Butler Performs the Choke Job for the Worst Shining Moment

If only Butler had won it. That alone would've been rated as one of the greatest stories in sports, as much as a nation roots for the underdogs and becomes attach to a Cinderella tale in the spring months. So what happened to the rough, vicious Bulldogs, an unexpected basketball program that dominated the month of March with brutal fangs and ferociousness on many nights to shock the world again?

So how does Butler, a small university located outside of Indianapolis that earned fame nationally, reaches a climax by qualifying for the Final Four and knocking off its opponent to advance to the national championship game lose?? The maligned Bulldogs, all of which a leash was needed to restrain the toughest and disciplined group of players, were verified as the cutest and sentimental tale when really the Bulldogs were worthy of being described as a national power in college basketball.

It turned out, on a night when Butler performed the choke job and were unsuccessful in redeeming themselves following the heartbreaker a year ago against Duke in a grueling bout for the national title, that the Bulldogs were lifeless and deteriorated at the worst possible time. Matt Howard's face was pale and he wore a dispirited gaze, realizing that Butler had fallen short for the second straight season as he stood speechless.

The only difference this time is that he missed shots, from poor shot selections to ill-advised perimeter shots. For Howard, a relentless NBA prospect in the next NBA Draft with his bloody right knee and skin torn, it was frustrating and humiliating by the time he sat next to his locker and expressed indignation, not gratified with the way the night ended in the national title game.

"I'd like to give my team more than 1 for 13," Howard said, discussing his abysmal shooting percentage. "I knew it was bad. I didn't realize how bad until coach read us the box score."

He dropped his head and screamed in frustration, leaned over and positioned his hands on his knees, looking exhausted and exasperated when Butler was intimidated and couldn't hit a basket. So here we believed Butler was more pesky and smarter than the average team, in which they were devoted to hard-nosed, tough-minded aggressive defense. The rationale of the matter is that, seeing the Bulldogs remove from the charming underdog label and allegedly develop into one of the elites to nearly win a national title by Butler's experience, they lacked discipline and mental toughness.

The problem here is that Butler will go down as the biggest chokers in sports history, joining the company of hapless franchises with similar misadventures. The first instinct is to think of the brand-name, the smallest university in its community, as an elusive and doomed basketball program, whether Butler was nervous or gassed to defy the logic of probability and represent the Horizon League. In a sport that seemed to be more uncanny and weirder unlike ever before, the Bulldogs, once the finest school in the nation for creating a beautiful theme and enticing the nature of "The One Shining Moment" ritual, were one of America's most inspirational souls.

The vast majority booed UConn and rooted for Butler in Reliant Stadium, which reminded us that America loves the underdog and wanted the Bulldogs to fulfill an inconceivable dream. Why are we not surprised that Butler, stifled after losing its swagger and now devoid of winning its first title in school history, played so poorly after the Bulldogs were clearly in this position before and almost pulled off the miraculous upset over Duke? What happened to the killer teeth, the vicious toughness from the Bulldogs??

What?? They weren't tied to a leash.

It almost was never a great game, but obviously the ugliest and worst national championship game in tournament history. It wasn't a spectacular game, I might add, for Butler or UConn, even though the Huskies prevailed in a sluggish, low-scoring, pedestrian clash. This was expected to be a David vs. Goliath showdown, with much action and drama in the end of a deranged tourney that had much excitement, upsets and feel-good stories. Maybe there was a celebration, the pile of happiness in midcourt, the overjoyed ending for the Huskies to clear the thought of a lingering scandal ever since UConn had been accused of NCAA violations, a chance for Kemba Walker, arguably the greatest player in the nation, to celebrate in a gratifying moment.

But for others, it never felt the same from the moment UConn and Butler tipped it off to play a lousy first half with no drama or intensity as the Wilson basketball frequently bounced off or rattled around the rim. And there really were more bricks than swooshes, more unwise shots than wise shots. It isn't often but a rarity, especially when the two best teams are observing the national scene and chasing one goal, that you witness an event this insipid or terrible.

