INDIANAPOLIS — Less than a second from the final buzzer, his Butler Bulldogs down two points to dynastic Duke, Gordon Hayward launched the ultimate prayer, a half-court heave to win the national championship.
If it connected, it would become the greatest shot in college basketball history, a fitting exclamation point to one of the greatest national championship games in NCAA tournament history.
And it looked like it was going to deliver such magic for a second or so, dropping almost perfectly against the backboard, a banker to rob the Blue Devils of their fourth national championship under Mike Krzyzewski.
But then it hit the rim and spun out, causing 70,930 to collectively gasp — the Blue Devils for joy over a 61-59 win; the Bulldogs and all who’d piled on their bandwagon during the past three weeks for what might have been.
“We caught lightning in a bottle the last 25 games,” said Butler coach Brad Stevens, referring to the ending of the nation’s longest winning streak. “But I’ll never question what our guys gave. They gave it everything they had all season.”
Duke (35-5) also gave it all it had, beginning with Most Outstanding Player Kyle Singler, who finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and a brilliant defensive job on Hayward on the possession before the half-court heave after a missed Blue Devils free throw.
With Butler possessing the ball a point behind with 13.6 seconds left, Stevens called for Hayward to take Singler one-on-one for the win. The Bulldogs star couldn’t shake him and reluctantly threw up a 14-footer from the baseline.
Duke’s Brian Zoubek rebounded and was fouled. He hit one, then purposely missed the second to set up the dramatic conclusion.
“I’ve been in eight championship games,” Coach K said. “This was a classic. This was the toughest and the best.”
Yet regardless of the winner, this was one of those NCAA title games that could lift the sport as it has not been lifted since Magic Johnson’s Michigan State Spartans defeated Larry Bird and Indiana State in the 1979 title game.
Krzyzewski, now tied with the late Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp for the second most titles in NCAA history behind former UCLA coach John Wooden’s 10, said before this game that the Bulldogs and Blue Devils were “very similar.”
No, Butler may not be quite as tall and talented as the top-seeded Devils, and over time that seemed to cause the Bulldogs trouble, especially whenever Zoubek wasn’t in foul trouble.
But this wasn’t so much about who won as it was the way both teams played — with heart and smarts, purpose and passion, the way Wooden’s UCLA teams once played. And Bob Knight’s best Indiana teams. And Dean Smith’s top North Carolina squads.
The Bulldogs and Blue Devils coughed it up only four times each in the opening half despite defense that never rested. Light-scoring Butler senior reserve Avery Jukes of Snellville, Ga. — with a sub-3-point scoring average — erupted for 10 points in the opening period, including two perfect 3-pointers.
No wonder the Butler band often broke into the “Time Warp” tune from “Rocky Horror Picture Show.” This was a throwback game in so many respects. Six of the 10 starters were without a single tattoo. None wore headbands. There were no freshman starters, so there were no one-and-doners.
But gradually, expectedly, the shorter Bulldogs began to wear down. Ahead 24-17 on the glass in the opening half, Butler fell behind Duke in that category with three minutes to play, eventually being outrebounded 37-35.
Suddenly, the Devils’ hands appeared quicker, their legs stronger, their shots straighter. Butler hadn’t given up as many as 60 points in a single tourney game before that. Now Duke had its 60.
But then Butler made one final push. It pulled within one. It got the ball back with 13.6 seconds to play. Then it got it back a final time, albeit with the clock racing to zero.
“I was standing at halfcourt and I thought it was going in,” said Butler junior forward Matt Howard. “You think it’s going in and then it rims out. That makes it a little more devastating.”
A little more devastating. A lot more memorable.
Butler almost did it. Almost.