The Bulldogs led at halftime but could not seem to score in the second half, allowing UConn to take control of the game. Jeremy Lamb sat for most of the first half with foul trouble, but Lamb took over the game in the second half scoring all 12 of his points in the final 20 minutes, while Kemba Walker delivered his usual breathe-taking performance throughout.
Shelvin Mack hit a deep three pointer to send Butler to the locker room with a three point edge at the half, but Butler returned to the court with no answer for the Huskies on both ends of the court. Matt Howard, who has been one of the faces of Butler basketball for the past four years, may have played his worst game at the worst possible time. The normally reliable forward was a woeful 1 of 13 from the field. He was bothered all night by the size and strength of UConn's rugged front line, struggling to convert inside and rushing his shots from outside.
The Huskies' championship run concludes an improbable season that saw the Huskies go undefeated in all non-conference games, and undefeated in all tournament games. UConn won the Maui Invitational in November to burst onto the national scene, then subsided to a 9-9 record in the Big East, but rekindled their magical season by winning the Big East Tournament. Their run at the Garden included an unprecedented five wins, and tabbed them as one of the hottest teams going into the Big Dance. From there, the Huskies knocked off Bucknell, Cincinnati, San Diego State, Arizona, and Kentucky in the Final Four. Their journey ended today with a third championship celebration. Head coach Jim Calhoun has been the coach for all three of those championships. At 68, he became the oldest coach to win a national title, and he fittingly did it with one of his youngest teams.
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