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Dome destroys national championship game

The madness was beautiful right up until Monday night. We were then treated to the ugliest national championship game in the modern era.

Connecticut shot a pretty poor 34 per cent from the field — and won by 12 points. They also shot a paltry nine per cent from beyond the arc, making it the first time a team has shot less than 10 per cent and won the championship game.

That was because Butler, despite creating a fair amount of open looks, only shot 18 per cent — the lowest total in the history of the championship game. They went a span of 13 minutes in the second half with only a single field goal. They only hit three field goals from within the three-point line. Pathetic.

You could argue Butler’s tenacious defence and UConn’s length caused a lot of offensive problems for either team. But, while Butler did have 10 shots blocked and the Huskies did have 11 turnovers, there were a lot of instances when both teams had relatively good looks at the basket. They just flat out missed, especially the Bulldogs.

A big issue with the game, and the Final Four in general, was the dome that the last three games were played in. Only in the semi-final game between UConn and Kentucky did a team shoot over 40 per cent in the Final Four, and even then the Huskies shot eight per cent from beyond the arc. And just like the final, there were a lot of relatively open misses that you would expect these players to make in their sleep.

It shows that playing a basketball game in a large, cavernous football stadium is problematic for players who just aren’t used to it. There is a huge distance between the stands and the court, unlike a regular basketball court that these student-athletes are used to seeing. That difference absolutely messes with a shooter’s depth perception and field of vision. Considering how dark the stadium is outside of the court, it almost looks like the basket it floating over the court.

While the NCAA could ensure better games by avoiding this type of setting in the future, it is unlikely that they will. After all, this is the best way to pack a game with 75,000 fans, earning the association a ton of money.

Unfortunately for Butler, they had the most trouble dealing with the setting they were given and, therefore, they lost the national championship game for the second year in a row.

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