2010 NCAA Championship Game: Duke Is Poised to Knock Off Home-Favorite Butler

Throughout the course of this college basketball season, sportswriters and fans alike discussed No. 1 Kansas and their endeavor to win a second National Championship in three years, the explosive freshman John Wall and his Kentucky team, Syracuse’s unexpected rise to the top of the polls, and even the UNC Tar Heels' dismal season after their dominant 2009 title run.

Though most of the highly-ranked teams in the country were labeled as “National Championship Contenders” and “National Championship Pretenders,” most didn’t know what to expect out of the Duke Blue Devils or the Butler Bulldogs.

Duke had been one of the best teams in the 2008-2009 college basketball season, nearly beating out the National Champion Tar Heels for the ACC regular season crown and then later going on to win the 2009 ACC Tournament in Atlanta.

They also reached the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2006, getting destroyed in that round by a talented Villanova team that went on to play in the Final Four.

Duke had the talent and personnel to advance further into March, but their players were worn down after their first- and second-round wins and eventually faltered down the stretch against the Wildcats.

Butler, on the other hand, had a great year under second-year coach Brad Stevens, a 32-year-old who has followed in the footsteps of his predecessors, Thad Matta and Todd Lickliter.

Stevens, like Matta and Lickliter, respects team play and team defense, and as a result led his Bulldogs to the 2009 NCAA Tournament, were they lost in the first round.

Even though they dominated the Horizon League, they were unable to hang with some of the better teams in the country, and their season ended prematurely.

Not to say that the experienced group of players wouldn’t come back even more prepared to do well in March, because the 2010 Final Four would be held in their hometown of Indianapolis.

Entering this season, both Duke and Butler were ranked in the Top 10 by both the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.

These rankings also came with doubts about how each team would perform, with the Blue Devils losing two key players and the Bulldogs inability to play well in March.

Duke’s leading scorer Gerald Henderson had declared for the NBA Draft after the 2009 season had ended in the Sweet 16, and key perimeter player Elliot Williams transferred to Memphis University to be closer to home, as one of his family members suddenly became ill.

The loss of both of these players left the Blue Devils with just two scholarship guards on the roster, and left the program with more questions than they ever intended opening the 2009-2010 basketball season.

One positive that Duke did eventually receive was the early arrival of 2010-commit Andre Dawkins, who graduated high school over the summer and enrolled into Duke last fall, meaning that he could play this season with the Blue Devils. That gave the team a much-needed reserve.

Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith, and Kyle Singler each wanted to resolve any doubts that the nation had about their team when the season began.

Each set out to fill the void left by Henderson’s scoring average by contributing more frequently on both the offensive and defensive ends.

This added incentive, becoming the top player on a talented team, helped create the “Big Three” that is Scheyer, Singler, and Smith. Each player has played phenomenally this year, giving the Blue Devils three scoring options to go to in pressure-packed situations.

During the regular season, Duke performed as well as any team in the country, capturing the ACC regular season and tournament titles.

However, the Blue Devils were never considered favorites to win the National Championship when the brackets came out, as made evident by Duke being named the “weakest” No. 1 seed.

Overall No. 1 seed Kansas was then upset by Northern Iowa in the second round, fellow No. 1 seed Syracuse ran into a road-block against Butler, and No. 1 seed Kentucky fell by the wayside against West Virginia. That left Duke, the “weakest” No. 1 seed in the tournament, as the only one left standing.

Butler wasn’t even predicted by many to make it out of their first round match-up with UTEP, making the Bulldogs the obvious 5-12 upset to choose in the tournament.

Butler had struggled in games down the stretch, but had easily won the Horizon League title and was a better team than most would give due.

Three weeks later, and now two of the most doubted teams during the season are facing off in the NCAA National Championship game: The Blue Devils being considered Goliath, Butler again being considered David.

As the home-favorite, Butler will have a large audience of supporters in Lucas Oil Stadium when the championship game tips off, as their university is just six miles down the road.

Likewise, the Blue Devils will also have a large number of fans, but not nearly as many as the Bulldogs will.

During the course of the NCAA Tournament, Duke has knocked off Arkansas-Pine Bluff, California, Purdue, Baylor and West Virginia.

The Blue Devils were obviously the higher seed in each contest, but most predicted them to slip up against either Baylor or West Virginia. Those doubters were once again wrong.   

Butler, meanwhile, had to knock off UTEP, Murray State, Syracuse, Kansas State and Michigan State on their way to the National Championship game.

They upset early favorites Syracuse and Kansas State, and then once again proved everyone wrong by defeating Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans in a Final Four game full of emotions.

Now the match-up in Indianapolis is set: Butler vs. Duke, David vs. Goliath, Stevens (Youth) vs. Krzyzewski (Experience). Which team can play the best defense, be effective on offense, and ultimately carry out their game plan?

I’d have to give the slight edge to the Blue Devils, with Coach K at the helm, but in this tournament, anything can happen. A “Hoosiers Moment” is even likely to occur, with the Bulldogs celebrating on their home soil.