It was the most humiliating and uncharacteristic defeat of Butler's effulgent season, falling in another devastating loss, a 53-41 disappointment to duplicate a heartbreaker once again. That is the main reason Butler is described as chokers, losing in the national title game, not once, but twice. By shooting 18.8 percent from the field, it diminished the Bulldogs' hopes for the second straight year, and eventually there was Butler head coach Brad Stevens. The night for the boy-wonder among college basketball coaches was heart shattering, and he spoke softly and concisely after the horrifying loss against UConn.

"It's hard to talk about the game and really care about the intricacies of the game when you're talking about the personal relationships and the things that you develop as a team over time." Stevens said. "You know, when you see the freshman in there bawling their eyes out because they know they're not going to get to play with [the seniors again], you know you have something pretty special. Seniors always get upset. When everybody's upset, that's a unique thing."

Even if this was an ugly game, the Bulldogs had chemistry and unity with a close relationship like actual family, mainly with the brilliant grooming by Stevens. He's never won a national title, but more impressively, he's a legend at the age 34 and has reached an incredible level beyond a majority of coaches in the modern era of collegiate basketball. The storyline, if nothing else, is that Stevens is a terrific head coach with the mentality of bringing his players together to play as a unified program.

All last week, of course, he inexplicably accepted stronger praise than Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun. Although the Bulldogs faltered in the ugliest and poorest game all time with .72 points per possession, marked the lowest for Butler since 2004, it doesn't justify that the Bulldogs were badly advertised after not attaining a dazzling achievement in sports. The poorest night in shooting -- at one point in the game -- both teams combined for a staggering 1 of 21 shooting from the field and Butler shot a miserable 12 of 64.

It came from the paltry play by Howard, but he couldn't do it alone and had been stifled by UConn forward Alex Oriakhi, the most disruptive force defensively Monday night. Despite it all, being charged with a pair of fouls, Oriakhi came out with his intensity. For much of the night, if he wasn't on the bench in foul trouble, he was efficient in middle and blocked four shots and swatted plenty of shots. The lack of intensity, assertiveness, one that led to the lowest combined first half since 1945, classified this as the worst half ever seen in basketball.

It's been so long -- my mother wasn't even born, and the Beatles were one of the hottest rockbands later down the years. There were no iPods, no Macbooks, no iPhones, not even a computer. There were radios and colorless televisions. That's how long ago it was. Promised myself not to put too much into this article, with the game being the worse ever, I refused to waste much time and energy in writing this.

This will go down as the worst national championship game in modern history.

Trust me. It will.

Butler vs. Connecticut Makes for David vs. Goliath Showdown

The feverish crowd in Reliant Stadium motioned wildly, as some cried in despair over the agony of defeat in the Final Four. In an appealing tournament that has been a season of thrills, suspense and epic spectacles with all the unpredictability in a peculiar year, we have exactly what America desires to see and brace themselves for on Monday night, a date involving the darlings and a high-profile university -- an engagement involving David vs. Goliath.

As a nation, sitting emotionally in the stands pumped for a dramatic event in Houston, the largest crowd in Final Four history watched on a night that we fell in love again with one of the cutest narratives in sports. So often we venture into a tableau of surrealism in the delirious, insane spring months, a moment when infatuation identifies the wrath of college hoops. Every way, that is, the storyline heard suddenly has created buzz around the nation, as the people are bracing themselves for a mesmerizing clash in the national championship game.

Here in America, where many can stroll to the main entrance of a venue, tell amazing stories and root for the underdogs, the nation loves sleepers, which means the vast majority in the nation will be rooting for Butler. There's no Hoosier sequel for the little guys when technically the Bulldogs have done enough to frighten the world as if Butler is America's storied program, given its historic run last season before falling short to Duke on the national stage in Indianapolis.

The reality is that, even if the losing team can reflect back on the phenomenal run in the tourney by beating elite programs with higher seeds, one in particular being No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks, another spectacular chapter ended so painfully to abolish a miracle unlike ever before. That would be Virginia Commonwealth, a university located in Richmond, Va., in which America became accustomed to as weeks progressed, attached to the beautiful program after stunning and ruining much for populace who filled out brackets without including Butler or VCU in the Final Four.

