Half-court heave falls just short of history

INDIANAPOLIS -- It would have been the greatest shot in college basketball history. Maybe basketball history.

Think about it.

What would have meant more?

It couldn't have come any closer and not gone in. In fact, it entered the rim before bouncing out and sticking a knife through the hearts of fans everywhere who wanted the dream to become reality for the small school that over three weeks changed how the college game is viewed around the country.

Duke is the national champion for a fourth time, a fact secured with a 61-59 classic victory against Butler on Monday evening and made official at Lucas Oil Stadium when a half-court attempt by Gordon Hayward appeared perfectly on line until bouncing away at the buzzer.

"Felt good," Hayward said. "Looked good. Just didn't go in."

It will sting Butler's players and coaches and fans for years, decades, maybe forever, because you could not have scripted a better opportunity for a Horizon League champion, for a university with an enrollment of 4,200, to take down a college basketball giant.

You could not have painted a picture of the smaller Bulldogs being nearly even on the boards with Duke, attacking early with such success against Duke, having the ball in the hands of their best player with two shots to win it all in the final 13.6 seconds, and not thought the ending would produce a championship for the ages.

But the greatest shot in history never fell, and the greatest ending can't be written, and for that, Duke deserves the credit.

Kyle Singler was terrific with 19 points and nine rebounds. The Blue Devils adjusted well at halftime and packed their defense closer in after spending the first 20 minutes watching Butler drive past them. Brian Zoubek grabbed 10 rebounds, and the center played the final 9:08 with four fouls.

Duke again sits on top of the college basketball world, but no one who watched can deny that had a final heave found net, the Bulldogs would have been just as deserving.

Butler was never a real-life "Hoosiers" story because it was far too talented to be labeled such an underdog, but how eerie was it to see Hayward dribble near the top of the key as the clock ducked under 10 seconds, like Jimmy Chitwood just jumped off the big screen?

This shot didn't fall, a tough, rising, contested baseline floater.

When a nation held its breath and hoped beyond hope, Duke defended the dribble left, then right, then the shot itself.

Know this: Hayward had to be the one taking it. You don't get this close, win 25 straight games, sit at the doorstep of history and not win or lose based on how your star executes.

"This will become a historic game, a benchmark game, not just the way it was played but who played in it," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Somebody's going to pick a Top 10 for next year tomorrow, just because that's the way the sport is. Where are they going to put Butler? Yeah, right up there, No. 1 or 2. Pretty good. Pretty good. I still can't believe we won."

When you take away all the subplots -- the fact Butler shot just 35 percent and Duke was the first tournament team to score at least 60 on the Bulldogs, how Butler was forced to use its final timeout when trying to inbound the ball before Hayward's baseline miss, how Zoubek missed a second free throw on purpose with less than three seconds left and the near-historic half-court shot followed -- you return to a bigger picture.

It was appropriate this happened here, in this state, in a place where basketball is loved to such endearing and passionate heights. You never imagined the game could be bigger than the story of a school such as Butler that sits six miles from where the Final Four took place advancing this far.

But it was bigger. It was an incredible game.

It would have been the greatest shot in history because this was Butler and this was Duke and the ramifications of it going in could have been endless.

"We came up one possession short in a game of 145 possessions," Butler coach Brad Stevens said. "My question is, can it get any better than these guys? They came one shot away from winning a national championship. So, you know, if it furthers our program, it can't further it by much.u2008

"I mean, this matters. (The players) didn't come in here thinking they were just going to roll over and not have a chance. They wanted to win. They're down. They're crushed. I'll start working on next season by the time I get on the bus, but I don't know how long it's going to take to get over this.

"Not tomorrow, that's for sure."

Not for so many who hoped beyond hope.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618.