Not what we got, especially in the second half, when a tiring Butler team could not hit from outside or in, overwhelmed by UConn's length and quickness inside. A scintillating defensive game by UConn but very bad basketball at bottom. (Bill Walton on radio was awesome on this--in fact, the radio side with Gus Johnson, Bill Raftery and John Thompson is a better team than the TV announcers at the final--just saying.)
Butler shot 19% for the game. The halftime score was 22-19 Butler. Final 53-41 Connecticut.
The ladies halftime score was 35-33 Notre Dame. The final score 70-76 Texas A & M.
Both games were exciting in their own way, but the ladies game had momentum flowing back and forth and more exciting plays. The men just were grinding it out. There are lots of critics of the lack of "athleticism" in the women's game but in this case, I would say the women were just as exciting to watch as the men. All that flying through the air isn't very effective if you can't put the ball through the hoop.
A & M's Kansas City connection served them well as Danielle Adams (Lee's Summit) led scoring with 30 points and Tyra White (Hickman Mills) made an important late hoop. Nice ESPN article by former Star newsie Mechelle Voepel here.
Oh, yes, the Mizzou coaching drama ended with the controversial hiring of one Frank Haith, a coach from a football school (Miami) with a losing record. Mr. Haith is going to have to win over skeptical fans in both Columbia and in the conference that he is a serious possibility to do well and stick around for a while. I think when he gets in a full Mizzou Arena and realizes that these fans do give a damn is when he realizes what a tough job he has.
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