The dream persists for the UConn Huskies as well, standing strong in the nature of competitive and the Big Dance. But most of our nation is charmed, for the second straight year, by Butler's smoothest run in the tournament, no matter if the Bulldogs have advanced to the national championship game for the second straight season. When a night resembled a Hoosiers sequel, flashing back to the unbelievable ride by Milan for a storybook ending that led to a motion picture on the movie screens, the Bulldogs extended to 10-1 in the last two tourneys.

The program from the Horizon League is a top contender, not a Cinderella story, not the darlings of basketball but the fiercest and most dominant team in the nation. It's a rarity for any team to ultimately duplicate and deliver a repetition of marveled Cinderella stories. But in an NCAA tournament where nothing has gone as planned, with all the surprises and scares, the Bulldogs are elated to be playing in their second consecutive national championship game on Monday, one of the greatest achievements in college basketball history.


It wouldn't be hard to call Butler a name-brand program. And to call them the underdogs is an understatement, even if the nation identifies the Bulldogs as underdogs. There'd be a reason Butler is called the Bulldogs, simply because it's the meanest, scariest and most ferocious basketball school currently with a coach by the name of Brad Stevens, a soon-to-be 34-year-old with an ingenious mind to lead his players on a magical quest. And once again, it is very telling the folks are rallying around the Bulldogs, rooting for the so-called underdogs after they preserved the national spotlight for winning big games with implications.

With every startling victory comes the emergence of a new chapter and scene for the Hoosiers sequel. But now, as the Huskies beat the blossoming Kentucky Wildcats 56-55, Butler will play Connecticut, a premier program with two national titles and four Final Fours, despite the NCAA sanctions that has stained the university's credibility. It wasn't an impeccable scene for Kentucky, one of basketball's storied schools that struggled and faltered on the biggest stage, unable to avoid tumultuous meltdowns or ripen into one of the remarkable programs and instead resembles a hallucination that urge the masses in Lexington to believe in a sudden recovery.

Thus the program is one of the most demanding -- Kentucky places its identity on not only basketball but also John Calipari, a bona fide ambassador who makes the Final Four every spring. While he's normally coaching plenty of studs on his roster because of his brilliant recruiting, an explosive scorer in Brandon Knight and a sturdy center in Josh Harrellson, the Wildcats are still marred by a Kentucky Fried Calamity for dropping the biggest game in Kentucky's first Final Four appearance since 1998.

Trailing by two points with 16.6 seconds left, Calipari rallied his team on the sideline with a timeout, grabbed a board and diagrammed a play that resulted in DeAndre Liggins firing an ill-advised three-point shot. The scheme was poorly executed as the Huskies secured the victory to seek its third title in school history. It's seemingly fine to believe that Butler, given its experience and desire to win it all this season, will be hoisting the prize on Monday night, just as much as it is for UConn.

"I don't think I can possibly explain how much I want to do this," said Butler forward Matt Howard after Butler's 70-62 win over VCU. "The experience of being there, of being so close last year, I just can't explain what this chance means to me."

It's been an unrealistic, bizarre tournament with something ridiculous in every round as the top seeds submerged and stumbled against low seeds, shocking the world and destroying brackets across the nation. Until Saturday night, it seemed that the hottest team scorching the nets were the Rams. The reputation of one of the hottest programs in the country was never projected to be selected into the field of 68 teams, let alone advance past the NCAA's inaugural First Four round as an 11 seed, and Shaka Smart was never expected to create a buzz as the impressive coach to rise immensely.


As Howard of Butler may have just amazed NBA executives and bolstered his NBA status as top NBA prospect, Smart could have forged a lengthy resume for his Career-Builder.com openings in the next few weeks. Most notably, after he has led a team on incredible tourney run that landed VCU in the Final Four, he is the leading candidate for many coaching vacancies in the near future. It would be interesting to see what program interviews and offers him a coaching gig, now that speculations of possible candidates have developed undying debates.

"Butler was the more aggressive team, and that was the biggest difference between this one and the last five," Smart said emotionally. "It has more to do with Butler than with us."

