Butler Meets VCU In National Semifinals
BACK-TO-BACK: The basketball experts
around the country speculating on who would this year’s
“Butler” in the NCAA Tournament overlooked the
obvious. Butler will make its second consecutive appearance
in the national semifinals of the NCAA Division I Men’s
Basketball Championship when it faces Virginia Commonwealth on
Saturday, April 2, at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The
game will tip at 6:09 p.m. (ET) and will be televised nationally on
CBS. The No. 8-seeded Bulldogs (27-9), who made a storied run
to the national championship game a year ago, are the lone team to
return from last year’s Final Four. VCU (28-11) is
making its first NCAA Final Four appearance and has done it in
eye-opening fashion. The No. 11-seeded Rams have won five
straight games in the tournament by an average of 12.0
points! No. 3 Connecticut will meet No. 4 Kentucky in the
other semifinals’ game for the right to play the the
Butler-VCU winner for the national title on Monday, April
4.
Butler is 9-1 in its last ten NCAA Tournament games.
CLOSING STRETCH: On Feb. 4, Butler stood at
14-9 overall and was tied for fifth place in the Horizon League
with a 6-5 record. Since then, the Bulldogs have won 13
consecutive games, tied for the Horizon League regular season
championship, won the Horizon League Tournament title with
victories over the other two regular season league champs and
captured a second straight NCAA regional championship.
TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE: Three players who
were in Butler’s starting lineup in last year’s NCAA
national championship game return this season. Current
starters Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack, plus top reserve Ronald
Nored, all were starters against Duke in last year’s title
game. Three additional players who saw action in last
year’s final game - seniors Shawn Vanzant and Zach Hahn and
sophomore Andrew Smith - also return for the Bulldogs. The
six players combined for 35 points in last year’s national
title game. Howard, Vanzant and Hahn each have played in 13
NCAA tournament games, while Mack and Nored have played in 11.
Butler’s Shelvin Mack was named to the All-Tournament
Team at last year’s Final Four.
REGIONAL CHAMPS: The Bulldogs defeated two
higher-seeded team to capture the Southeast Regional championship
in New Orleans, La. Butler knocked off No. 4 seed Wisconsin,
61-54, behind the 20-point, 12-rebound performance of senior Matt
Howard, and then dispatched No. 2 seed Florida, 74-71 in overtime,
in the regional title game. Junior Shelvin Mack paced the
Bulldogs against Florida with a game-high 27 points. Butler
reached the regional round with victories over Old Dominion, 60-58,
in the second round of the tournament and top-seeded Pittsburgh,
71-70, in the third round.
The Bulldogs’ four tournament wins have come by a total
of 13 points.
SOWING SEEDS: With the victories over
top-seeded Pittsburgh and second-seeded Florida in the Southeast
Regional, Butler became the first team in NCAA Tournament history
to defeat both a No. 1 and a No. 2 seed before the Final Four in
consecutive years. A year ago, Butler beat top-seeded
Syracuse in the West Regional semifinals and then upended No. 2
seed Kansas State in the regional championship to earn its first
trip to the Final Four.
STREAKS: The Bulldogs have won 13
consecutive games, including six straight tournament games (two
Horizon League, four NCAA). Butler has won 12 straight games
in March, dating back to 2009.
CLOSE CALLS: Butler is the tenth team in
NCAA Tournament history to win at least three games by three or
fewer points in a single tournament. Only one team (North
Carolina State, 1983) has won four games by three or fewer
points.
SEEING DOUBLE: Senior Matt
Howard tied Butler’s single game NCAA Tournament
record for most rebounds with 12 against Wisconsin. It was
his first double-figures rebounding performance in NCAA Tournament
play and the 20th time in his Butler career that he’s reached
twin-digits in rebounds. He also scored in double-figures in
both regional games in New Orleans, boosting his NCAA career total
for double-figures scoring performances to eight and his overall
career total to 103
ELITE HONOR: Butler senior Matt Howard
received the Elite 88 Award for the 2011 NCAA Division I
Men’s Basketball Championship on Thursday (March 31) at the
Men’s Final Four Salute Dinner. The Elite 88 Award is
presented to a student-athlete who has reached the pinnacle of
competition at the national championship level in his or her sport,
while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her
peers. Howard, a three-time NCAA Division I Academic
All-American and the 2010-11 Academic All-American of the Year,
received the Elite 88 Award for the second consecutive year.
