NCAA basketball title game disappointing after thrilling semis

The Huskies couldn't have asked for a better game.

But what about the fans?

Sure, we expect the No. 1 seed to roll over the sacrificial No. 16 in the first round. But a national championship game sealed at halftime?

Georgia Tech came in with a solid 28-9 record and a third seed in the St. Louis regional bracket. UConn came in with a 32-6 record and a second seed in the Phoenix bracket. Though the Huskies were the heavy favorites, no one expected the blowout that the game would turn out to be. From a 41-26 halftime lead, Connecticut continued to dominate the Yellow Jackets in the second half for an 82-73 win.

As it turns out, either of the semifinal games would have been a more appropriate candidate for last night's national championship matchup.

Who wouldn't have wanted to see the contest come down to the last few possessions?

Who wouldn't have wanted to see Connecticut come back for a one-point win over its favored opponent, Duke?

Or who wouldn't have wanted to see Tech's Will Bynum drive in for a layup with less than two seconds on the clock to drive his team on to victory?

Instead, we saw Georgia Tech unable to inbound, stepping over the line and effectively handing back the ball gift-wrapped to the Huskies at one point.

Even if you're a Connecticut fan, you can't help but cringe.

Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel argued before last night's national championship that Georgia Tech's 77-61 defeat of the Huskies told us nothing about how things would go this time. How right he was.

When the two teams faced off in November, Connecticut shot a meager 38 percent from the field, had 17 turnovers and managed just 61 points — nearly 17 fewer than their average. This time, with Emeka Okefor healthy and Rashad Anderson starting, the Huskies hit 25 free throws and dominated from the middle of the first half on.

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The Georgia Tech team that crushed Connecticut four months ago, 77-61, apparently did not show up at San Antonio's Alamo Dome. Or rather, the Huskies made sure that the Yellow Jackets couldn't get anything going this time. Down 12-11 in the first half — the only time Connecticut ever trailed — the Huskies scored 10 unanswered points to take back the momentum for all but the last two minutes, when it was too late to change the inevitable.

Okafor, Ben Gordan and Rashad Anderson combined for 63 of the Huskies' 82 points, as Okafor led the way with a game-high 24 points. Mainly, though, it was the Connecticut defense that shut down the deep Yellow Jacket squad.

Georgia Tech crept back within seven with 11 seconds remaining in the second stanza, but that was as close as the Yellow Jackets got. They began fouling the Huskies as if they were still in the game, but even with a late series of three-pointers they weren't fooling anyone in the crowd. The only thing the late run achieved was bringing the game within a respectable margin of victory.

It's nice to be able to say that we have a clear national champion. But it left something to be desired. In my mind, the two semifinal games stand out as the tournament's true climax.