National Championship: Duke vs. Butler

• killer_ewok

  

  
  
  
  
  The #1 seed Duke Blue Devils take on the #5 seed Butler Bulldogs on Monday night. 9:00 p.m. on CBS. Who ya' got?
• rugbywrestler

  Butler
• Trueblue23

  

  Dukies baby!
• wes_mantooth

  

  If Duke plays like that....they will win comfortably.
• Cleveland Buck

  

  I want to say Butler. They will definitely put up a better defensive effort than WVU. I just don't know if they have enough size. If they have to give too much help inside then Duke's shooters will be filling it up outside. I'll say Duke in a close one.
• RiverRat13

  Cleveland Buck wrote: I want to say Butler. They will definitely put up a better defensive effort than WVU. I just don't know if they have enough size. If they have to give too much help inside then Duke's shooters will be filling it up outside. I'll say Duke in a close one.

  Butler doesn't have to help inside. In fact, they should encourage Duke's bigs to shoot. Duke's size is a problem on the offensive boards, not scoring inside.
• Non

  

  Nice championship matchup.
• eagleman

  Duke by 4
• cats gone wild

  Depends on injuries.
• Non

  

  Duke should win but I think it could be a mistake to just go by these two semifinals games.
  
  Butler only shot 31 percent and had to grind it out.
  
  Duke hit everything.
  
  If that's how they both go Monday Duke will kill 'em but Butler is capable of shooting better and defending better than WVU on the outside.
• ZeroCool

  duke by 5 or 6 the whole way and finish with a 10-11 point win based upon the tourney games up to this point.
• mattinctown

  Just don't think Butler has enough offense or inside play to win this game. As much as I'd love them to win in any other year, this is the one year I DON'T. Duke by 7.
• hoops23

  

  As a die hard UNC fan, I HOPE TO GOD BUTLER WINS...
  
  With that said, I think Duke is going to do it... Duke has got me back to the point where I HATE watching them. Late flops, uncanny 3's, ugly faces... Ugh.. It's all too familiar Next season can't come fast enough.
  
  I'd love to see the "mid-major" finally break through and win the damn thing, especially at home... It'd be even sweeter because it's against Duke..
  
  But again, Duke seems to have "it" right now. Zoubek is probably going to tear that one guy from Butler up on the glass... (#54, I think)
• dlazz

  Butler has been dealing with 3-pt shooting teams all year, and are very good at running games at whatever pace they want.
  
  I think Butler has a legitimate shot.
• Prescott

  Butler doesn't have enough of anything, especially players who can score the basketball. Butler may shorten the game by running a very deliberate offense, but the Bulldogs will not threaten the dukies.
• hoops23

  

  Butler hasn't faced a team in the tourney who can score and rebound like Duke.. They just haven't.
  
  Duke won't go 5 or 6+ minutes w/o a FG.
• georgemc80

  Duke played their best game of the season against WVU...part of that had to do with a week of preparation. I am curious how if Duke plays nearly as well as they did against WVU or do they have an emotional let down.
  
  You don't win 25 games in a row on accident. Butler will absolutely compete. I am predicting Duke having to make a comeback after trailing by 5 at halftime.
  
  
  A Duke win tomorrow has greater implications than just a 4th title for K....a win gives him a reasonable chance to pass Knight next season.
• ironman02

  I've tried everything and it just hasn't worked. This is Duke's championship to win.
  
  Butler is an outstanding team that is very good at imposing its will on its opponent, but as prescott said, they just don't have the offensive horses to hang with Duke. They'll probably get killed on the glass, which will lead to several second chances for Duke. I think the Blue Devils win this thing comfortably, and are never really threatened.
  
  It's time to just accept it and end this nightmare. Duke is the national champion. Next season, please.
• tcarrier32

  

  i hope butler wins. ill be rooting for them. luckily our tickets are in the butler section of the stadium
• georgemc80

  Speaking of next year...did anyone hear Nolan Smith say in the presser that he didn't want it to be John or Kyle's last game?
  
  
  Maybe he knows something.
• ironman02

  I hope Singler is on his way out, but when he said John, Kyle, or Lance, he probably meant to include Zoubek instead of Singler.
  
  Maybe something will go right this season though.
• mattinctown

  Obviously hoping Kyle sticks around, back to back would look great considering the hell that was 2005 and 2009.
• Footwedge

  Butler will win....and it might be a blowout.
• chicago510

  

  Footwedge wrote: Butler will win....and it might be a blowout.

  :huh: Butler hasn't blown out anyone good all year. They don't score enough.
  
  Duke wins this one by 8.
• FairwoodKing

  I think Butler will be very loose Monday night. They have nothing to lose. Nobody expected them to go this far, so everything at this point is gravy. The game will be close, but Butler will pull it out.