The 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game was the finals of the

2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2009–10 basketball seaso ...

and determined the National Champion for the 2009-10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The 2010 National Title Game was played on April 5, 2010 at Lucas Oil Stadium in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, and featured the 2010 South Regional Champions, #1 seeded

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

, and the 2010 West Regional Champions, #5 seeded Butler. This was the fifth National Championship Game to be played between two private universities, and the first since the 1985 National Title Game between Georgetown and Villanova, won by Villanova, 66-64. The other three besides 1985 and 2010 were the 1942 National Championship Game, the 1954 National Championship Game, and the 1955 National Championship Game.

Participants

Butler

Butler entered the 2010 NCAA tournament as the #5 seed in the West Regional. In the 1st round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Shelvin Mack made seven three-pointers to lead Butler to a 77-59 victory over

UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stu ...

. In the 2nd round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Butler used late free throws from Ronald Nored and Matt Howard to beat Murray State 54-52 and advance to the Sweet 16. In the Sweet 16 of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Butler upset top-seeded Syracuse with a 63-59 win to advance to the 2010 West Regional Finals for their 1st regional finals appearance in team history. In the Elite Eight, Butler would upset

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

beating them 63-56 to advance to the 2010 Final Four marking their 1st Final Four appearance in team history. In the 2010 Final Four, Butler beat

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

with a 52-50 win to advance to the 2010 National Title Game for their 1st ever trip to the National Title Game.

Duke

Duke entered the 2010 NCAA tournament as the #1 seed in the South Regional. In the 1st round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Duke beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff 73-44. In the 2nd round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Duke beat

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

68-53. In the Sweet 16 of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Kyle Singler had 24 points and

Jon Scheyer Jonathan James Scheyer (, born August 24, 1987) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach for the Duke Blue Devils of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Scheyer led his high school team to an Illinois ...

had 18 points to beat Purdue 70-57. In the Elite Eight of the 2010 NCAA Tournament,

Nolan Smith Nolan Derek Smith (born July 25, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently an assistant men's basketball coach for the Louisville Cardinals. He played college basketball for Duke before being drafted 21st overa ...

scored 29 points to lead Duke to a 78-71 victory over Baylor to advance to the 2010 Final Four. In the 2010 Final Four, Duke beat

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

78-57 to advance to the 2010 National Title game which was their 1st trip to the National Title Game since the 2001 National Title Game.

Starting lineups

Game summary

1st Half

got Duke off to a hot start scoring four points in the 1st two and a half minutes to give Duke an early 6-1 lead. Shelvin Mack got Butler back into the game making two three-pointers in the next 3 minutes to give Butler a 12-11 lead. Shelvin Mack kept Butler going as Butler would have a 20-18 lead at the under-8 TV Timeout. Then,

would score four points in the next three minutes leading Duke to an 8-0 run giving them a 26-20 lead and Butler would call a 30-second timeout. During the next 70 seconds, Avery Jukes would score five points leading Butler to a 7-0 run which would result in a 27-26 Butler lead. While Jukes scored five points in the final two and a half minutes of the 1st half,

scored four in that same time frame and Duke would lead 33-32 at halftime.

2nd Half

During the 1st seven minutes of the 2nd half, neither team took a lead larger than 2 while Duke would have a 45-43 lead when they called a 30-second timeout. Then,

Brian Zoubek Brian Henry Zoubek (born April 6, 1988) is an American retired basketball center. He was a member of the Duke Blue Devils' 2010 NCAA Championship team. Family Zoubek's father, Paul, played baseball and football for Princeton University, and h ...

would make a basket to give Duke a 47-43 lead. In the next 35 seconds,

Gordon Hayward Gordon Daniel Hayward (born March 23, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Hayward has previously played for the Utah Jazz and the Boston Celtics. In college ...

made two free throws to cut the Duke lead to 49-47. In the next minute,

scored five points to give Duke a 56-51 lead. During the next 35 seconds after Butler called a 30-second timeout, Matt Howard and

each made a pair of free throws to cut the Duke lead to 56-55 and Duke would call a 30-second timeout. Then, Kyle Singler made a basket to give Duke a 58-55 lead and Butler would call a 30-second timeout. With 3:16 remaining,

made a pair of free throws to give Duke a 60-55 lead. Within the next minute after 1:50 was remaining in the game, Matt Howard scored four points to cut the Duke lead to 60-59. With 3 seconds left,

made one of two free throws to give Duke a 61-59 lead.

narrowly missed a buzzer-beating half-court shot which would have won the game for Butler and it resulted in a 61-59 win for Duke and the National Championship.

References

{{2010 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball navbox NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Games Butler Bulldogs men's basketball Duke Blue Devils men's basketball Basketball in Indianapolis College sports in Indiana Sports competitions in Indianapolis NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game 2010s in Indianapolis