It’s all gone wrong in a hurry for the Butler Bulldogs and shooting is to blame. Some of the Bulldogs’ shooting woes can be attributed to the Connecticut Huskies’ defense, but Butler has also been missing plenty of open looks and that game is getting out of hand because of it. Butler is just 10-55 from the field, 18.2 percent, and 7-28 from beyond the arc. Filling in the blanks, the Bulldogs have connected on just 3-27 from inside the arc, or just about 11 percent of their two-point shots.
UConn has taken advantage of Butler’s shooting woes and has the NCAA Championship all but locked up with under four minutes to go. Though UConn isn’t exactly lighting it up — shooting just 35 percent from the floor and 10 percent from beyond the arc — the Huskies have done enough to take an 11-point lead into the final media timeout.
Kemba Walker has a team-high 12 points, with Alex Oriakhi and Jeremy Lamb each adding 11. At one point in the second half, UConn had 18 points in the paint while Butler had none, illustrated the Bulldogs’ shooting woes and the effectiveness of the Huskies interior defense.
Unless something miraculous happens, Butler looks to be on its way to falling short in the NCAA finals again this year. Stay tuned to our NCAA Championship Game StoryStream for updates on the game. For more, head over to SB Nation’s 2011 NCAA Tournament hub.