Connecticut Wins 2011 National Championship

(Photo: ABC News)


Propelled by a whirlwind of scoring in the second half of the National Championship game, Connecticut captured the 2011 NCAA National Championship in men's basketball by beating Butler 53-41. The 2011 NCAA title is Connecticut's third National Championship in men's basketball. All three of Connecticut's Championships have come under the stewardship of head coach Jim Calhoun. Calhoun previously led Connecticut to NCAA titles in 1999 and 2004.

National Championship Game: Connecticut vs. Butler

The National Championship game will tip off soon. Butler's improbable advance to the title game for the second year in a row has set up another "David vs. Goliath" narrative for sports writers, broadcasters and talking heads to prattle on about -- though it should be noted that the "experts" expected neither Butler nor usual powerhouse Connecticut to be in the Final Four, let alone in the Championship game. Drive and Dish has been burned by overvaluing Connecticut's stock in the past, but even we missed the boat on the Huskies this year. But that's not all: we missed the boat on Butler too, and we did so for the second year in a row (though in our defense, unlike just about everybody else -- who almost universally picked Kansas -- we at least accurately predicted the ultimate winner last year). Don't mistake such candid self-reflection regarding our less-than-clairvoyant Final Four picks for defensiveness though. After Butler's best player (Gordon Hayward) bolted for the 2010 NBA draft, who really thought Butler could reproduce last year's Cinderella magic?

So what do we expect in tonight's game?

Connecticut has superior size, talent, and athleticism. But for the second straight year, Butler has made its living by knocking off bigger, more talented and more athletic NCAA Tournament opponents. Connecticut may have big name stars like All American scoring machine guard Kemba Walker, but Butler has smart, tough players at every position. Butler Forward Matt Howard may not have eye-popping size, talent or athleticism, but he has a phenomenal knack for making big plays -- and for making the right decisions -- at just the right time. Butler point guard Shelvin Mack is cut from the same cloth. Mack is more talented than many "experts" seem to realize -- indeed, he can get by defenders and light it up from beyond the three point arc when he needs to -- but channels his abilities into being a team-first floor general, rather than a flashy star. Mack's possesses tremendous mental and physical toughness. And like Howard, he has a high basketball IQ.

Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack are Butler's most talented players. But it's not their talent that makes them such good leaders -- they're great leaders because of how they set the pace for a Bulldog team that mirrors their toughness and basketball smarts. Butler neutralizes taller, more talented and more athletic teams by controlling the game's tempo. Butler's NCAA Tournament game plan always seems to be to keep the score low, keep their opponents from getting out in transition, keep them from opening up big leads, and stay in position to win as the final two minutes approach. If Butler can control the pace of tonight's game (i.e., slow UConn down), they can keep it close. And if it's still close as the clock ticks to the final two minutes, the pressure could quickly become an enormous obstacle for Connecticut.

Connecticut has all the measurable advantages. In terms of size, talent, athleticism and depth, they're clearly the superior team. But Butler probably has the advantages when it comes to the unmeasurables. By all accounts, Connecticut should win. But if the game is still neck and neck in the final two minutes, it will be Butler's for the taking.

UConn, Michigan State, North Carolina, Vilanova Advance to Final Four

The first two rounds of the 2009 NCAA Tournament are over. The 65-team NCAA Tournament field has been whittled down to four remaining contestants. Connecticut, Michigan State, North Carolina and Villanova have survived and advanced, and, thus, constitute the field for the 2009 Final Four.

On Saturday, April 4, Connecticut will play Michigan State and North Carolina will play Villanova in Detroit's Ford Field.

As 1-seeds, North Carolina and Connecticut were expected to reach the Final Four. Michigan State and Villanova, while both seeded highly (2 and 3-seeds, respectively) upset 1-seeds in the Elite Eight in order to advance to the Final Four.

Michigan State's presence in the Final Four is particularly noteworthy. As members of the much-maligned Big Ten conference, most college basketball "experts" expressed the opinion that the Spartans did not have what it takes to reach the Final Four. Most experts expected Louisville to defeat MSU handily in the Elite Eight, and thus, become the third 2009 Final Four participant from the Big East conference. In fact, it was widely believed that Louisville would run Michigan State off the floor.

