With Butler losing Gordon Hayward to the NBA draft after his sophomore season and BU's magical run to almost winning the National Championship over Duke, they were considered to just have a mediocre season by many critics out there in the world of college basketball.
Being pretty much embarrassed at Louisville in mid-November, 88-73, people were talking about how much Hayward was already missed in the Bulldog offense. That could be true, but one player isn't the difference, not in their case. In early December, they had a rematch with of the National Championship game with #1 Duke on a neutral court, losing 82-70, but stuck close to the Blue Devils for most of the game. Five days later, Butler dropped a heart breaker at Xavier, 51-49.
That short two-game losing skid to Duke and Xavier lit a spark in this group. They then rolled off 10 wins in their next 12 games, including big wins during the holidays over Stanford, Utah, Florida State and Washington State.
Butler lost its next three games to Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Valparaiso and Youngstown State. This was the wake-up call that Brad Stevens' squad needed in a big way. They've now won 13 games in a row and are in the Final Four this weekend in Houston.
Those wins include:
- Horizon League championship against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on its home floor, 59-44
- a buzzer-beater over Old Dominion in the first game of the NCAA Tournament, 60-58
- beating 1-seeded Pittsburgh in the final seconds on Matt Howard's free throw, 71-70
- dominating 4-seed Wisconsin 61-54 in a Sweet 16 game, where Butler led by 20 (47-27) with 11:34 left
- Shocked the basketball world (again) by beating 2-seed Florida in an epic battle 74-71 (OT) and advancing to their second straight Final Four
Butler was considered a possible one-and-done against Old Dominion. Matt Howard's heroic offensive rebound and tip-in off the glass with 0.2 seconds left lifted the Bulldogs over the Monarchs, 60-58.
Playing 1-seed Pittsburgh, Butler was considered a big underdog by most, simply because Pittsburgh came from the giant conference of the Big East and won the regular season title. Not the case by any means. Butler overcame Pittsburgh's big gun shooters and tall towers that normally dominate the rebounding department. A unique sequence of fouls in the final seconds, turned the tide Butler's way in this battle with the Panthers. It started with Andrew Smith made a layup with 2.2 left. On the ensuing inbound play, Shelvin Mack tightly guarded Gilbert Brown near the half court line and brush against Brown enough for a foul to be called. Brown made one of two free throws to tie the game at 70. Upon Brown missing his second attempt, Matt Howard pulled down the rebound and was immediately fouled by Nasir Robinson. Howard made the first of two charity stripe attempts and Butler upset 1-seed Pittsburgh, 71-70, advancing to the Sweet 16.
Butler managed to dominate 4-Wisconsin for a majority of this Sweet 16 game. Leading 33-24 at halftime, the Bulldogs built a 47-27 lead with 11:34 remaining. Wisconsin wasn't real happy with being down like that, so they went on a 22-6 run to make it just a 53-49 Butler lead with 1:40 left. After a Bulldog timeout, with Butler dominating defensively and rebounding, Wisconsin was forced to foul. The rest is history as Butler held on for a 61-54 win over the Badgers and a second straight appearance in the Elite 8.
2-seeded Florida awaited the 8-seed Bulldogs for a shot at the Final Four. An Alex Tyus jumper with 9:25 remaining in regulation put the Gators up 51-40, their largest lead of the game. Down the stretch, the Gators and Bulldogs were neck-and-neck, Florida leading narrowly. Toward the end of regulation, Matt Howard came through again with 0:30 left with a free throw to tie it at 60. Freshman Khyle Marshall came through in the clutch. With a huge offensive rebound and basket, Marshall also made his free throw to break the 62-62 tie for a 65-62 Butler lead with 3:33 left in overtime. Four Ronald Nored swishes and two by Shelvin Mack from the charity stripe, along with a Mack 3, were a punch right the the Gators' jugular. Butler held on in overtime for a 74-71 victory and a second straight trip to the Final Four, a rarity in college basketball by any standards!!
Next, 8-seeded Butler (27-9) faces another high seeded team in 11-seed Virginia Commonwealth (28-11) in the first National Semifinal of this weekend's Final Four in Houston, Texas. The winner will face the winner of the second National Semifinal, which pits 4-seed Kentucky (29-8) against 3-seeded Connecticut (30-9).
There are more believers out there than there used to be. It's been reported that only two people in the ESPN pool of brackets has actually predicted both Butler and VCU to advance to the Final Four. Days of people having a perfect bracket are over. The NCAA Tournament is now where there are many pairs of "glass slippers," unfortunately there are only certain pairs that still fit. Butler is no longer considered an underdog. They're legit and we're all very aware of what the Bulldogs are capable of and they're proving it on a game-by-game basis. Kentucky and Connecticut have programs with storied, rich basketball histories. Virginia Commonwealth is still wearing the glass slippers and we'll find out if those slippers still fit when they meet up with the new "America's team" on Saturday night, the Butler Bulldogs.
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