This year’s NCAA tournament went out with a bang as cinderella story Duke University captured its very first NCAA title this decade. Those following the tournament were already thrilled to see the formerly unknown school reach the Final Four for the first time in well over 5 years. On Monday the Blue Devils finally reached their storybook ending when they took down perennial goliath Butler University.
According to Blue Devil fans, simply making it into this years tournament was a victory in and of itself. Coach Mike Krzyzewski recalls, “The whole campus went nuts on selection Sunday, I mean it had been almost 364 days since any Duke team had made it in to the big dance… they were just ecstatic.”
When the tournament got underway the Blue Devils had only one goal: to prove that they could hang with the best in the nation. The players were all a little star-struck as they took the court against Arkansas- Pine Bluff in the first round, but they were able to overcome the stage fright and somehow put together a 29 point win.
Center Brian Zoubek says that victory boosted his team’s confidence greatly, “I mean, after we saw that we could play with Tavaris Washington and the rest of the Golden Lions, we started to feel like we really belong here.”
As the tournament wore on, many began to wonder just when the clock would strike midnight for these cinderellas, but somehow the Blue Devils kept on winning. They squeaked past Baylor by only the slimmest of double digit margins to make it into the elite eight. Looking back on the tournament run, Coach Krzyzewski recalls, “This is where I really started to feel like, you know, this is really happening. I mean I’ve only got 12 elite eight trips under my belt, and only 11 of those resulted in a final four bid… I had no idea how to approach this situation. This was uncharted territory for all of us.”
But the basketball gods were smiling on Krzyzewski and his ragtag team of incredibly talented athletes. After making it to the Final Four, Duke prevailed over West Virginia in a nail-biting, nerve wracking, heart attack inducing, no-overtime, 21 point victory that is sure to go down as one of the greatest tournament games of all time.
Heading into Monday’s game, Duke players and fans alike were more nervous than ever. They knew that history was not on their side, as the Butler Bulldogs had never before been defeated in NCAA final’s history.
The Blue Devils managed to reverse this trend though, upsetting the Bulldogs 61-59 in a game reminiscent of another famous Bulldog loss. Georgetown mascot Jack the Bulldog could not help but be reminded of his team’s 1985 loss to Villanova in the NCAA finals. Jack could only send his condolences to the Butler players saying, “I can imagine what those guys are going through, I’d say that this upset is about on par with our ’85 loss, both in shock value and in overall devastation.”
Butler coach Brad Stevens says if he could do it all again, he would have done much more to prepare for what his team thought would be an easy win. “I mean, when you’re going up against some unknown team like Murray State or Duke, its really easy to just look past them and be thinking about the next game. We really underestimated these guys, but what can I say, with these smaller schools, you never know what you’re getting into.”
This victory tastes especially sweet to all of the Duke players who passed up scholarship offers from other more established programs to play in Durham. Guard Jon Scheyer: “Sure, back when I was in high school, I had been recruited by all those great teams I watched as a kid, like Butler and Lehigh and even East Tennessee State… but there was something about this Duke program that really attracted me. I don’t know what it was about coach K, but something told me that even though I had never heard of him, this man knew how to win an NCAA tournament. It may have been those four championship rings he wore during practices… whatever it was, I sure am glad I decided to come to Duke.”
