”

MSU coach Tom Izzo said he thought the toughness of the Bulldog defense caught his team off guard.

“We didn’t get it done,” Izzo said. “I thought the physical play bothered us – that surprised me.”

For a game with only 102 total points, four first-half minutes without a basket and a nine second-half minutes in which Butler couldn’t make a field goal, this Final Four matchup started fast for both teams.

Michigan State guard Korie Lucious and Butler forward Gordon Hayward came out firing for their squads, nailing two 3-pointers each in the first two and a half minutes. MSU’s Draymond Green and Durrell Summers also chipped in for the Spartans, while Shelvin Mack of the Bulldogs put up 14 points.

Green picked up the majority of his minutes after the Spartan’s second-leading scorer Raymar Morgan hit the bench. Morgan committed three fouls by the halfway point of the first half. Except for those fouls, the beginning of the first half was clean, with only three turnovers in the first 10 minutes.

As time went on, though, the game lost its luster, with nine turnovers and a significant scoring dip. Both teams went into the second half with 28 points.

“It was definitely Butler basketball,” Bulldog forward Avery Jukes said. “We had to grind it out. It was a long game.”

Lucious started the second half the same way he did the first — putting up a three-pointer and bringing MSU fans to their feet. They would be silenced toward the middle of the half, though, as Morgan picked up his fourth foul.

As Morgan walked off the court, it was the Bulldog fans’ turn to make some noise, and Butler jumped ahead for the first time since its 7-6 lead in the first half.

As the second half went on, the Spartans’ foul troubles grew. Green, Morgan’s main replacement, picked up three fouls. So did starter Delvon Roe. Butler was in the bonus within the first nine minutes of play.

“You keep putting yourself on the edge of a cliff. You’re not going be able to stand on it long,” Roe said.

Still, Butler could not capitalize. The game remained close, and the Bulldogs went on the scoring drought that lasted more than nine minutes.

The lack of baskets didn’t lead to a lack of confidence, though.

“We’ve gone through stretches like that before where it feels like we can’t throw it in the ocean if we’re standing on the beach,” Hayward said. “For us, as long as we guard, we feel like we can still stay in the game.”

With a little less than a minute to go, the teams were within three points of each other. Butler took possession. After driving the clock down to 23 seconds, the Bulldogs’ Ronald Nored drove in for a layup. He watched the ball bounce in and out of the hoop and then fall into the hands of a Michigan State defender.

The Spartans would, presumably, have the final shot of the game. But at the other end, Nored made up for the miss. After a scramble near the basket, Nored stretched out for the ball, leapt across the court and drew a foul. He went to the free throw line, where he has been less than successful during the tournament.

He made both of his free throws, putting the Bulldogs up by three.

“I just thought they were going to go in,” Nored said of his free throws. “I’ve been practicing all week, practicing for the last few weeks.”

After Hayward grabbed a game-ending rebound with two seconds left, the noise level in Lucas Oil Stadium reached a new high.

Hayward stood at center court before the game. He looked around, took the scene in. He said he knew this was his team’s time.

“This is it,” he said. “This is what we’ve all played for. This is where should be.

“This is where we want to be.”

Sean Morrison
IU Final Four News Bureau

A team of Indiana University journalists is reporting for the Final Four Student News Bureau, a project between IU’s National Sports Journalism Center and the NCAA at the men’s tournament in Indianapolis. The Review, a paying ACP member, has access to this material.

Butler athletics director Barry Collier speaks to fans during a pep rally on Wednesday, March 31, 2010, at Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. Collier, a former men's basketball coach at Butler, has overseen the program as it as went 115-21 since he returned to the university as athletics director in 2006. -Justin Whitaker / IU Student News Bureau

