It’s April 5th, 2010. We’re at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, where Duke is leading
Butler by two. In the closing seconds, the Bulldogs have no timeouts but they still have
one final chance at winning the National Championship and upsetting Coach K’s Blue Devils. If
you’re unaware, we’re about to witness one of the greatest finishes in college
basketball, which will overshadow everything that got us to this point. So many of y’all
have been asking for it, so finally - let’s rewind.
Like a slingshot aimed at a biblical behemoth’s head, Butler has one shot to do what many
thought was impossible. Forgive me for embracing the cliche of sports cliches, but that’s
how this matchup was billed coming into tonight. It just definitely didn’t do the Bulldogs
justice. While they lack the basketball legacy of Duke, Butler didn’t simply come out of
nowhere.
After a 35 year absence, they made their second NCAA tournament in 1997. That sparked seven
straight seasons of at least 22 wins, including four more tournament invites and the school’s
first appearance in the AP Poll. They were a team capable of pulling off the scrappiest
of upsets: as a 10-seed they beat Wake Forest in ‘01; as a 12-seed in 2003 they knocked
out number five Mississippi State AND number four Louisville.
In the 2007 tournament, they made it to the Sweet Sixteen where they forced overtime against
the slightly stacked eventual champion Florida Gators. They followed that up with the school’s
first 30-win season, and a very good Tennessee team also needed overtime to beat them. After
that, they suffered a slight dip but with a roster made up entirely by underclassmen,
there was a degree of overperforming. They came into the 2009-2010 season ranked eleventh
in the AP Poll, seemingly assured of winning the Horizon League. And while they did drop
out of the top-25 after an 8-and-4 start, they haven’t lost since late December. For
the second time in four years, they’re a five-seed and have more than proved it wasn’t
a fluke.
A lot of the credit for Butler’s turnaround goes to head coach Brad Stevens - both during
this season and over the last few years.
Who, I will say one last time, is not some local child who won a contest to become coach.
I don’t know who started that rumor but stop it, he’s more than that.
The former marketing associate for pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly joined Butler as an assistant
in 2001, then took over ahead of that first 30-win season. Stevens led a physical, defensive-minded
team into the 2010 tournament and it seemed as though they’d forgotten how to lose.
They dodged a first-round upset by outscoring UTEP 50-to-26 in the second half, courtesy
of Shelvin Mack getting hot from three. They squeezed past Murray St thanks to a Gordon
Hayward deflection that prevented any last second shot. Butler’s first trip to the
Elite Eight happened after their defense frustrated number-one Syracuse, forcing 18 turnovers
in the four-point win. Against Kansas State, they actually gave themselves a little more
breathing room than normal and became the smallest school to make the Final Four since
1979. And by choosing this year to make it that far, they conveniently headed back to
Indianapolis where they’d be playing just 30 minutes away from the Butler campus.
Against Michigan State, they needed all the homecourt advantage they could get. In the
final 12 minutes and 18 seconds, Butler was held to a single field goal and barely shot
30% for the game. But after the Spartans intentionally missed a free throw, Hayward gathered the
rebound, and the win was theirs making it 25 straight. It was the lowest shooting percentage
by a winning team in the tournament since 1958. But they also became the first team
in the shot clock era to hold their first five opponents in the NCAA tournament to under
60 points each game.
And while Butler fell just shy of making it six-straight, Duke has needed to grind to
keep their slight lead. Part of why it’s this close is that the Bulldogs have forced
the Blue Devils to not look like the Blue Devils.
Few have done that all season and it definitely hasn’t been the case during the tournament.
Baylor came the closest in the Elite Eight when they took a one-point lead with three-fifty
to play, but then let Duke pull away to win by seven. Every other victory was by double
digits, which included a 21-point win over West Virginia to get them to their eighth
championship game under Krzyzewski - but just their first since 2001. While this might not
have been Coach K’s best squad, they were still extremely good, it just hadn’t fully
translated yet. The core of Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith, and Jon Scheyer became just the
second Duke trio to combine for 600 points in a season. And, before tonight, at least
one of them scored 20 or more in every game of this tournament.
The trouble for them was that this year was the first time they made it past the Sweet
Sixteen. Last year, as a 2-seed, they were plastered by Villanova in a 23-point loss,
which was actually a drastic improvement from a year before. Again as a 2-seed, they had
to comeback against Belmont to win by one, before losing in the second round to West
Virginia. And when Jon Scheyer was a freshman they lost by two to VCU in the opening round.
So for all they’ve done this year, a loss tonight would further cement the disappointment
that’s been their Duke careers.
