There Can Only Be One

3 Connecticut vs. 8 Butler, 9:23 p.m. ET, CBS

This is it. Since the moment Gordon Hayward’s half-court shot clanged off the rim at the buzzer of last year’s National Championship, every team in the country has been focused on making it to this night. Now that it’s here, each team is in its own unique position to claim the trophy, and the matchup certainly represents the unpredictable nature of the tournament. Everybody knows about UConn’s 10-game winning streak that extends back to the start of the Big East Tournament, but it’s not as widely known that Butler is riding a 14-game winning streak that dates back to the first week in February. Regardless of what you think about the quality of each team, they both deserve to be here and it cannot be argued that they know how to win. They do it in different ways, either with hustle and scrappiness or with some guy named Kemba, and I’m looking forward 34-year-old Brad Stevens going up against a coach in Jim Calhoun who’s been coaching for longer than Stevens has been alive.

Starting Lineups

UConn: Roscoe Smith (F), Tyler Olander (F), Alex Oriakhi (F), Kemba Walker (G), Jeremy Lamb (G)

Butler: Andrew Smith (C), Matt Howard (F), Shawn Vanzant (G), Shelvin Mack (G), Chase Stigall (G)

Player to Watch: Jeremy Lamb, G, UConn.

Kemba Walker has had a ridiculous tournament, averaging 25.0 points, 5.4 boards, and 6.8 assists over his five games, but the Bulldogs’ Ronald Nored plays some of the best guard defense in the country and should see the majority of the minutes coming off the bench. But even if Walker dominates Nored up and down the floor, that doesn’t guarantee a Huskies win. The last time that UConn lost a game, a 70-67 defeat to Notre Dame on March 5, Kemba dropped 34 points but only dished out one assist. Lamb has provided double-digit scoring in every game since the loss and has been the “second shooter” that UConn needs to backup their superstar. If Lamb can score near the 17 points a game that he’s averaging in the tournament, the Huskies could have too many weapons for the Bulldogs to contain.

In My Bracket: Butler

It’s not often that a three-seed is favored in a National Championship game, but it’s also not often that not a single top-seed reached the Final Four. This is a year to throw the seeds, the preconceptions and the expectations out the window. I’m going based on what I’ve seen, and what I’ve seen from the small “Hoosiers”-like school from Indiana is unmatched intensity for the game that helped bring them to two straight National Championships. They play team basketball, they’re well coached, and they win close games (except for that biggie last year). Look for Butler to show up after coming up oh-so-close last year, and I hope this championship turns out to be another nail-biter.

- Jason Krakower