Fuck objectivity, before I begin, let me be clear on where I stand, I like so many others, absolutely, positively hate the Duke Blue Devils. I hate their swagger, I hate their uniforms and I hate their Cameron crazy fans. That being said, from a betting standpoint and as a fan of the game, you gotta love the fact that Duke IS in the national championship game.
As much as it hurts me to see Butler beat Michigan State who I had bet on to win, it hurts me even more to see that smug look on Coach K’s face after his boys beat West Virginia. In my heart of hearts I know that the referees fucked me and everyone else who bet on Michigan State to win that game. Anyone with any sense saw Draymon Green get fouled on that last play. But whatever, life goes on. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that Butler advanced, considering they were playing six miles away from their campus, and having a mid major in the national championship game does give credence to the NCAA expanding the tournament to more teams in the near future, I get all that. State was real banged up too, I’m not saying fix, but coming from a sore loser and a cat who just lost some money, yeah, major fucking fix. Butler wasn’t all that exciting. Not sure how many people want to see a team NOT score a field goal for fifteen minutes. It hurts me to say it, but Duke is legit. Their posts do nothing but rebound, play defense and kick out for second chance three balls. That Jon Scheyer is as dorky looking as they come, but the kid can ball. Kyle Singler looks like the cousin of that oaf from the Goonies but he’s going to be a tough matchup for anyone on Butler. This might be the one and only time Duke haters will say they’re glad Duke is in the final, though each hater has their reasons.
On one hand, as a Duke hater, you’re actually glad to see them in the final because nothing would be sweeter to bet against them and watch small time Butler ruin their championship run, and see the blue paint smeared teary faces of those Duke fans, Coach K consoling his wife, while Butler chest bumps their coach. On the other hand, the basketball purest will put his personal feelings aside and watch a Duke team that is clearly the most well rounded and fine tuned team in the tournament dismantle Butler with strong defense, great outside shooting and excellent passing. I fear it’s the latter we’ll see, but I’ll be damned if I bet that way.
I’ll take a loss on principle if I have to. Go Bulldogs.