The Butler senior boasts a 3.769 grade point average with a
double-major in finance and management information systems.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION: Three Butler players
were recognized on All-America teams chosen by
CollegeInsider.com. Senior Matt Howard and junior Shelvin
Mack both were named to the 2011 Lou Henson All-America Team.
The two were among 25 players named to the honor squad. And
junior Ronald Nored was picked to the 2011 Lefty Driesell Defensive
All-America Team. Nored was named Horizon League Co-Defensive
Player of the Year in 2009-10.
HOME SCENE: While the Bulldogs are preparing
for their second consecutive national semifinals appearance,
Butler’s campus will be immersed in Final Four fever. A
Butler pep rally, featuring Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels,
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, Butler President Bobby Fong,
Butler mascot Hink and other, will be held on campus at noon on
Blue & White Friday (April 1). On Saturday (April 2), the
Bulldogs Dancing in the Streets Fair, will be held on Hampton
Drive, 4-5:30 p.m., followed by a viewing party in Hinkle
Fieldhouse for the Butler-VCU game.
BULLDOG BITS:
•Butler is the first school from outside a BCS conference to
make consecutive Final Fours since UNLV in 1990 & 1991.
•Butler is 5-0 in NCAA Tournament play as the higher seeded
team.
•Butler head coach Brad Stevens is the youngest coach (34) to
reach his second Final Four.
•Brad Stevens, in his fourth season as a head coach, has
recorded more NCAA Tournament wins (10) than all other coaches in
Butler and Horizon League history.
•Matt Howard has started a Butler record 13 NCAA Tournament
games. He’s the Butler career record-holder for games
played (139) and games started (131).
•Matt Howard stands second on Butler’s all-time list for
NCAA Tournament scoring with 148 points in 13 tournament games.
•Matt Howard, who didn’t attempt a three-point field
goal in his first three trips to the NCAA Tournament, has connected
on eight three-pointers in Butler’s first four tournament
games this year.
•Matt Howard is the first player in Butler basketball history
to grab 50 rebounds in NCAA Tournament play. The 6-8 Butler
senior has 69 in 13 tournament games.
•Matt Howard has scored in double-figures in his last five
NCAA Tournament games.
•Shelvin Mack is bidding to become the first player in Butler
basketball history to score 200 points in NCAA Tournament
play. Mack has tallied 195 points in 11 previous NCAA
contests.
•Shelvin Mack needs three three-point field goals to tie his
own Butler NCAA Tournament (17) record for three-pointers. He
has hit a Butler record 34 three-point field goals in 11 NCAA
Tournament games.
•Shelvin Mack attempted a Butler NCAA Tournament record 13
three-point field goals in the Bulldogs’ victory over
Florida.
•Shelvin Mack needs four field goals to tie Butler’s
NCAA Tournament record of 31 field goals, set by Gordon Hayward in
six games last year.
•Shelvin Mack is the first player in Butler basketball history
to score 30 points in NCAA Tournament play. He’s also
the only player in school history to have multiple NCAA Tournament
games of 25 or more points (3).
•Shelvin Mack needs 41 points to reach the “Top
10” on Butler’s all-time scoring list. He enters
this year’s Final Four with 1,490 career points.
•Butler’s 33 three-point field goal attempts against
Florida were a school NCAA Tournament record.
•The Bulldogs had a Butler NCAA tournament single game record
four blocked shots in their victory over Florida.
•Butler has held six of its last 10 foes under 60
points. The Bulldogs have won 31 of their last 32 games when
yielding fewer than 60 points.
•The Bulldogs are 8-1 on neutral courts this season, with the
lone setback coming to #1-ranked Duke. Butler is 19-7 on
neutral courts under head coach Brad Stevens.
•Butler is one of 11 schools to reach the Final Four in
consecutive years since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in
1985. The others are Duke, Kentucky, Michigan State,
Maryland, Kansas, North Carolina, Florida, UCLA, Michigan and
UNLV.
•Butler is the first team to reach consecutive Final Fours and
not be seeded No. 1 or No. 2 in either appearance.
•Butler has trailed in the second half of eight of its last
nine NCAA Tournament wins.
•Butler has posted back-to-back seasons of at least 27 wins
for the second time in school history. Previously, the
Bulldogs finished 29-7 in 2006-07 and 30-4 in 2007-08.
•Last year, Butler traveled 6.1 miles to the Final Four at
Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, This year, the Bulldogs will
travel 1,029 miles to Reliant Stadium.
•The Bulldogs have set a school record for best two-year win
total with 60 victories over the past two seasons.
