UConn Defeats Butler For Title; Celebration To Be Held Today In Storrs

The UConn national champion men's basketball team is scheduled to land at Bradley Int'l Airport in Windsor Locks today at approximately 3:30pm ET. Upon arrival, there will be "a short public event" that will include remarks from UConn coach Jim Calhoun. The team will return to Gampel Pavilion in Storrs "for a championship pep rally" at 5:30pm. The event is free and open to the public (HARTFORD COURANT, 4/5).

Reliant Stadium last night was "packed for the tipoff" of UConn's 53-41 victory over Butler. The NCAA shut down the official tailgating section at 7:30pm CT, and "fans moved quickly into the building." Scalpers estimated that "there were fewer than 300 unsold tickets as tipoff approached." NCAA President Mark Emmert said that it was a "successful weekend for Houston's first Final Four in 40 years" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 4/5). The announced crowd for last night's game was 70,376 (THE DAILY).

Meanwhile, UConn Campus Police said that 23 people were arrested last night "after some celebrations got out of hand," but only 10 of the arrests were students. The rest are "not believed to be associated with the university." The police were also "investigating reports of two cars overturned and a piano set on fire, along with a couple of fires set in dumpsters" (STAMFORD ADVOCATE, 4/5).

Morning Buzz provides of a sampling of how newspaper frontpages covered last night's game from: