Butler and UConn will do battle Monday night in the 2011 NCAA Championship game, culminating a memorable 2011 NCAA Tournament full of major upsets. On the surface, there is no D.C. connection, besides the fact that Butler ended VCU's memorable run in a Final Four game on Saturday.
↵But if you dig deeper, there is, indeed, a D.C. connection. Yes, in case you forgot, Butler and UConn both played their first two NCAA Tournament games at the Verizon Center. Butler topped Old Dominion, then beat Pittsburgh in a wild Round of 32 game, while UConn rolled over Bucknell and Cincinnati.
↵This is the first time two teams from the same first- and second-round pod location have ever played in an NCAA Championship game, though, to be fair, that's mostly because the NCAA pod system that potentially places teams from different regions in the same first- and second-round location has only been in effect since 2002. Still, it's a D.C. connection, and we're going to milk it for all its worth.
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