Mar 17 2019
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Initially, I planned to create one column highlighting the top moments from all of the NCAA tournaments of the decade. I quickly realized that there was simply too many amazing moments and I didn’t want to leave anything out. Instead, I will be doing a shorter column on each NCAA tournament of the decade.

College basketball experienced a major transition during this decade, as the “One-and-Done” era has completely reshaped the sport. The best players no longer stay on campus for three or four years – it’s seven months and they’re out (Ben Simmons didn’t even last that long). This wasn’t exactly a new phenomenon – Carmelo Anthony famously led Syracuse to the 2003 national title in his lone freshman season – but it became the norm in the 2010s. Nearly every major basketball prospect this decade took this route, starting with the Kentucky trio of John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe in 2010 and culminating with the Duke trio of Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish this year.

You would think the best players only staying for one year would extract some entertainment and intensity from college basketball, but in fact the opposite may be true. Fans of college basketball will root for their teams regardless of who’s playing or for how long; in fact, since fans know the best players are only playing one season, they often try to cram four-years worth of memories/moments/highlights into one season.

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is more commonly known as “March Madness”. Every year, the tournament produces unbelievable upsets, new heroes and some of the best moments in all of sports. 2010 was no exception.

Tournament Summary

National Champion: Duke Blue Devils

Most Outstanding Player: Kyle Singler, Duke

Final Four: 1 Duke, 2 West Virginia, 5 Michigan State, 5 Butler

Major Upsets: 14 Ohio over 3 Georgetown, 13 Murray State over 4 Vanderbilt, 9 Northern Iowa over 1 Kansas

Butler Makes the National Championship

Butler celebrates clinching a Final Four berth
(Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Sometimes in sports, things seem to come together in ways so perfect, that no movie script could possibly match the drama. This was one of those moments. The Butler Bulldogs had slowly become a solid team under head coach Brad Stevens. After a first round exit from the 2009 NCAA tournament, Butler began the 2009-10 season ranked 11th in the country, the highest in school history. Butler went undefeated in conference play, yet entered the tournament as an seemingly nonthreatening 5 seed.

There’s a reason the NCAA tournament called March Madness. Butler defeated 12 UTEP and 13 Murray State to advance to the Sweet 16. The program had only been to two Sweet 16’s before Stevens arrived. He led Butler back his first season in 2007 and wanted more in 2010. The Bulldogs upset 1 Syracuse and 2 Kansas State to make their first ever Final Four appearance, which was held in none other than Indianapolis, Butler’s own backyard. Butler defeated 5 Michigan State in the national semifinals, setting up a dance with the devils of Duke in the title game.

Butler vs Duke was David vs Goliath in many ways. Duke was loaded with top recruits; Butler had none. Duke’s head coach, Mike Krzyzewski, is indisputably one of the best in the history of the sport; Brad Stevens was an accountant ten years before and in his first ever head coaching position.

The game itself was an instant classic. Butler trailed by 5 points with two minutes to go. Gordon Hayward hits bigman Matt Howard for a layup with 1:42 remaining to cut the deficit to 3, ending a nearly 8-minute scoreless drought for Butler. Howard hits another layup with 54 seconds remaining to bring the game to within a single point. Duke’s Brian Zoubek heads to the free throw line with 3.6 seconds to go. He hits the first attempt to put Duke ahead 61-59, but missed the second. Hayward secures the rebound and scrambles up the court…

Gordon Hayward’s Near Game Winner

As Hayward reaches half-court, he launches a prayer. If it goes in, Butler wins the national championship – if not, they lose. The shot hits the backboard, then the rim and barely misses falling through the hoop. Duke prevails 61-59 and becomes the 2010 national champions.

The iconic moment of the 2010 NCAA tournament without a doubt is Hayward’s near buzzer beater in the national championship. If Hayward’s shot falls, everything changes. The mid-major team wins the national championship in their home city over a perennial blue-blood on a buzzer beater from half court – you can’t write a better story than that. Hayward’s name is forever etched in history with North Carolina’s Michael Jordan, NC State’s Lorenzo Charles, and Villanova’s Kris Jenkins. It easily becomes the greatest sports moment in the history of Indianapolis and one of the best in the history of college basketball.

Alas, the shot does not fall and Duke wins the national title. Looking back, this Duke roster ironically appears to be one of their worst of the entire decade. Their best player was either Kyle Singler or Jon Scheyer – neither of whom became anything close to a quality NBA player.

All in all, everything turns out pretty well for Butler’s big names. Gordon Hayward’s spectacular March vaults him into the 9th overall selection in the 2010 NBA draft. Despite losing Hayward, Butler returns to the Final Four in 2011 (more on that here). Brad Stevens becomes the head coach of the NBA’s Boston Celtics.

13 Murray State Upsets 4 Vandy at the Buzzer

13th seeded Murray State clung to a one point lead as fewer than 15 seconds remained. Vanderbilt’s Jermaine Beal drove to the rim and drew a foul, sending him to the line with a chance to give the Commodores the lead. He hit both free throws, giving Vanderbilt a 64-63 advantage with 12 seconds to go. After missing a three, Murray State got another chance. Danero Thomas takes a fallaway mid-range jumper to claim the victory and the 13 seed pulls off an incredible first round upset.

Legacy

In most years, the lasting moment of the tournament is the crowing of a champion. 2010 was not one of those years. The 2010 NCAA tournament is remembered more for what could have been than what was: What if Hayward’s shot went in? It was one of those rare tournaments where the loser becomes arguably more famous than the winner.

One of the many great things about March Madness is how one magical run can spark a basketball career. There were several examples of this in 2010. Gordon Hayward was a 3-star recruit and received just three D-1 offers. He was a better tennis player than basketball player in high school. Two years later, his 2010 NCAA tournament performance made him the 9th overall selection in the 2010 draft.

Butler head coach, Brad Stevens, experienced a similar meteoric rise. Stevens took over the position as a first-time head coach in 2007, leading Butler to four straight NCAA tournament appearances and back-to-back national titles games in 2010 and 2011. In 2013, Stevens was named head coach of the Boston Celtics. Think about that – the guy got his second EVER head coaching job with the second-greatest franchise in the history of the NBA.

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

This was our first introduction to Draymond Green, as he led his Michigan State squad to the Final Four as a 5-seed. Back then, he was an innocent kid who played with a ferocious passion that is revered in college sports. He’d later become one of the most polarizing NBA players of the entire decade.

Perhaps I’m not giving Duke enough credit, after all they won the national title. However, when you look back at this tournament, the first two names that spring to mind are Gordon Hayward and Brad Stevens. That matters. Seeing Hayward and Stevens together again almost makes me hope the two avenge the 2010 defeat and close the decade with an NBA title. Almost.

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Posted in2010's in Review Basketball College Basketball
Tags2010s in review brad stevens butler duke gordon hayward march madness Mike Krzyzewski ncaa tournament

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