College basketball fans got an early Christmas present today when Duke's senior associate athletic director, Mike Cragg, confirmed to The Chronicle that Butler and Duke will, in fact, square off in a much-anticipated rematch of the 2010 NCAA Tournament Championship game. The game will take place Saturday, Dec. 4 at 3:30 pm at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J., and it will be broadcast by ESPN.
"The game we are talking about was a cooperative effort," Cragg said. "We have done it for many years between Madison Square Garden and The Meadowlands. We are partners with the Meadowlands, and, honestly, they did a lot of the work along with ESPN. We worked with them over the the date we needed."
The rematch with Butler will certainly draw more buzz than last year's Dec. 19 New York area game against another set of Bulldogs, then-No. 15 Gonzaga at Madison Square Garden. (All Duke fans should remember the 76-41 drubbing the Blue Devils administered that afternoon.) It is interesting to note, though, that this Butler rematch, which The Chronicle first reported as a possibility way back April 11, was in the works before the two teams met in the NCAA Tournament final April 5. Cragg said making the game happen became a bigger priority after the two teams met in the finals.
"They were one of a handfuls of schools that we were still talking to and really were at the top of the list," Cragg said. "It turned out for ESPN that it became a bigger priority after the championship game. But it's not like it wasn't a priority before. And it just all came together perfectly."
So after about a month of speculation fulled by two recent tweets on April 30, it looks like the Blue Devils will get another chance to play America's favorite underdog. History is on Duke's side -- the Blue Devils have fared extremely well in the Izod Center, going 18-1 in all their games played there.
UPDATE: We've just received the official release from Duke, complete with the requisite statements:
"We are excited to play Butler next season in the Meadowlands," said Mike Krzyzewski. "Given the outstanding game played between Duke and Butler in the 2010 NCAA Championship, there will be added interest in next year's matchup. Surely, Coach Stevens will have his team ready to perform at a high level. We look forward to what will be a significant challenge."
"It's an honor for our program to be invited to play in the IZOD Center in December," said Brad Stevens. "Obviously, the challenge will be great, as we have a tremendous amount of respect for Duke."
"The IZOD Center and the Meadowlands are synonymous with the best in college basketball because of games like this," said Dennis Robinson, New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority President and CEO. "Duke and Butler played a championship game for the ages and I know the great fans of the metropolitan area are as excited as we are that they have agreed to this rematch."
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