In other words, VCU finally had encountered its match, an opponent much stronger, willed and anxious to win it all. This wasn't the Rams greatest night on the court, once identified as the toughest underdogs in the tourney -- angry that most of the country neglected, disrespected and ridiculed them. This wasn't what was seen against USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and Kansas. What seemingly was the difference in previous games, of course, was that the Rams could force turnovers and intensify the tempo.

For once, there is a sense the Bulldogs have won it already, simply by their experience, toughness, fierceness and onslaughts to dictate the tempo and pace. As usual, there were the Bulldogs attacking by its usual vicious game plan, disciplined and molded to play like cruel and harmful animals on the court hungry to win a championship finally. Now, in this Final Four, Butler should be the scariest, with sharp teeth and fangs that demands a leash, particularly when Howard is the best scoring threat arguably in the nation.

For instance, such as when he entered with 4:40 left, his defensive presence stopped VCU and slowed its up-tempo style and fiery ball pressure. Although he's a centerpiece for Butler's defensive effort, along with scoring, the best player on the floor Monday night will certainly be Kemba Walker, a surefire first-round pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. However, in many ways, it turns out Butler is well-deserving of being considered a national power in college hoops, after rising to the top and making mark on the national championship scene for the second straight season. This isn't an illusion.

This isn't a fluke. This is real. There were cheers heard from an optimistic Butler crowd as the team's mascot, dressed in a bulldog suit ran wildly around the court. And then, suddenly, even the real bulldog on a leash was seen in midcourt once it ended. Every time the Bulldogs win, and if Jim Nantz, the voice of CBS sports, is calling the game, he makes an effort to bend down and pet the dog.

Everybody by now knows that Stevens is the boy-wonder of college basketball, the guy you can easily mistaken for a 17-year-old teenager fresh out of high school. Also, he gave up his job in pharmaceutical sales to embark on a career in coaching college basketball, where he has produced and been successful in the past two seasons. The rallying cry was heard from the Bulldogs, once a fulfilled night ended so sentimentally. "We're not done yet! Unfinished business, baby!"


It seems the Bulldogs have the right mentality, entering Monday night’s showdown against the Huskies in an attempt to make up for such a devastating heartbreaker a year ago. Shelvin Mack, who scored 24 points on the brightest platform, is an attractive NBA player, a first-round pick with the ability to shoot lights out on any giving night because of his discipline and perseverance as a talented player. More impressively, the man off the bench, Zach Haun, scored all eight of his points in the second half that manipulated the game in Butler's favor.

This season alone, the Bulldogs are the cleverest and peskiest defensive unit, roughly frustrating and neutralizing opponents as VCU fell victim. One win away from making history, and Butler can celebrate in triumph, after coming all so close a year ago. With all things considered, for such a commitment to defense emphasized heavily by Stevens obviously, the Bulldogs can create havoc for UConn. This is by now clearly seen as the greatest game in sports, as it is anticipated to be one of the classic events in ages. The night for Walker wasn't so wonderful in the beginning, for which he seemed a bit sluggish and confused. The night for Walker was jittery, and oddly, he wasn't the star and never had the ball in his hands in the pivotal moments.

There were times, on the night when Kemba struggled to find his rhythm, that the stadium muted and wondered about Walker. It was a combination of fatigued, tiredness and nerves in a game with much on the line. When Kentucky's Darius Miller landed onto Walker's right ankle, scaring the UConn faithful, many of whom held their collective breaths worried about their star player's health status, he grabbed the ankle, walked gingerly and grimaced in pain. He sat briefly and slowly walked back onto the court, and by the end of the game, he had scored 18 points and finished 6-for-15 shooting.

But either way, no doubt, the hero on this night was UConn point guard Shabazz Napier, given much spotlight in the biggest game of his lifetime of the semifinals game. The Huskies led by four points and were trying to clinch it with another shot to extend the lead as time ticked, and then Napier drove through traffic and finished on a reverse layup with 2 minutes left. In another play, Napier tried to slash to the basket prematurely, and the ball dribbled off his foot for a costly turnover when Knight dove on it and Terrence Jones called a timeout.

"I thought Shabazz played great," Calhoun said after Napier finished merely 1-for-7 in shooting.


