National Title Preview

Of course. This is the only way it could end.

The most dramatic, theatric, heartwrenching, and in some ways most curative NCAA tournament in many years (maybe ever) has to come down to this. It seems the basketball gods have decided, it has to end with an overdog-underdog matchup of epic proportion.

Duke versus Butler for the national championship. This is better than any movie script, and y'all know which movie I'm talking about.

Duke, is known as the program with everything, high academic ratings as well as high athletic standards in most sports but none more so than basketball; they are perfectionists in everything they do be it school or sports. Butler, is known as the program with a nice doggy mascot, a program playing in the shadows of Indiana and Purdue and in the late '70s Indiana State.

Duke, playing for its fourth national title in 19 years, is the most accomplished program of the past quarter century, playing in a title game for the sixth consecutive decade and 2nd time this decade. Butler is playing for its first title in school history after decades of never even dreaming of a NCAA tournament bid.

Duke, coached by Mike Krzyzewski, owner of an Olympic gold medal and three championship rings and 76 NCAA tourney victories, trying to become the third-oldest coach to win a title. Butler, coached by Brad Stevens, was mistaken for a player by Lucas Oil Stadium security last week, and a mere 70 NCAA wins behind Coach K, trying to become the second-youngest titlist.

Duke, led by its six McDonald's All-Americans. Butler, with its 10 homegrown Hoosiers. Duke will play the role of uber-villain on Monday night against the fresh faces from the little school just 6 miles up the road. If you thought people were predisposed to root against Duke before now, the dislike just went off the charts past the atmosphere and into another galaxy.

So until tipoff, we have the perfect script. After that, we'll see how long it holds up. If Duke plays the way it did Saturday night in demolishing a tough West Virginia team, or if Butler is too battered from its brawl with the equally embattled Michigan State, the plot will collapse right after the opening tip. It would be last season's title mauling all over again, another home-state overachiever being bulldozed by an ACC powerhouse.

The Blue Devils were simply brilliant in dismantling the Mountaineers 78-57. They made 13 of 25 from behind the arc, had 20 assists, and only six turnovers. They frustrated West Virginia leading scorer Da'Sean Butler into a 2-for-8 shooting night before he went down with what is now being reported as a torn ACL (please pray for his speedy recovery).

Butler, on the other hand, played only well enough to win 52-50. They staggered to the finish line missing 19 of 25 second-half shots against the Spartans, including all seven from 3-point range. Forward Matt Howard went down with a mild concussion and played only 15 minutes. Point guard Shelvin Mack played just eight second-half minutes because of dehydration and severe cramps in both thighs. Even star Gordon Hayward was sporting a fat lip postgame. Howard and Mack are questionable right now while Hayward will most definitely play but the loss of the former 2 could be too much for Butler to overcome if they can't play.

They will have to keep Duke off the glass. They will have to make more than one of every three shots if they want to win. But Duke isn't taking Butler lightly. Coach K correctly pointed out Saturday night that Duke's institutional memory of its title runs pretty well stops with him. The players on this years team are in their first Final Four, same as Butler's. And he also made sure to declare that Butler is a good team and not a Cinderella; stating how they have won 25 in a row and have beaten top programs in Syracuse, Kansas State, and Michigan State.

By seeding, there have been bigger underdog-overdog matchups in NCAA title game history. In 1985, Villanova was a No. 8 seed and Georgetown was a No. 1. But those two programs were both Big East schools of similar background, funding and profile. And in 1983, when No. 6 seed North Carolina State shocked Phi Slama Jama Houston, NC State owned a national title from the previous decade and membership in the ACC; not the Horizon League.

This is totally different. The closest comparison could be 1979. Indiana State of the small Missouri Valley Conference against Michigan State of the Big Ten. But the Sycamores had Larry Bird and were an undefeated No. 1 seed and there are no Larry Legends on this Butler squad. The Spartans, with Magic Johnson, were a six-loss No. 2 seed. Hardly a true underdog-overdog matchup but the matchup is similar in the sense that the small school of Indiana State took on the big program of Michigan State.

So feel free to flip back, through the record books as far as you can and find the comparison that strikes you best. The Texas Western-Kentucky final, in 1966? (that inspired the movie Glory Road) The Loyola Chicago-Cincinnati final, in 1963? Knock yourself out. Rest assured it will be a game unlike any my generation has ever seen and if Butler pulls off the upset (I hope they don't) it could be our generations ultimate underdog winner.

Peace and Much Love to Ya :)