NCAAB Championship Game News and Notes

Butler vs. UConn
By Brian Edwards

The field of 68 for the 2011 NCAA Tournament has been reduced to two, Butler and Connecticut, who will go at it for (at least) 40 minutes until one team is left standing and cutting the nets down Monday night at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

Most betting shops opened UConn (31-9 straight up, 22-12 against the spread) as a four-point favorite, but that number was down to 3½ within a half-hour of betting late Saturday night. The total started at 129½ but was reduced to 128½ by Sunday afternoon. Gamblers can take the Bulldogs to win outright for a plus-155 return (risk $100 to win $155).

Butler (28-9 SU, 20-13-2 ATS) has been a live underdog all season long. In fact, the Bulldogs have won outright in seven consecutive games as underdogs. They own an 8-1-1 spread record in 10 such situations.

Brad Stevens’ squad advanced to the national-championship game for the second straight year by dismantling Virginia Commonwealth 70-62 as a 3½-point favorite in Saturday’s national semifinals. As usual, junior guard Shelvin Mack and senior power forward Matt Howard led the way.

Mack was on fire, draining 5-of-6 attempts from 3-point range and 8-of-11 overall shots. He finished with a team-high 24 points and six rebounds. Even on a bad shooting night, Howard managed 17 points, eight boards, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot.

The unsung hero was reserve senior guard Zach Hahn, who had provided a huge boost with a pair of timely 3-pointers in an Elite Eight win over Florida seven days before. This time around with VCU leading five minutes into the second half, Hahn scored eight straight points with a pair of 3’s and a gorgeous reverse layup in traffic.

All three buckets over a 104-second span put Butler back in the lead. The last, the layup on a baseline drive, put the Bulldogs in front for good. Mack would follow Hahn’s scoring surge with seven consecutive points to create some separation from the Rams, who would get no closer than four the rest of the way.

Jamie Skeen scored a game-high 27 points for VCU and Brandon Burgess added 15 points and nine rebounds. However, senior point guard Joey Rodriguez struggled with just three points on 1-of-8 shooting. To Rodriguez’s credit, he did dish out eight assists compared to just two turnovers.

VCU reserve guard Brandon Rozzell, who had been instant offense off the bench throughout the school’s improbable run to its first Final Four, couldn’t buy a bucket, either. Rozzell scored just two points, missing all three of his attempts from beyond the arc.

Rozzell and Rodriguez’s shooting woes weren’t without cause. Butler has played incredible perimeter defense throughout the tournament. In fact, Shawn Vanzant and Ronald Nored’s ‘D’ has forced UF’s Erving Walker and Rodriguez to shoot a combined 2-for-18 in the last two games.

Jim Calhoun’s team is back in the NCAA finals for the third time in his distinguished career. He won both previous times, upsetting Duke in 1999 and beating Ga. Tech in 2004. But this has to be his proudest hour, as he’s taken this team to unexpected heights in the wake of a suspension and NCAA violations.

UConn’s Kemba Walker has been the catalyst all year and nothing was different in Saturday’s win over Kentucky by a 56-55 count as a two-point underdog. Walker finished with 18 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals. Jeremy Lamb, the freshman who has been dynamite in March (and beyond), produced 12 points, nine board and four assists.

UConn raced out to a 31-21 lead at halftime, but UK promptly went on an 8-0 run to start the second stanza. It was a nip-and-tuck affair from there, but the Huskies pulled away with a 6-0 run to give them a 54-48 advantage at the 2:20 mark.

The Wildcats would slice the deficit in half on a DeAndre Liggins’ trey, but his 3-ball for the lead with five ticks remaining was off the mark. Shabazz Napier would knock down a pair of free throws to put the game on ice for UConn.

The 111 combined points easily stayed ‘under’ the 139-point tally for UConn-UK. The Huskies have now seen the ‘under’ go 19-14-1 overall, 5-1 in their last six outings. On the flip side, the ‘over’ has hit at a 20-14-1 overall clip in Butler games.

Since losing seven of its last 11 regular-season games, UConn has won 10 in a row while posting a lucrative 9-1 ATS record. As single-digit favorites this season, the Huskies are 6-8 versus the number.

Tip-off is scheduled for 9:20 p.m. Eastern on CBS.

