Money talks and B.S. walks. The Memphis Business Journal examined expenses and revenue for 339 basketball teams for the 2009-10 season. Duke, which beat Butler to win the national title, led in spending with $12.2 million — an average of $137,612 per player. The Blue Devils also generated $26.6 million in revenue, tops in the land.
Butler, which lost to Duke in the title game, broke even. The Bulldogs spent every last penny of their $2.8 million in revenue — an average of $33,202 per player.
According to the Journal's searchable database, Kentucky spent the most per player — $196,147. Sacramento State spent the least — $4.064.
Everybody is still buzzing about Monday night's Duke-Butler championship game, but according to the Wall Street Journal, it was only the seventh-best game of the tournament.
The Journal analyzed all 64 games and ranked them based on six criteria, including the number of lead changes, the teams' combined shooting percentage, whether the underdog prevailed, how close the game was with two minutes left, in which round the game occurred and how many potentially game-changing shots there were in the final minute.
The best game? Tennessee's 76-73 third-round victory over Ohio State. The score was tied with two minutes left and the teams shot a combined 45% (Duke and Butler shot only 39%). In addition, there were two lead changes in the final minute and two game-tying shot attempts by Ohio State's Evan Turner in the closing seconds.
A look at how Monday night's championship game was played on the front pages of newspapers in North Carolina and Indiana. Click an image for an enlarged view.
The Indianapolis Star has issued to an apology to Duke after an illustration of coach Mike Krzyzewski appeared on the front of Friday's sports section.
The illustration shows Krzyzewski with horns and a target drawn on his head. Jim Lefko, the Star's senior editor/sports, said the illustration was pulled and another image put in its place after about 30,000 copies were printed.
"It was an illustration that should have come together earlier than it did," Jeff Lefko, the Star's sports editor, said.
The Blue Devils are 7/5 favorites to win the championship, according to odds posted by Bodog. West Virginia, Duke's opponent in Saturday's second game, is 2/1. Butler is 4/1 and Michigan State 9/2.
Jon Scheyer of the Blue Devils is 4/1 to win tournament most outstanding player honors. Teammate Kyle Singler is 5/1, the same odds given to Da'Sean Butler of West Virginia.
Complete odds are after the jump. If you're looking for odds on a game, click here. For matchups, click here.
Coaches and players in the Final Four are making the interview rounds this week. Check them out at Sports Radio Interviews.