But Tom Izzo and the Spartans had different ideas. Izzo's superior game plan put his team in position to take advantage of its strengths (superior guard play, strong play in the paint), and neutralize Louisville's strengths (full court pressure defense, athleticism, three point shooting, switching zone defenses, depth). Most analysts expected Michigan State to wilt under Louisville's famed full court pressure. But the backcourt duo of Kalin Lucas and Travis Walton (along with occasional help from big man Goran Suton) broke the Cardinals' pressure with ease. And the Spartans' torrid three point shooting relegated the zone defense ineffective.

Also of note, since his promotion to the position of men's head basketball coach prior the 1995/96 season, Tom Izzo has taken Michigan State to five Final Fours. Even more impressively, since becoming head coach, every one of Tom Izzo's who has completed his four years of eligibility has participated in a Final Four.

Although he's regularly overlooked by the Big East & Atlantic Coast Conference-obsessed national sports media, Tom Izzo is clearly one of the top coaches in college basketball. What's more, he's widely regarded as one of the true good guys in a notoriously shady sport (college basketball) that is filled with smooth-talking, but often unscrupulous coaches.

Drive and Dish expects Connecticut to beat North Carolina to win the 2009 National Championship (as we've said all year), but we tip our hats to Tom Izzo and Michigan State. We thought MSU would probably make it to the Elite Eight, but fall short of making the Final Four (even though we picked Kansas in our final official bracket). But we're thrilled to see Izzo and the ever-tough Spartans back in the familiar territory of the Final Four.

UConn is Back at No. 1

Connecticut is the No. 1 team in America again. The Huskies have re-taken the top spot in the AP Top 25. North Carolina is No. 2.

Drive and Dish thinks Connecticut and North Carolina are the best teams in the country. We wouldn't be surprised to see them play each other in the National Championship game (although the loss of Jerome Dyson could prevent the Huskies from getting that far).

Pittsburgh is ranked No. 3. Oklahoma and Memphis round out the top five.

AP Top 25 (3-2-09):

Rank	Team	Record	Votes	Previous
1	Connecticut (67)	27-2	1792	2
2	North Carolina (3)	25-3	1678	4
3	Pittsburgh (1)	26-3	1612	1
4	Oklahoma	26-3	1576	3
5	Memphis (1)	26-3	1543	5
6	Louisville	23-5	1462	6
7	Duke	24-5	1340	7
8	Michigan State	23-5	1302	9
9	Kansas	24-5	1190	15
10	Wake Forest	22-5	1158	13
11	Villanova	23-6	913	10
12	LSU	25-4	894	18
13	Marquette	23-6	860	8
14	Gonzaga	23-5	837	17
15	Missouri	24-5	795	11
16	Washington	22-7	704	21
17	Xavier	23-5	629	19
18	Clemson	22-6	564	12
19	Purdue	22-7	545	16
20	UCLA	22-7	497	22
21	Arizona State	21-7	347	14
22	Butler	25-4	302	24
23	Illinois	23-7	287	20
24	Florida State	22-7	272	23
25	Syracuse	21-8	99	28
Others Receiving Votes: Creighton 52, Brigham Young 41, Utah 22, Saint Mary's 13, Dayton 11, West Virginia 10, Davidson 9, Texas 9, California 8, South Carolina 7, Providence 7, Washington State 4, Arizona 3, Oklahoma State 2, Boston College 1, Rhode Island 1, American University 1, Utah State 1

UConn's No. 1 Streak Reaches Three Weeks

For the third straight week, Connecticut is the No. 1 ranked team in America. Thus far, the Huskies are the only team to keep the No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 for more than one week in calendar year 2009. Oklahoma remains at No. 2 and North Carolina remains at No. 3.

Pittsburgh and Memphis round out the top 5.

