HOUSTON (AP) – Shelvin Mack hit a 3-pointer with less than a second left in the first half to give Butler a 22-19 lead in the national championship game Monday night.
Both teams struggled from the field, a combination of good defense by both teams and just bad shooting.
Butler was 6 for 27 from the field (22.2 percent), including 5 of 14 from 3-point range. The Huskies weren’t much better, shooting 29 percent (9 of 31), and they missed all five of their shots from behind the arc.
The scoring was extremely slow. The Bulldogs started 2 of 15 from the field, both baskets being 3-pointers in nine attempts.
Neither team finished the half hot either. Connecticut didn’t score over the final 6 minutes, missing three shots and turning the ball over four times.
Mack’s closing 3-pointer marked Butler’s first points since the 4:15 mark.
Mack led Butler with seven points on 2-of-7 shooting. Matt Howard had five points, but he missed five of his six shots from the field.
All-America Kemba Walker had seven points for the Huskies on 3-of-11 shooting – he missed his first five. But he also had two fouls, and he sat the final 2:46 of the half. Alex Oriakhi had four points and four rebounds for Connecticut, but like Walker he had two fouls and sat out the final 10:26 of the half.
The Huskies reached the championship game by beating fourth-seeded Kentucky 56-55, while Butler moved on with a 70-62 victory over Virginia Commonwealth, just the third No. 11 seed to reach the Final Four.
Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun was trying for his third national championship – something only four other coaches have done – and at 68 he would be the oldest to win a title. The oldest is Phog Allen of Kansas who was 66 when the Jayhawks won in 1952.
Brad Stevens, 34, was looking to become the second-youngest coach to win the national championship. The youngest is Branch McCracken who was 31 when he led Indiana to the title in 1940.
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