Throughout the first half, Butler showed the best of their Bulldog spirit as, despite poor shooting, they scrapped and fought and restricted Connecticut to just 19 points and took a three point lead into the locker room. Butler were unable to get anything going, relying on the occasional three-pointer to keep the scoreboard operator awake. Still, their hustle was keeping UConn quiet enough that Shelvin Mack's late, long three-pointer gave them a 22-19 lead.
However, the second half was a bridge too far, with Butler missing makeable shot after makeable shot, while UConn finally warmed up enough to quickly take control. Unlike last year, when Butler were able to hang tough to take the game to the wire, or a final basket rim to be precise, UConn had this game sealed well before the buzzer. Kemba Walker finished with 16 for the champions, supported by 11 points and 11 rebounds from Oriakhi, but Butler's 12 from 64 shooting was the telling statistic. Mack led Butler's scoring with 13, while Matt Howard went 1-13 on field goal shooting. It wasn't expected to be pretty, but I doubt even in their worst nightmares did Butler supporters think it could get this disturbing.
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