As a Hall Fame name, Calhoun has risen as a fixture at UConn, and honestly, he never expected much this season from his players and mainly felt his star player Walker was hit with a heavy burden in carrying the Huskies. It's amazing how grueling it has been for Walker, but somehow he has pressed on and been sensational leading the Huskies deep into the tournament. Walker, a superb junior from New York, where he was born and raised playing basketball on the playgrounds in the urban community, is worthy of being defined as America's greatest player after conducting a five-wins-in-five-nights winning streak.

There can only be one legitimate winner and, in a sense, it seems Butler is worthy of a title. After all, we'll weigh in on a classic national championship game, once it's all said and done. How breathtaking it is to witness two powerhouses, as one is portrayed as the underdog, a moment when UConn meets Butler for what could be the basketball game of the ages.

The Emergence of Butler Bulldogs Writes a Sequel in Hoosier State

It’s almost a cliché the way the Butler Bulldogs persist in writing a cinematic script in its hometown, before its feverish hometown crowd sitting in the stands.

Fans are almost awaiting a beautiful movie, not to only top the box offices, but to outline an unimaginable pipe dream in the NCAA tourney. No feel-good story in college hoops seems as heartwarming and tasteful, a sentimental perspective that has glorified the smallest institution in the smallest town.

Whenever a team is fortunate to play in a neutral site 17 minutes away from its campus, it’s a privilege every team wishes, yet it sometimes draws a ruckus being close to home where thousands of hometown faithful come to root and heightens pressure. But in this instant, the Bulldogs wonderful movie wasn’t stripped. Sure enough, it’s the best basketball program in the nation, representing a berated Horizon League.

Most basketball fans discounted the rebirth of a Hoosiers tale a long time ago, describing Butler as a soft-minded, undersized and ill-defensive program. One win away from winning the national title, a notion that the Bulldogs can win it all is immense, unlike when the nation denied acknowledging a tough-minded, humbled, and classy team.

This is more than a basketball miracle, and honestly it’s a powerful school meeting tournament qualifications that was overlooked for representing a smaller conference. Living with the concept that Butler is a team with little notability, people have neglected its talented and vibrant nucleus. It’s surely a team that merits attention, strictly for its toughness, unity, and chemistry.

For the entire tournament, the Bulldogs have been vicious by sharing the ball unselfishly and intensifying defensive toughness. For now, Butler owns the Hoosier State, outlasting its interstate foes as a menace in the national landscape. Indiana was fried a long time ago, diminishing ever since Kelvin Sampson cast hideous stains for his infractions against NCAA rules. In other locations, Notre Dame fell early and Purdue almost survived without their star forward Robbie Hummel.

It’s obvious Butler is the hottest team in the country, with its physical intensity and mental toughness. If nobody believes in the Bulldogs after tonight, then what is there to believe in? It’s difficult to put anything past a much-confident and scorching program, merely seven miles from 4,500 students who are enrolled on the smallest campus.

For years to come, we’ll reminisce about a Cinderella that really isn’t a Cinderella. Our country is glancing at a legit program, provoking the odds of an unpredictable tourney. Whatever people believe, it’s a core of heavyweights that suddenly cannot lose a game, and has been unbeaten for a very long time now, extending its incredible streak to 25 straight wins.

Yes, the Bulldogs are victorious again, after knocking off Michigan State in a tense and close 52-50 win at the Final Four to advance to the national championship game Monday night. In the stands, thousands sounded with loud shouts, overjoyed with the improbable defeat and in all likelihood a Hoosiers sequel. Years ago, Butler was mired in mediocrity, fearless and undermined. Years ago, it never made it to a national championship game. Years ago, it never had this much popularity. But lately, it has emerged as bracket-killers and a real basketball powerhouse.

The emergence of Butler ultimately reveals much about an elite program, with more than enough star power to survive as they ease closer to a championship. This isn’t seen every day. Rarely does someone from the Horizon League defy logic and transcends near the very top. But admittedly, it appears anything is possible and promising in the NCAA tourney, even though the Bulldogs aren’t anywhere near George Mason or Davidson.

For all the thrills and buzz surrounding Butler, it’s time we wake up to realize it can win the entire tournament. Assuming that a journey has erupted reliance, it’s virtually hard dismissing a relentless team with humbleness and faith. This team has been fortunate, flawless scoring points on turnovers and shooting threes effectively.

For years, we’ve been stunned by the wildness and politics, not grasping an understanding that mystique among topflight schools degenerates during a rebuilding or competitive juncture. Is that why the Bulldogs are good? Partly. Is it because competition is steeper or because of weakened programs? In this case, the Bulldogs are really good, but weren’t recognized until reaching the grandest stage.


Thus the ultimate goal is to win. Brad Stevens, 33, is a young coach and could be mistaken as a teenager. Yet everyone also knows only one coach has won the national title in his first appearance in the last 10 years. That doesn’t say Stevens becomes the next one to be victimized. If the Bulldogs stick to fundamentals, like containing leads, finding ways to score, and protecting the ball, Stevens will add to a historic resume.

Somehow the Bulldogs survive in the final minutes of a game, never quitting and staying poised. Somehow the Bulldogs wrote another script, hitting just one field goal in the final 12:18, while shooting under 31 percent in the game. This time, they were bailed out as they rose on defense and relied on solid free throw shooting. As we’ve seen recently, Butler scored 20 points off 16 Michigan State turnovers—an abnormal trait out of Tom Izzo’s Spartans.

That’s how badly they missed the star guard and leader Kalin Lucas, who was sidelined with a torn Achilles. On this night, you could’ve predicted the Spartans to win, having a fundamentally sound unit in Durrell Summers, Korie Lucious, and Draymond Green, but the turnovers hurt a chance at redemption after falling short a year ago in the national championship game.


This year, the one shining moment goes to the Butler Bulldogs. Maybe it’s a nice movie after all, with Gordon Hayward leading the Bulldogs with 19 points as sharpshooting guard Shelvin Mack nailed mid-range jump shots and threes.

Mack finished with 14 points, but from his body language you could see he was exhausted and suffering from dehydration. But still he drained critical shots to uplift a miracle. When Hayward started connecting on huge shots, it changed the momentum and gave the Bulldogs a cushion. But no play was bigger than when he flew and sliced by traffic, grabbing his ninth rebound on Lucious’ intentional missed free throw as time expired.

With Matt Howard in foul trouble and Mack dehydrated, Hayward took control and guided the Bulldogs to the biggest game in school history. In an ugly game, Butler took advantage and had its way with the basketball. From poor shooting, to clumsy fouls, to turnovers, they secured the gratifying win at home and celebrated and trotted to the locker room happier than ever.

I deeply believe there’s a movie in the makings.

Homecoming Win for Butler Engraves a Legit Hoosier Tale

There is no greater surprise in college hoops, regarding a talented program where checking in by midnight wasn’t necessary, attaining a date to its first ever Final Four. The Butler Bulldogs, a small school from an inconspicuous conference called the Horizon League, are traveling to its hometown, not to end a magical dream that turned into reality, but keep aspirations alive to compete in the biggest game on the mammoth stage.

Figuratively, it happened in front of a large crowd at Salt Lake City, where the Bulldogs respectively stunned the world as a Cinderella, taken down No. 1 Syracuse. In what is defined as an illusion, should be described as a legit run, stating the balance, poise and fierceness of an elite program.

How can we not express this as a fairytale, written in the month of March, a time sporting maniacs falls in love with the greatest sporting tournament? At first, it was typified as the massive shocker in NCAA tourney history, but if you noticed something abnormal about the Bulldogs, it wasn’t the win over Syracuse. Instead it’s the toughness and parity seen from Butler of late, celebrating with much euphoria and excitement after obliterating thousands of brackets and upsetting believers and high-profile schools. It was silly, not to realize that the Bulldogs had much willpower and toughness to threaten.

That’s exactly why this isn’t a Cinderella, but a school with ferocious fangs and monstrous weapons, observed as unstoppable villains. If you haven’t seen someone in the tourney with optimism, you have now. If you haven’t seen someone in the tourney with parity, you have now. If you haven’t seen someone in the tourney with perseverance, you have now. All those are ingredients that Butler improvises, to win it all. What was a cute fairytale is now a horror story. And what was a Cinderella is now a legit contender.