B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets

We usually don’t mention ATS stats for a team on a neutral court, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t note UConn’s incredible 13-0 straight-up record in such contests this year. The Huskies won all three games at the Maui Classic, all five at the Big East Tournament at MSG and all five in the NCAA Tournament so far. Butler has won nine in a row on neutral floors but did fall against Duke earlier this year at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J.

Going into Saturday’s games, Butler’s Mack had plus-750 odds to win Most Outstanding Player honors (risk $100 to win $750). Sportsbook.com has updated its odds for this bet with only three wagering options: Walker (+125), the field (+175) and Howard (+225).

Going into its Elite Eight showdown against Florida, Butler’s future number was 10/1.

As of Sunday afternoon, Sportsbook.com had not yet posted all of the props that it will eventually have available, but the website did have its numbers up for the player who will score the first points of the game. Walker is the favorite with plus-350 odds (risk $100 to win $350), while Howard and Mack have the second-shortest odds (+400). The odds for other players include UConn’s Lamb (+500), Butler’s Andrew Smith (+600), UConn’s Alex Oriakhi (+700) and Butler’s Vanzant (+700).

Mack drew first blood for Butler against VCU with a 3-pointer, hooking up his backers with a plus-400 payout at most spots.

We mentioned Vanzant’s defensive contributions against VCU, but he also scored 11 points. In prop bets, Vanzant’s points were a 1½-point underdog vs. the points of Rodriguez. This was an easy winner for Vanzant backers.

vegasinsider.com.

Bulldogs underdogs vs. Huskies
By: Michael Robinson

If only one Cinderella can go to the ball, it might as well be coach Brad Stevens and his Butler Bulldogs. They meet the Connecticut Huskies for the NCAA men’s basketball national championship at Houston’s Reliant Stadium. CBS will televise the event starting at 6:23 p.m. (PT).

The Don Best Sports odds screen has Connecticut as a 3½-point favorite, with the total set at 129 points.

Butler (28-9 straight-up, 20-13-2 against the spread) advanced by beating 11th seed VCU 70-62 as 3½-point favorites. It was a battle marked by grit and hard work by each school. Both teams shot under 40 percent from the floor, but Butler’s 46-30 advantage on the glass was a big reason for the win.

Guard Shelvin Mack scored 24 points for Butler on 8-of-11 from the floor, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. Forward Jamie Skeen had 27 points for VCU, showing a very nice inside and outside game.

The 132 combined points scored snuck just ‘over’ the 131½-point total. Late Butler free throws after intentional fouls were the difference. The ‘over’ is 3-2 for Butler this tournament.

Butler, which has now won 14 straight games, is 7-0 ATS dating back to the start of the Horizon League tournament.

Eighth-seed Butler is trying to match the 1985 Villanova Wildcats as the lowest-seeded school to capture the title. Villanova had the huge upset over Patrick Ewing’s Georgetown squad that was looking for back-to-back titles.

Butler lost 61-59 to Duke in thrilling fashion in last year’s championship game, but easily ‘covered’ the seven-point spread. That game also went ‘under’ the 128 ½-point total.

Michigan’s ‘Fab Five’ teams in the early 90s were the last to lose consecutive title games. The 1998 Kentucky squad was the last to win the national championship after losing in the title game the year before.

The No. 3 seed Huskies (31-9 SU, 22-12 ATS) had the more high profile Final Four game, beating Kentucky 56-55 as two-point underdogs.

The 111 combined points scored went way ‘under’ the 138 ½-point total. The ‘under’ is 4-1 for Connecticut in this tournament, with the defense allowing just 59 PPG.

Kentucky shot just 33.9 percent from the floor with freshman point guard Brandon Knight a dismal 6-of-23. The team converting just 4-of-12 from the line also really hurt.

Kentucky trailed 31-21 at halftime, its lowest first-half output of the season. However, coach John Calipari’s guys clawed back in the second half, even taking some small leads. But Kentucky was the more tired team down the stretch with just seven players seeing action.

Connecticut All-American point guard Kemba Walker had to work for his 18 points. He was 6-of-15 from the field and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc. The entire squad struggled from long range (1-of-12), which needs to improve Monday night.

