HOUSTON - In a titanic defensive struggle, Connecticut smothered Butler 53-41 in the NCAA tournament final at Reliant Stadium on Monday to claim its third national championship.

The Huskies’ length and athleticism was too much for the Bulldogs, who shot 18.8 percent (12 of 64) from the field, and missed a slew of point-blank shots.

The Huskies trailed 22-19 following the lowest-scoring half in a title game in 65 years. But they opened the second half on a 22-6 run while the Bulldogs continued to shoot bricks. Butler finished 3 of 31 on two-pointers.

Huskies freshman Jeremy Lamb scored all 12 of his points after halftime, Kemba Walker scored 16, and center Alex Oriakhi dominated the paint with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Jim Calhoun, 68, became the oldest coach to win a national championship. He also coached the Huskies to titles in 1999 and 2004.

Butler (28-10) lost in the final for the second straight year.

Shelvin Mack’s 24-footer at the halftime buzzer put Butler up three, but that was one of the only highlights for the tiny program from Indianapolis. Mack led the Bulldogs with 13 points. No one else reached double figures.

UConn (32-9) won its last 11 games, starting with five games in five days in the Big East tournament.

Walker was named the tournament's most outstanding player.