And against Butler, we’ve seen some of what has undone Duke in tournaments past. They’ve
struggled to pull away like they usually do. These teams traded the lead 15 times, plus
another five ties, and Duke’s largest lead tonight has been just six points. They hit
that near the end of the first half thanks to an eight-nothing run. At that point, Stevens
took a timeout and Butler responded by scoring seven unanswered to retake the lead. Then
late in the second half, Duke kept Butler from making a field goal for nearly eight
minutes. But the Bulldog defense prevented a Blue Devil run and held them to five points
in the final seven minutes of the game to give Butler a chance in the closing seconds.
A chance made somewhat easier thanks to Matt Howard completely taking out Kyle Singler.
But earlier tonight and leading up to the game, it looked like Howard wouldn’t be
here which would’ve deprived us of this incredible screen, and I guess would’ve
deprived Butler of much more.
Howard’s been a key piece for the Bulldogs since he took over the starting center job
as a freshman. He won the Horizon League’s newcomer of the year award and the following
season traded in those honors for Horizon player of the year. And in 2010 he was named
MVP of the conference tournament. But in the NCAA semifinal against Michigan State, he
got knocked around a bit, including an inadvertent Draymond Green elbow to the forehead. He played
through it, but after the game it was announced that Howard suffered a concussion and his
status was uncertain for the championship. That wouldn’t have been great for Butler
who needed his size and smarts to handle Duke’s seven-foot-one Brian Zoubek plus the six-ten
Plumlee boys. And while Howard managed to clear concussion protocol and started the
game, he still found himself on the bench most of the first half thanks to early foul
trouble. As he sat, Avery Jukes filled in, who in his previous 7 games had scored just
7 points. But tonight, the former transfer from Alabama became Butler’s leading scorer
of the first half and hit this three right before the break to make it a one-point game.
The second half mirrored the first: the score stayed close, and Howard was back on the bench
early after picking up his fourth personal with over 14 to play. But when Butler needed
him most, Howard was there. He brought an end to their field goal drought with under
two to play, then on their next possession got it again and made it a one-point game.
But between then and now, it feels like an eternity has passed. That’s partially because
it’s such a high stakes game where every moment matters and momentum seemingly swings
with each touch. And cuz Butler burned all their timeouts.
With 30 seconds to play, Butler brought the ball upcourt for what could be the final possession.
As they attempted to find any open man, Zoubek deflected a pass out of bounds, and Stevens
took a timeout ahead of the inbound. He put the ball in Hayward’s hands with 13.6 remaining,
but Coach K stationed Zoubek in front of him. Stuck in the corner, Butler went back to the
drawing board with their final timeout. The second time around, Howard inbounded and got
it over Zoubek’s head to Hayward who had eyes for no one but himself as he took it
to the baseline. He got off a fadeaway that had just a touch too much on it. Zoubek collected
the rebound and headed the other way to ice the game with a pair of free throws.
But after he made the first attempt and extended Duke’s lead to two, Coach K had different
thoughts for his second shot. Krzyzewski knew that with little time remaining, Butler likely
couldn’t advance the ball far enough for anything but a three. So instead of giving
them a chance to gain ground off an inbound, he had Zoubek intentionally miss - the trouble
for Duke was Hayward was the one who skied for the rebound.
It’s definitely a gamble regardless of opponent. But considering who has the ball, it’s extra
dicey.
Let’s talk about Gordon Hayward. Not too long ago, that name wouldn’t have
meant much to those of us not from Indiana. Hayward went to high school in Brownsburg,
about 15 miles outside Indianapolis. It was there that he nearly gave up basketball for
tennis, then had a 10-inch growth spurt, and beat the buzzer to win the 4A Indiana High
School State Final his senior year. But with that success coming late and the fact he had
skipped basketball tournaments for tennis tournaments, Hayward was an unranked three-star
prospect without much interest from major programs. But he drew the eye of a local college
and got a scholarship offer, which he took partially because their morning practices
wouldn’t get in the way of his computer engineering studies.
Outside the classroom, the accolades started coming his freshman year. Hayward became an
attraction within the Horizon League and even during the summer helped Butler gain some
respect. Alongside Klay Thompson, Seth Curry, plus fellow Bulldog Shelvin Mack, Hayward
helped Team USA’s under-19 squad win a World Championship in New Zealand. He carried that
success into the regular season where he led the team in scoring and displaced Howard as
the Horizon player of the year.
But tonight, he’d likely take a do-over. He shot just 2-of-10 before the closing seconds
and had already missed an opportunity to retake the lead moments ago. But he’s earned a
rare second chance to help Butler pull off the upset and - after seasons spent flirting
with success - make a statement win for the university. Otherwise, it’s Duke hanging
on for their 4th national title under Krzyzewski and a win that would completely rewrite the
narrative of Singler, Scheyer, and Smith’s time as Blue Devils. With time running out,
the ball in Hayward’s hands, welcome to a moment in history.
Nantz: It’s Hayward bringing it down, getting around Zoubek, at mid-court launches the shot.
Oh! It almost went in! Almost went in, and Duke is the king of the dance.
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