Duke 61, Butler 59

Blue Devils back on top with 4th NCAA title

INDIANAPOLIS - All season long, defense and rebounding were the buzzwords that carried Duke to the NCAA title game.

It was fitting, then, that one final defensive possession made the Blue Devils NCAA champions Monday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in a 61-59 victory over Butler.

Trailing by one point, upset-minded Butler gave the ball to leading scorer Gordon Hayward. Guarded by Kyle Singler, he tried driving the right side of the lane but was cut off.

Hayward lofted a high-arcing shot that clanged off the rim with five seconds remaining. Seven-foot-1 Brian Zoubek rebounded for Duke with 3.6 seconds left. He made one free throw, and missed the next intentionally.

A half-court heave by Hayward was long off the backcourt at the final horn. Fireworks cracked and confetti fell, and Duke had its fourth NCAA title.

Singler scored 19 points, Jon Scheyer 15 and Nolan Smith 13 for the Blue Devils.

Duke (35-5), the No. 1 seed out of the South Regional, edged the tough Butler team to earn the school's fourth NCAA title. No. 5 seed Butler (33-5) fell just short of completing one of the most improbable championship runs ever as a highly disciplined team from the mid-major Horizon League.

Butler proved every bit as formidable as Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski had predicted the previous day. The game was billed as a classic meeting of a feisty, determined underdog against a highly skilled traditional power after the Blue Devils crushed Big East tournament champion West Virginia 78-57 in Saturdayís NCAA semifinals.

But Butler had won 25 in a row entering the game and showed why with a gritty defensive performance that caused the Blue Devils fits throughout the game. The Bulldogs backed off forward Lance Thomas, Duke's least accomplished scorer, in order to clog the lane and pressure the Blue Devilsí high-scoring trio of Scheyer, Singler and Smith.

It was a brutal, half-court game that fit the styles of both teams and was tightly contested throughout. Although Duke led for much of the game, neither team ever led by more than six points.

In the opening minutes, Butler coach Brad Stevens proved worthy of the high praise Krzyzewski heaped on him the day before the game. Although Duke had a much bigger lineup, with three starters 6-foot-8 or taller, the Bulldogs immediately attacked in the lane on offense.

Matt Howard, the 6-8 forward who played despite suffering a concussion in the NCAA semifinals against Michigan State, thrashed around in the lane without fear, and Duke quickly paid the price.

Just 3:10 into the game, Duke senior forward Thomas committed his second foul, and he immediately came to the bench. Howard's aggression set the tone on the boards, too, where Duke dominated smaller opponents such as Butler throughout the tournament.

In the first half, the Bulldogs outrebounded Duke 24-17 despite starting three players 6-foot-3 or smaller. Nonetheless, Duke held a slim lead throughout most of the first half.

The Blue Devils scored six of the first seven points, fell behind, and scored eight straight points to lead 26-20 on a Kyle Singler driving layup with 5:13 remaining in the first half. Stevens, who looked like he wanted a traveling call on the Singler basket, called timeout and steadied his team.

Over the last four minutes of the half, Howardís backup, Avery Jukes, hit a pair of 3-point shots and a rebound basket to narrow the margin. After Smith missed the front end of a one-and-one at the free throw line with three seconds left in the half and a jumper at the buzzer, Duke led just 33-32 at halftime.

Butler led briefly three times in the opening seven minutes of the second half before Kyle Singler made a 3-pointer and Krzyzewski immediately called timeout with Duke ahead 45-43 and 13:02 remaining.

Duke led 60-55 with two minutes remaining, but went cold in the final three minutes. Howard scored a layup with 1:42 left and another after Smith missed a layup with 54.8 seconds left to cut the Blue Devilsí advantage to 60-59.

Singler missed a 15-foot jumper, and the rebound went out of bounds off Zoubekís leg with 33.7 seconds remaining. Zoubek deflected a Butler pass out of bounds with 13.6 seconds left.
ktysiac@charlotteobserver.com or 919-829-8942, or @kentysiac on Twitter