2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (April 2014) |
National championship game | |||||||||||||
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Date | April 4, 2011 | ||||||||||||
Venue | Nielsen Ratings | 11.7 | |||||||||||
The 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the title game of the
For the first time since the 1989 National Championship Game, neither a #1 nor a #2 seed participated in the National Championship Game.
Participants
This section's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (June 2017) |
Butler Bulldogs
The Butler Bulldogs had made it back to the national championship for the second year in a row after losing their best player and eventual NBA star Gordon Hayward of the Oklahoma City Thunder. In their opener, they squeaked by Old Dominion 60-58.[2] In the following game, Matt Howard made the game-winning free throw against Pittsburgh to come out on top 71-70. After defeating the Wisconsin Badgers in the Sweet Sixteen 61-54, they took the Florida Gators into overtime, emerging victorious 74-71 to earn a spot in the Final Four. They would defeat the Cinderella of the tournament, VCU, in a closely contested game 70-62 to return to their second consecutive national championship game.[3]
Connecticut Huskies
After failing to make the NCAA tournament the previous year, UConn got off to a hot start, winning their first 10 games of the 2010-11 season - including victories over #2 Michigan State and #8 Kentucky in the Maui Invitational - and climbing as high as #4 in the AP poll. However, they went on stumble down the stretch, finishing 9th in the Big East with a 9-9 record in conference play.[3] Nonetheless, they earned a #3 seed in the West Region. After coasting to an easy victory over Buckner 81-52 in the first round, the Huskies defeated the Cincinnati Bear Cats 69-58 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. After fighting past a dangerous San Diego State team that had entered the game with a 34-2 record 74-67, UConn faced off against Arizona in the Elite Eight.[3] Behind the phenomenal play of Kemba Walker, the Huskies beat the Wildcats in a thriller 65-63 to advance to their 4th ever Final Four. They would pull off a 56-55 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats to set up a national championship match up with Butler.
Starting lineups
Butler | Position | Connecticut | ||
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Shelvin Mack 2 | G |
† Kemba Walker 1 | ||
Shawn Vanzant | G |
G/F | Jeremy Lamb 1 | |
Chase Stigall | G |
F |
Roscoe Smith | |
Matt Howard | F |
Tyler Olander | ||
Andrew Smith | C | F/C | Alex Oriakhi 2 | |
† 2011 Consensus First Team All-American | ||||
Players selected in the 2011 NBA draft (number indicates round) |
Game summary
CBS
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April 4
9:23 pm EDT |
#SE8 Butler Bulldogs 41, #W3 Connecticut Huskies 53 | ||
Scoring by half: 22–19, 19–34 | ||
– 2 | Pts: K. Walker – 16 Rebs: A. Oriakhi – 11 Asts: J. Lamb, S. Napier – 2 |
Reliant Stadium – Houston, TX
Attendance: 70,376 Referees: John Cahill, Verne Harris, Doug Shows |
For the first time since 1989 there was not a #1 or #2 seed team in the championship game.
References
- ^ "2010-11 Men's College Basketball Rankings". ESPN. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
- ^ a b c "SBnation". March 16, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "Was UConn-Butler the modern era's worst national title game?".
- ^ "2010-11 Butler Bulldogs Starting Lineups". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- ^ "2010-11 UConn Huskies Roster and Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- ^ "Butler vs. UConn - Game Summary - April 4, 2011". ESPN. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
- ^ "NCAA Basketball Scores, NCAA Tournament Betting Odds, NCAA Tournament Schedule". DonBest.com. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
- ^ Zinser, Lynn (April 6, 2011). "Saved Worst for Last". The New York Times.