AP Top 25 (Feb. 16, 2009):

		Record	Votes
1	Connecticut (66)	24-2	1794
2	Oklahoma (4)	25-1	1709
3	North Carolina (2)	23-2	1676
4	Pittsburgh	24-2	1589
5	Memphis	22-3	1465
6	Michigan State	20-4	1443
7	Louisville	19-5	1280
8	Wake Forest	19-4	1217
9	Duke	20-5	1048
10	Marquette	21-4	1045
11	Missouri	22-4	1041
12	Villanova	20-5	983
13	Clemson	20-4	939
14	Arizona State	20-5	830
15	Kansas	20-5	651
16	Xavier	21-4	646
17	Gonzaga	19-5	599
18	Illinois	21-5	589
19	Purdue	19-6	582
20	UCLA	19-6	473
21	Butler	22-3	373
22	Washington	19-6	334
23	LSU	21-4	294
24	Syracuse	19-7	207
25	Dayton	23-3	194
Others Receiving Votes: Texas 83, Utah State 72, Ohio State 45, Arizona 38, California 34, Utah 34, West Virginia 26, Florida State 18, Davidson 15, South Carolina 10, Minnesota 6, Boston College 5, Kentucky 5, Miami (FL) 2, Tennessee 2, Wisconsin 2, Brigham Young 1, Robert Morris 1

Two Weeks and Counting: UConn Still No. 1 in AP Top 25

For the second straight week, the University of Connecticut Huskies are the No. 1 men's college basketball team in the nation. Until now, no team has held the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 for more than one week since the start of calendar year 2009.

What's more, Oklahoma has held on to its No. 2 ranking for the second week in a row. And although most of the elite teams have gone through ups and downs thus far in 2009, the newfound stability at the top of the AP Top 25 may be an indicator of things to come. With North Carolina ranked No. 3, Pittsburgh ranked No. 4 and Louisville ranked No. 5, it's beginning to look like the cream of college basketball is rising to the top.

AP Top 25 (Feb. 09, 2009): Team Ranking Votes

1. Connecticut (67) 22-1 1,795

2. Oklahoma (3) 23-1 1,710

3. North Carolina (2) 21-2 1,672

4. Pittsburgh 21-2 1,583

5. Louisville 18-4 1,423

6. Duke 20-3 1,350

7. Wake Forest 18-3 1,242

8. Memphis 20-3 1,237

9. Michigan State 19-4 1,214

10. Marquette 20-3 1,137

11. UCLA 19-4 1,131

12. Clemson 19-3 1,097

13. Villanova 19-4 989

14. Xavier 20-3 893

15. Butler 21-2 762

16. Kansas 19-4 751

17. Missouri 20-4 395

18. Arizona State 18-5 389

19. Gonzaga 17-5 361

20. Purdue 17-6 353

21. Utah State 23-1 317

22. Illinois 19-5 303

23. Syracuse 18-6 280

24. Ohio State 17-5 216

25. Florida State 18-5 182 Others Receiving Votes LSU 167, Washington 135, Texas 106, Florida 66, Minnesota 43, Dayton 31, California 16, Kansas State 8, West Virginia 8, South Carolina 7, Davidson 7, Miami (FL) 7, Utah 4, Arizona 4, San Diego State 2, Siena 2, Northeastern 2, Robert Morris 1, Boston College 1, Green Bay 1. Dropped From Rankings Texas 16, Minnesota 19, Washington 22.

Connecticut = No. 1 (Feb. 2)

Connecticut is the new No. 1 team in America. The Huskies replace Duke as the highest ranked team in the AP Top 25.

Last week, Duke replaced Wake Forest as the No. 1 ranked team in the AP poll. But Wake Forest beat Duke 70-68 on Wednesday, before falling to Georgia Tech on Saturday.

Oklahoma takes over the No. 2 position in this week's poll, and North Carolina moves up to No. 3. Duke and Louisville round out the top 5.

Drive and Dish has been skeptical of the claim that Wake Forest is a legitimate Final Four contender. After the Demon Deacons beat Duke, we adopted the position that Wake Forest has the requisite talent and the size needed to contend for a Final Four, but that they may not have enough maturity/experience to get them there this year. And we've also stated that North Carolina is likely to make a return trip to the Final Four, but that they're unlikely to win the National Championship. But make no mistake, the UConn Huskies are a legitimate Final Four and National Championship contender.

