2010 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game

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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3] In the Elite Eight, Butler would upset Kansas State beating them 63-56 to advance to the 2010 Final Four marking their 1st Final Four appearance in team history.[4] In the 2010 Final Four, Butler beat Michigan State with a 52-50 win to advance to the 2010 National Title Game for their 1st ever trip to the National Title Game.[5]

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.[6] In the 2nd round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Duke beat California 68-53.[7] In the Sweet 16 of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Kyle Singler had 24 points and Jon Scheyer had 18 points to beat Purdue 70-57.[8] In the Elite Eight of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Nolan Smith scored 29 points to lead Duke to a 78-71 victory over Baylor to advance to the 2010 Final Four.[9] In the 2010 Final Four, Duke beat West Virginia 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.[10]

Nolan Smith 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, Jon Scheyer 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, Jon Scheyer scored four in that same time frame and Duke would lead 33-32 at halftime.

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 would make a basket to give Duke a 47-43 lead. In the next 35 seconds, Gordon Hayward made two free throws to cut the Duke lead to 49-47. In the next minute, Jon Scheyer 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 Gordon Hayward 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, Nolan Smith 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, Brian Zoubek made one of two free throws to give Duke a 61-59 lead. Gordon Hayward 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.[12]