Going into last night's national championship game against Butler I identified several keys to success that would lead to a national title for the Huskies:
1. Kemba Walker must be either a scorer or a distributor early. UConn's success this season has been directly tied to Kemba's ability to create offense.
2. Jeremy Lamb must step up as a viable scoring option. Butler's well-deserved reputation as a giant slayer is built upon their ability to shut down the opposing team's best player.
3. Alex Oriakhi must stay out of foul trouble. UConn has a definitive advantage in size and athleticism inside but it is entirely linked to the mercurial sophomore forward.
4. Roscoe Smith must get involved offensively early. Smith is a talented low post player who has the ability to stretch a defense with the occasional long jumper but as a freshman he has disappeared from games by missing a couple of shots at the beginning of the game.
5. Jim Calhoun cannot get out-coached. Brad Stevens is as talented a basketball mind as there is currently coaching in the college ranks right now. The popular belief was that Stevens would be able to scheme a defense that could at least slow down Kemba Walker and his experienced team would rain open threes to victory.
So what happened?
1. Kemba Walker shot 3 for 11 for 7 points and 0 assists, providing none of the dynamic offense that UConn typically relies upon. Additionally he picked up two fouls and sat a nearly unprecedented 3 minutes in the first half.
2. Jeremy Lamb shot 0 for 2, picked up his second foul with 9 minutes to go in the first half and was a complete non-factor.
3. Alex Oriakhi was for a force on both ends of the floor scoring 4 early points and picking up 4 early rebounds but unfortunately he also picked up his second foul with over 10 minutes to go in the first half and had to watch the rest of the frame from the bench.
4. Roscoe Smith missed both of his early shots and turned into a shot-blocking turnover machine. He also picked up his second foul late in the second half.
5. Jim Calhoun spent much of the first half munching on the souls of abandoned kittens, somehow oblivious to the fact that his lineup to end the first half was Shabazz Napier, Tyler Olander, Donnell Beverly, Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, and Charles Okwandu.
How did UConn survive the apocalypse scenario and emerge victorious? They watched Butler have an historic shooting night. No team has ever shot so poorly in a national championship game. To find point totals so abysmal you have to go back to the 1940s, years before the implementation of a shot clock or a three point basket.
UConn actually represented itself pretty well in the second half against an excellent defensive team, scoring 34 points on 42% shooting. They were still atrocious from the three-point line, finishing at 1 for 11 overall but when they had such an advantage athletically they were able to dominate inside like we have never seen before. The Huskies out-scored the Bulldogs 26-2 in the paint. The interior defense certainly helped but Butler was missing layups like someone had threatened their beloved mascot. Oh hey maybe I just uncovered an alternate theory! It is a shame because the resiliency of the Huskies to go 14-0 in tournament play as well as the nearly unbelievable run from Butler to play in back-to-back national championship games was overshadowed by the ugliness of the game. When it is all said and done, UConn emerged victorious and unless your team is coached by John Calipari, that is all that will be remembered in the record books.
