NCAA Basketball Tickets – A Bulldog for a Night

 

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was on my feet, leaning heavily to one side, trying to urge Gordon Hayward’s half-court heave into the hoop with every ounce of body language I had in me.  I let out an audible “Oh!” as the shot nearly banked in, then slumped into my couch as if I’d been shot in the gut.  It was a horrible feeling, brought on by that fleeting moment in which I thought Hayward’s shot was destined to cement Butler’s place in the history of collegiate basketball.  I had not expected to be so affected by the outcome of this game.

I’d come into the national title game between Duke and Butler thinking I’d root for the Bulldogs a little, as they were big underdogs, but I was largely indifferent concerning the outcome since my bracket had been decimated in the early rounds of the tournament.  But as the second half wore on, I found myself vehemently rooting for the Bulldogs as if Butler were my alma mater.  I gradually became aware of how great of a basketball game I was witnessing.  This is what <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=”http://www.stubhub.com/ncaa-basketball-tickets/”>NCAA basketball tickets</a> are all about, I thought.

The Bulldogs kept the game close despite a second half that was essentially one big offensive drought; they couldn’t buy a bucket from the floor.  Hayward, Butler’s best player, struggled from the field in the contest, hitting just two of his 11 attempts on the night, but did everything he could to will his team to victory down the stretch.  The 6-foot-9 forward repeatedly got to the free throw line in the waning minutes of the game, hitting critical shots and keeping the Bulldogs alive in the process.

The last 10 minutes of the contest were filled with the feeling that inevitability was about to take over.  Duke constantly seemed to be on the verge of pulling away, the giant finally about to overtake their inferior opponent, but the scrappy Bulldogs just wouldn’t let it happen.  The Blue Devils had all the advantages, size, talent and coaching, but the Bulldogs refused to let the game slip away.  With Duke ahead by two and about seven seconds remaining, Hayward got a decent look at a fade-away jumper from the baseline, but put a little too much on it to get it over the seven-foot Brian Zoubek.  Zoubek came up with the rebound and was immediately fouled, putting the center on the line with less than four seconds to play.  He hit the first free throw and intentionally missed the second, setting the stage for what nearly became the most famous moment in the history of college basketball.

Hayward came up with the rebound, sprinted to half court and put up a prayer.  Butler’s tournament run had been a storybook to that point and the entire college basketball world held its collective breath as they awaited the dénouement.  The shot nearly went in; if it had, it would have been the biggest shot in the history of the game, dwarfing all moments of heroism that preceded it.  Butler had nearly slain Goliath, but Hayward’s slingshot was just a bit off target.  This modern day David, with all the Hoosiers parallels surrounding them, had almost done the impossible.  A win against Duke would have elevated the Bulldogs to territory occupied, in my opinion, only by the 1966 Texas Western Miners.

One has to give credit to a Duke team that was largely overlooked when the tournament began, thought by many people to be a number one seed essentially by default.  The Blue Devils had underachieved throughout much of the season, as did the ACC as a whole, but this group hit its stride when it mattered most.  They won this game the way they’d done so for the entire season, on the shoulders of Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith.  Duke didn’t score a single bench point in the title game, but it mattered not.  Their talented trio and dedication to defense enabled them to come out on top.

What I’ll remember about this championship game, though, is not Duke’s win, but Butler’s valiant effort and Hayward’s near miss.  While I didn’t know anything more about Butler University when this tournament began other than the fact that it was located somewhere in Indiana, I found myself rooting my heart out for the Bulldogs by tourney’s end.  It was one of the most exciting basketball games I’ve ever witnessed, and I felt as though I was a genuine fan of the Butler Bulldogs, even if for just one night.