Huskies Over Bulldogs for National Title

HOUSTON -- The only thing that could stop Kemba Walker and Connecticut's amazing run was the final buzzer.On a night when the massive arena felt like a dusty old gym, UConn made Butler look like the underdog it really was, winning the national championship Monday night with an old-fashioned, grinding 53-41 beatdown of the Bulldogs.

Walker finished with 16 points for the Huskies (32-9), who won their 11th straight game since closing the regular season with a 9-9 Big East record that foreshadowed none of this.

They closed it out with a defensive showing for the ages, holding Butler to a 12-for-64 shooting. That's 18.8 percent, the worst ever in a title game.

It was one of the ugliest games anyone can remember on the sport's biggest stage. But definitely the kind of game a veteran coach like Jim Calhoun could love.