|
05 April 2010
Tonight the lowly Butler Bulldogs will take on the mighty Duke Blue Devils for the 2010 NCAA basketball championship. At least that's what everyone wants you to believe. Butler spends $10 a month on their basketball team while Duke spends $250 million. Or something like that.
What everyone seems to be forgetting is that Butler didn't sneak up on anyone. How's that? Well, let's look at two preseason basketball polls. The AP Top 25 preseason poll shows Duke at #9 and Butler at #11. The ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll had Duke at #8 and Butler at #10. So everyone's Cinderella, a team that's not supposed to have a shot at taking down blue-blooded basketball royalty was supposed to be pretty good this year.
That's right, Butler was ranked only two spots below the Blue Devils in both preseason polls. They weren't an unranked and "come from nowhere" team. Everyone knew Butler had players before the season started. They were nearly a top ten team in both preseason polls.
So enough with the Cinderella stories. What everyone should be talking about tonight is how two good teams will be squaring off in the final game. Not two great teams, but two good teams that have played well in the tournament and deserve to be where they are.
