The True Power-Conference: UCONN Wins March Madness Tournament

Kemba "Sky" Walker Leads UCONN and the Big East to a National Championship

Finally all the naysayers can shut their mouths. All we heard after the first weekend of the NCAA tournament was the Big East didn’t deserve to have 11 teams selected to play in the Tournament.  Well guess what.  It matters who wins on the last day not the first day (although if had Butler won, a case could be made for this play).  And on this last day, the Big East reigned supreme.  Led by player of the year contender Kemba Walker’s 16 points and 9 boards, UCONN redeemed the Big East’s overall poor performance in this year’s tournament.  When Butler came out in a zone defense in the second half, UCONN moved away from the pick and roll.  After coach Jim Calhoun’s halftime adjustments, the Huskies instead utilized baseline screens to create open jumpers and drives to the basket.  Alex Oriakhi had an 11 point 11 rebound double-double, and Jeremy Lamb chipped in with 12 points and 7 boards.  Calhoun is now 3-0 in National Championship games.

Butler deserves the utmost respect for their performance during the past two Tournaments.  The New York Times determined that Butler’s odds of making the Championship Game this year were .9 percent.  Last year they were listed at 1.5 percent.  The Times goes on to calculate that the odds of Butler making the National Championship both of those years was 7,406 to 1.  Hats off to the Bulldogs.

There are many things in question before a new college basketball season begins.  Who will enter the draft this year?  What coaching changes will be made (is Brad Stevens going to stay at a small mid-major when schools will most likely be opening their coffers for him?).  And how will the top recruits perform?  What isn’t in question is the fact that in 2011 the UCONN Huskies and Big East are champions.  Go Huskies.