Butler Basketball - Still a Minor

What we witnessed tonight in the NCAA College Basketball Championship was an incredibly bad performance from the Butler Bulldogs against the University of Connecticut Huskies (UConn).

In their "Moment of Truth", they put on one of the worst displays ever in a title game. It was brutal to witness. UConn was a big reason why Butler suffered tonight, playing an intense and focused 2nd half of basketball to seal the victory. They deserve a hearty congratulations!

Therein lies the difference between a MAJOR and a Mid-major. Butler shot 18%, lowest OF ALL TIME in a championship game. Would that horrible shooting performance happen to a Major university? Everyone should know the answer to that question.

The mid-majors had a glorious run with the success of VCU and Butler, both making it to the Final Four in 2011. Since these institutions lack the resources of the major colleges and don't get the most talented players, their success this year was remarkable. 

Being a former Division 1 player of a mid-major (University of Vermont), I'm happy to see the smaller colleges prevail in this great tournament. But, on the Grand Stage (Championship), I think it will be a long time before victory comes to one of these programs.

Butler has a great program and they should be proud of their success in the last two years - making it to the Championship in 2010 as well, losing to Duke. In addition, they have given hope to the likes of VCU, a team that has no doubt gained inspiration from them.

The Bulldogs may once again get to the main event of college hoops although in terms of capturing the top prize, they are still a "Minor" - which was made crystal clear tonight.

Gswede