This 2010 tournament had more than its fair share of brewing upsets, dark horse teams and Cinderella hopefuls, but Duke’s victory over Butler was a dry, sugar-free cherry on top of a decadent banana split. Every day of tournament action had substantial upsets and buzzer beaters. Even on the first day, Robert Morris came close to knocking off two-seed Villanova, while Ohio knocked out three-seed Georgetown.
The tournament only got better when Northern Iowa executed one of the bigger upsets in tournament history by conquering one-seed Kansas in the second round. Cornell made its own story, reaching the sweet 16 as a 12-seed to flex the muscles of the Ivy League. Even St. Mary’s got in on the upset action, crushing two seed Villanova in the second round after upsetting Richmond in the first.
Don’t forget Duke’s foe, Butler, who’s five-seed run was much more exemplary of the unpredictable “nobody believed in us” mindset that spread over the tournament field this year. The fact that a Horizon league school reached the National Championship is a testament to the possibilities of the competition, but actually beating the ACC powerhouse would’ve been so much more…what’s the word...proper.
The Bulldogs won 25 straight games, including recent victories over one-seed Syracuse, 2-seed Kansas State and returning contender Michigan State. The team’s run wasn’t necessarily the most difficult in the dance, but it was surely more exciting and unexpected than Duke’s path. Duke’s road to the Final Four wasn’t nearly as difficult, posting West Virginia and Baylor as its greatest foes. Purdue and California didn’t provide nearly enough competition for the Devils.
Come to think of it, pick pretty much any seed in the Final Four matchups besides Duke, and they’ll spit a better line than the Blue Devils’ conventional championship victory. West Virginia and Michigan State would’ve made great headlines had they won the dance.
A victory from WVU would’ve finally erased the common thought that the Big East can’t compete in the Big Dance. Each year, Big East powerhouses fall short in unexpected and embarrassing ways. The Big East always fails to live up to tourney expectations, but every year the conference seems to breed the core of the very best teams in college basketball. What about Michigan State and a go-again run for head coach Tom Izzo? MSU fell short last year to North Carolina, but its discipline and incredible coaching earned a return to late March. But this year the Spartans were underestimated and inconsistent and were therefore seeded much higher.
The simple fact that three five-seed teams reached the Elite Eight led the nation to believe that this year’s championship would be special. That’s not to say this Duke team didn’t deserve a championship this year. Behind its talented seniors Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith and Jon Scheyer, Duke earned their spot as a top seed and won six straight tourney games to prove that fact. But having three consistent and team-oriented seniors doesn’t translate to exhilarating stars and storylines for fans to focus on. The Blue Devils had the shooting, inside play and coaching to go far in the tournament; but this team didn’t have the spark to make their championship one to remember. The Blue Devils didn’t even have the favorite “everyone is gunning for us” factor they usually have in the tournament. The ACC’s dominant status in the tournament was diminished this year without North Carolina providing competition. Maryland was the closest to powerful that Duke encountered more than once in the year, and Virginia Tech was nowhere close to what UNC usually posts. Of course, no team wrote off Duke or expected the team to fail early. Sorry Durham, but the rest of the nation is writhing in boredom while you celebrate. This year’s champion just doesn’t fit how exciting this tournament really was.
