By: Jacob Allen | Grand Canyon University

The 2010 National Championship featured national power Duke and the nations Cinderella story for the 2010 season, Butler. College basketball in March is full of surprises, but the fact that a mid-major program like Butler made it to the title game was thrilling for the casual college basketball fan. Mid-major talent battling the McDonald’s All-Americans, what more could you ask for?

Let’s set the tone for how big this game was for the Butler Bulldogs. The 2010 Final Four was held in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Butler’s campus is located 6.3 miles away from Lucas Oil, a simple hop, skip, and a jump and you’re at the main entrance of the stadium. This is likely the most forgotten aspect of this game because Butler lost. However, what if Gordon Hayward’s desperation heave rattles home in the last second of the game?

Duke is at the line with 1 shot, up two, and 3.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Duke proceeds to set the perfect movie scene and miss the free throw. Hayward, the best player on the Bulldog team, snags the rebound and flies up court. With .1 seconds left, literally the last tenth of a second, Heyward lets go a high arching, beautiful shot, that hits off the backboard, off the rim, and rattles out. Every… Single… Movie… Ever… Ends with the underdog winning in the most dramatic fashion. Lucky for Duke, Hollywood wasn’t directing this movie.

If Hayward’s shot finds the middle of the backboard and that heave goes in, this would have been the greatest championship game at the time. (Side note: 2016 championship game is the greatest basketball game I’ve ever seen, and will be until I see a 16-seed team beat a 1-seed in the tournament).

If that shot falls, the Cinderella team finally gets the ring that all mid-major programs dream of. If that shot falls, Gordon Hayward is a hero. If that shot falls, both Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack get drafted in the first round. If that shot falls, Brad Stevens may not leave Butler for the Celtics. Brad Stevens would have gotten a substantially larger contract to stay at Butler, and would maybe stay at Butler.

These situations were never lived out, but they were 3 inches away from becoming reality. The simple answer to why it didn’t become reality is that life isn’t fair. If life were fair, I’d be a billionaire. If life were fair, cancer wouldn’t exist. If life were fair, Butler would have won the 2010 national championship.