Connecticut has won 10 straight contests starting with winning the Big East Tournament as a No. 9 seed. The only ‘cover’ failure was a 65-63 win over Arizona in the Elite Eight as 3½-point favorites.

The Huskies are perfect outside of Big East regular season play, going 22-0 SU and 15-1 ATS.

Coach Jim Calhoun is looking to join some elite company by winning his third national title (1999 and 2004 the others). Only John Wooden, Mike Krzyzewski, Adolph Rupp and Bobby Knight have won three or more.

The Monday night matchups will be exciting to watch. Mack (16.1 PPG) is averaging 23.5 PPG in his last four and is much stronger physically than Walker. Walker (23.7 PPG) has the quickness advantage and will play a lot of off-guard with freshman Shabazz Napier handling the ball.

Connecticut has good size up front with starters Alex Oriakhi and Roscoe Smith, plus Charles Okwandu off the bench. Matt Howard, Butler’s big man who is averaging 16.7 PPG, is as crafty as they come drawing fouls around the basket. He had 12 free throw attempts last game and made 11.

The key could be freshman guard Jeremy Lamb (11.1 PPG). He’s been a consistent second scorer this tourney at 17 PPG. He also provides a big matchup problem for Butler with his athleticism and 6-foot-5 length.

Neither team is reporting any significant injuries.

College Basketball Knowledge

Butler lost the national championship game by a hoop LY; they've got five juniors/seniors in their rotation. UConn won its last 10 games since ending regular season on a 1-4 skid; they're very young, with only one senior in rotation. Bulldogs lost by 15 to Louisville, beat Pitt by a point in its two games vs Big East teams. Five of last six UConn games stayed under the total; under is 7-3-1 in last 11 Butler tilts. Huskies have five freshmen in their rotation; Butler is the most veteran team- seven of their last ten NCAA tourney games were decided by 4 or less points. I think the Bulldogs win this game-- I'm not really sure it should be an upset.

Butler vs. UConn: What Bettors Need to Know

THE STORY: Nobody thought they’d be back. But the Butler Bulldogs, who came up just shy of a national title last season, have returned to the NCAA championship game to face another blueblood. The tiny school from Indianapolis battled Duke last year; Monday it’s UConn. Eighth-seeded Butler is the lowest-seeded team to play for the title since Villanova won it as a No. 8 seed in 1985. The third-seeded Huskies are seeking their third national championship, having won it in 1999 and 2004. Both teams play stifling defense and take their cues from a star junior guard.

TV: 9:20 p.m. ET, CBS. POINTSPREAD: UConn -3.5, 129

ABOUT BUTLER (28-9): The Bulldogs have won 14 straight and appear to be mentally tougher than everyone they play. Shelvin Mack scored 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting to lead the Bulldogs past VCU 70-62 in the semifinals, and he’s been clutch throughout the tournament. The 6-3 junior made five of six from beyond the arc and also grabbed six rebounds. Leading scorer Matt Howard (16.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg) drew 10 fouls, making 11 of 12 free throws. And reserve senior guard Zach Hahn scored all eight of his points in a decisive 90-second span in the second half. Junior Ronald Nored is the defensive tone-setter. A shutdown on-ball defender, Nored will face his toughest challenge yet in trying to contain Huskies superstar Kemba Walker.

ABOUT UCONN (31-9): The Huskies have won 10 straight dating to the start of the Big East tournament, making their ninth-place Big East finish a distant memory. Walker didn’t shoot well in UConn’s 56-55 semifinal win over Kentucky, but he did everything else, getting seven assists, six rebounds and two steals to go with 18 points. Walker continues to penetrate at will and is averaging more than eight free throws in the tournament (38 of 42). The Huskies outrebounded the bigger Wildcats and held them to 34 percent shooting. Freshman Jeremy Lamb continues to be a nice complement to Walker; he’s shooting 59 percent in the tournament (32 of 54) and has made 11 of 17 3-pointers. Forward Alex Oriakhi (9.6 rpg in the tourney) must stay out of foul trouble to defend Howard.

PREDICTION: UConn 67, Butler 65 – No team is more fundamentally sound than Butler, but the Bulldogs will be bothered by UConn's superior quickness. Most important, the Huskies have the best player in Walker. In what's sure to be a tight game, Walker makes the difference.