NCAA Championship 2010: #1 Duke vs #5 Butler game

[insidehoops]

NCAA Championship 2010: #1 Duke vs #5 Butler

Monday, April 5, 2010 at 9:21 p.m. ET

The AP reports: In a sign of how far Butler has come, the Bulldogs (33-4) might have the best NBA prospect on the floor Monday night in Gordon Hayward, a 6-foot-9 forward, who can shoot the 3, guard on the perimeter and play in the middle if he has to. Giving him a run for his money is Duke’s Kyle Singler, who along with Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith, make up the “Big Three” for the Blue Devils (34-5)— three players who will play at the next level, but not before sticking around college for a while. There are no lottery picks, no “one-and-dones,” on either of these squads, both of whom emphasize “team” over the individual.

Team Stat Leaders:

Points: Gordon Hayward (Butler) 15.6, Jon Scheyer (Duke) 18.3
Rebounds: Gordon Hayward (Butler) 8.2, Brian Zoubek (Duke) 7.7
Assists: Ronald Nored (Butler) 3.6, Jon Scheyer (Duke) 4.8

Discuss the game!

UPDATE: ROUNDUP OF GAME RESULT HERE.

[Jailblazers7]

Please for the love of God let Butler win. It would be a great story and I can't stand to see Duke win another championship.

[MK2V1GP]

This is very rare: Two teams I like are playing for a championship. Normally its two teams I hate!!! Whether its the NBA, NFL, MLB, etc, its normally always two teams I hate in the championship.

I'm a Duke fan, but if Duke was going to lose in the Title game, I'd want it to be to a team like Butler. I love their coach, style of play, and I'm developing a bigger man-crush on Hayward with each game (no homo). I loved the kid when I first saw him play earlier this season, but now seeing him every game, the kid is really something special.

With that said, GO DUKE!

[gotbacon23]

as surprising as it may seem, but brian zoubek is going to be the best pro out of anybody on duke. dude is a rebounding machine.

[Jailblazers7]

Mack is a baller.

And how many easy looks can Howard miss what a punk.

I would prob quit the game of basketball if I let Jon Scheyer chase me down and block my layup.

[MK2V1GP]

Lol. No way will Zoubek be a good NBA player. He's too weak. He reminds me a bit of Shawn Bradley. Sure, he gets a few tough rebounds now, but he's 4-6 inches taller than everyone else and a few pounds heavier too. I just can't see Zoubek being a solid NBA player.

[MK2V1GP]

Why doesn't Hayward just attack? I understand playing within the system and everything. But he needs to be more aggressive sometimes.

[TennesseeFan]

The National Championship Game! Go Bulldogs!

[gotbacon23]

Lol. No way will Zoubek be a good NBA player. He's too weak. He reminds me a bit of Shawn Bradley. Sure, he gets a few tough rebounds now, but he's 4-6 inches taller than everyone else and a few pounds heavier too. I just can't see Zoubek being a solid NBA player.

i think he can be a role playing rebounder. not an all-star or anything. but i think he has a niche that fits more in the nba that schyer, smith, or singler. i dont think those guys will do anything. zoubek could be a poor man's pryzbilla at least, which would be a decent big off the bench.

[Jailblazers7]

I don't remember zoubek being a beast when dejaun Blair took dukes collective manhood last year.

[UK-NJ]

Howard has been awful offensively so far.

[brooks_thompson]

these camera angles are killing me

[gotbacon23]

I don't remember zoubek being a beast when dejaun Blair took dukes collective manhood last year.

zoubek has improved tremendously. if you asked me a year ago, i would have said he wouldn't even make the nba. hell, last year he barely played over 10 minutes per game.

my point being that the dude can rebound and is big. that is worth something in the nba. i would take him with a 2nd round pick easy.

[Undisputed]

Howard is having a horrible start. He can't find the basket.

[insidehoops]

At 13:41 in the first half, Duke leads 8-7. Shelvin Mack has 6 points for Butler, who are shooting just 2-of-10 with 0 assists but two threes to start.