Four teams have made it through the madness of March to this year’s NCAA men’s Final Four, and one can win the title in its home city.
UCLA did it in 1972, in Los Angeles. Now, the Butler Bulldogs, whose first Final Four is in their home city, are two games away from a hometown title.
Butler will play Michigan State at 6:07 p.m. Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium. The winner will advance to the championship game Monday.
For a team with nine NCAA tournament appearances in the past 14 years, a spot in the Final Four could not have come at a better time or place.
The pride and emotion of this team’s success reach beyond the campus of 4,400 students in northern Indianapolis to the alumni who paved the way.
Wally Cox, a 1958 Butler graduate and former basketball player, had only one response as Butler beat the Kansas State Wildcats to advance to the Final Four.
“It was probably 20 seconds to go in that last game,” Cox said, “and tears were coming right down my wife’s cheek and my cheek.”
The emotions were not just for the team’s success, he said, but also because of the types of individuals these Butler players are.
“We were just so happy for the kids because we are so proud of them,” Cox said. “They are quality kids. These guys aren’t just basketball players. They don’t run down the court pounding their chest and yelling in guys’ faces.
“They really are great messengers for Butler University.”
That message has produced excitement and anticipation like nothing before on the Butler campus, senior class president Lindsay Rump said.
“Everywhere you go,” Rump said, “there is a constant buzz about everything — tickets, games, where to go to watch the games if you can’t go, and more.
“People drive through campus honking their horns,” she said. “Greek students are decorating their lawns, and the dorms are decorating their doors and windows. The level of excitement is simply through the roof.”
Former Butler guard Mike Green, playing basketball halfway across the world in Belgium, watched the Kansas State game live. He said he could barely contain himself.
“I was overjoyed,” said Green, the Horizon League Player of the Year in 2007-08. “I stayed up all night watching the game and a hour after — bragging.”
Another former player, Brandon Crone, joined former teammates Green and Julian Betko via Skype during the Kansas State game. He said he was quite nervous.
“The last four minutes of the game actually had my stomach going. It was an amazing finish,” said Crone, a 6-foot-6 forward who played from 2003-07.
All the excitement and success come from a young team. The starting lineup features three sophomores — Gordon Hayward, Shelvin Mack and Ronald Nored — and only one senior, Willie Veasley. Matt Howard starts as a junior.
The third leading scorer in Butler basketball history, A.J. Graves, played from 2004 to 2008. He said this young team can achieve great things.
“This group has accomplished so much while being a very young team,” said Graves, Butler’s all-time leader in games played with 130. “They have a great chance at winning the national championship. Just look at what they’ve accomplished so far.”
Considering the Bulldogs’ incredible run, it’s been tough to study and focus on academics, the student body president said, but professors have been lenient of the situation.
“Professors are being very understanding,” Rump said. “They are just as excited as the students are.”
She said professors moved tests, changed due dates and canceled classes. The history major said professors adjusted schedules specifically for when tickets went on sale on Monday and for Wednesday’s pep rally in downtown Indianapolis.
When the tickets went on sale to alumni and selected students at noon Monday, lines ran completely around the inside of historic Hinkle Fieldhouse and overflowed outside. Some fans arrived before dawn, waiting to get their tickets for the Bulldogs’ game against Michigan State.
Graduate Eric Foerg rotated in line with three friends, waiting for coveted Final Four tickets. His friends arrived at 8 a.m., but Foerg had the final shift, arriving around 11 a.m. as the official season ticket holder of the group.
Foerg, a 2002 Butler graduate in finance, was not a vocal fan as he waited in line at Hinkle, only because he had little voice left. His coarse rasp remained from yelling in person at three of the first four tournament games, “especially on foul calls on Matt Howard that are ghost fouls,” Foerg said.
There was more yelling and cheering Wednesday at the Butler pep rally in sunny Monument Circle, in the middle of the downtown Indianapolis.
The seven miles separating the campus and Lucas Oil Stadium were erased. Thousands of fans arrived at the pep rally ready for game time decked in various Butler gear, many holding “Go, Dawgs!” signs.
The popular bulldog mascot, Blue II, made an appearance on the steps of the monument. Indianapolis sports radio talk show host Eddie White emceed the rally and announced that Blue II would be allowed at the games this weekend. The crowd erupted.
Addressing the rally were Indianapolis Downtown Inc. President Tamara Zahn, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, Butler Athletic Director and former coach Barry Collier, Butler University President Bobby Fong and legendary Butler basketball player Bobby Plump. Plump is known for making the game-winning shot in the 1954 Indiana state championship game for the Milan (Ind.) High School team that inspired the movie “Hoosiers.”
But the biggest cheer at the rally came when the mayor declared Wednesday to be Butler Bulldog Day.
“Butler represents the best,” Ballard said.

Justin Whitaker
IU Final Four News Bureau

A team of Indiana University journalists is reporting for the Final Four Student News Bureau, a project between IU’s National Sports Journalism Center and the NCAA at the men’s tournament in Indianapolis. The Review, as a paying member of ACP, is allowed access to this content.