AP Top 25

1. Connecticut (64) 20-1 1,792

2. Oklahoma (5) 21-1 1,691

3. North Carolina (3) 19-2 1,639

4. Duke 19-2 1,563

5. Louisville 17-3 1,464

6. Pittsburgh 19-2 1,427

7. Wake Forest 17-2 1,409

8. Marquette 19-2 1,358

9. Xavier 19-2 1,176

10. Clemson 18-2 1,077

11. Butler 19-1 1,051

12. Purdue 17-4 961

13. Michigan State 17-4 876

14. Memphis 18-3 798

15. UCLA 17-4 787

16. Texas 15-5 724

17. Villanova 17-4 698

18. Gonzaga 16-4 632

19. Minnesota 18-3 426

20. Syracuse 17-5 415

21. Kansas 17-4 316

22. Washington 16-5 216

23. Illinois 18-4 198

24. Arizona State 16-5 146

25. Utah State 21-1 99

Others Receiving Votes Dayton 95, Davidson 85, Missouri 39, Penn State 37, LSU 36, West Virginia 33, South Carolina 33, UNLV 29, Florida 24, Providence 14, USC 8, Notre Dame 7, Siena 4, Kansas State 4, Northeastern 3, Ohio State 3, Kentucky 2, Arizona 2, Florida State 1, Northern Iowa 1, Virginia Military 1.

Duke Claims No. 1 (January 26, 2009)

Duke is the new No. 1 team in America. The Blue Devils sit atop the AP Men's College Basketball Top 25 for the first time since the 2005/06 season. Duke's climb to No. 1 comes as no surprise: last week's No. 1 team, Wake Forest, lost its first game of the season to unranked Virginia Tech on Wednesday. Duke beat North Carolina State and Maryland convincingly during the week, which practically guaranteed them a promotion from last week's No. 2 ranking.

Wake Forest's stay atop the polls was short-lived: last week, the Demon Deacons captured the No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2004. But thee days after taking over the top position in the AP poll, Wake fell at home to the unheralded Virginia Tech Hokies.

The Big East leads all conferences with four teams in the top 10: Connecticut is No. 2, Pittsburgh is No. 3 , Louisville is No. 7 and Marquette is No. 8. The Atlantic Coast Conference has three teams in the top ten, with the aforementioned No. 1 Duke, No. 5 North Carolina and No. 6 Wake Forest.

Only three non Big East or ACC teams appear in the top ten (No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 9 Michigan State and No. 10 Xavier).

AP Top 25:

1. Duke (62) 18-1 1,789

2. Connecticut (6) 18-1 1,694

3. Pittsburgh (3) 18-1 1,647

4. Oklahoma (1) 19-1 1,539

5. North Carolina 17-2 1,529

6. Wake Forest 16-1 1,509

7. Louisville 15-3 1,351

8. Marquette 17-2 1,209

9. Michigan State 16-3 1,136

10. Xavier 17-2 1,084

11. Texas 14-4 1,017

12. Clemson 17-2 929

13. Butler 18-1 916

14. Arizona State 16-3 834

15. Syracuse 17-4 808

16. Purdue 15-4 724

17. UCLA 15-4 544

18. Memphis 16-3 530

19. Illinois 17-3 401

20. Gonzaga 14-4 381

21. Villanova 15-4 276

22. Saint Mary's 18-1 247

23. Washington 15-4 218

24. Kentucky 16-4 217

25. Georgetown 12-6 189

Others Receiving Votes Notre Dame 154, Minnesota 138, Kansas 84, Florida 65, Missouri 52, Virginia Tech 37, Baylor 34, West Virginia 32, Davidson 27, Utah State 23, Dayton 14, California 13, UNLV 4, Florida State 3, Ohio State 1, Virginia Commonwealth 1. Dropped From Rankings Notre Dame 19, Minnesota 21, Florida 24.