So this is a resemblance of the real-life team from the great 1986 movie, Milan High. They can make a movie, if the Bulldogs win the Final Four. Imagine Butler becoming the smallest school to win, similar to Milan High winning the Indiana basketball title in 1954, a year before my mother was born, a year my late father served in the military, and yes, a year when gas prices weren’t outrageous. Milan defeated high-ranked teams, just as Butler has sent a statement to all bracketology and college basketball devotees.

Let’s applaud the classy and strongest team in the tourney. At least it seems that way, with what has transpired in the last few days. And suddenly, a feel-good story is a historic story, with the Bulldogs coming from out of nowhere sabotaging and staining aspiration for its previous opponents. Who cares? Just alone, the Bulldogs are worthy of winning national title after winning the most critical game in school history, uplifting sanity within a lackluster program that never experienced much humanity. Waiting for a shining moment to happen, it finally materialized in a 63-56 win over Kansas State in the West Regional final.


For all the triumph it has preserved, this class will always be remembered for their incremental deeds. Such as embarrassing the Orange in the Sweet 16, and finally reaching a gratifying stage in history by outhustling, outrebounding and outplaying a fatigued Kansas State. It’s a flattering and remarkable Hoosiers story, forming an unthinkable dream. The assumption that Butler was fundamentally sound advancing to the Final Four made absolute sense, because of its pundits and firmness. So there you have it, a relentless program riding a 23-game winning streak that extended to 24.

Isn’t this what we prefer to see, a different team?

After all, they exposed much intensity and gusto.

That makes it a heartwarming story as well. And it’s amazing we ignored a basketball team that captivated our curiosity, with its powerful balance and toughness. Sure, the Bulldogs compelled much angry and tears, by annihilating brackets and sending teams home earlier than expected. Of course, it wasn’t their best performance, shooting a mere 37 percent in the first-half, had more turnovers, costly blunders that saved K-State’s lives.

In a shaky contest, the Wildcats were fortune to stay alive and keep it close, but the Bulldogs pulled away several times in the absence of Horizon League Player of the Year Matt Howard, who was limited to four minutes in the half because of foul trouble. But somehow Butler managed to attack the rim, shoot efficiently from beyond the arch outscoring Kansas State’s two star guards Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente.

They were scoreless until the final minutes of the first half, coach Frank Martin stared disgusted and the Bulldogs led 27-16 en route to end of the half. If you believe in miracles, the fifth-seeded Bulldogs earn the privilege to play in the fieldhouse, where “Hoosiers” was filmed. There could be some luck, as the Bulldogs write an unbelievable tale, better than most sporting stories.

This is a great story for America.

Together, they believed in each other, played tough and will attempt glory at home. Once again, Butler’s coach Brad Stevens, the 33-year old who has a baby face and could be mistaken for a 17-year-old. Inside Lucas Oil Stadium, a modern venue, the Bulldogs have a date with Tennessee or Michigan State in the Final Four, where half the range of 4,500 students enrolled will be in attendance.

In a critical contest, Shelvin Mack fired threes, Ronald Nored and Willie Veasley played in-your-face type defense, and Gordon Haywood collected rebounds. Right now, the Bulldogs seem experience, seem emotional, seem dangerous, seem athletic, and seem unbeatable.

By refusing to acknowledge the Bulldogs, was an erroneous mistake.

There’s a wonderful tale being written.

Butler's Epic Win Over Syracuse Proves Elite Contenders: You've Been Warned

If there’s one shining moment to an epic college basketball tournament story, it’s Butler upsetting Syracuse in what was the most heartfelt victory in school history.

Three wins away from fulfilling a magical wish for the first time in school history, Butler hugged each other and smiled greatly, stunning the world as bracket-saboteurs.

Not every college team has tremendous luck obtaining a championship banner and cutting down a net.

This wasn’t what Syracuse had in mind, arguably portrayed as the hottest and best team in the West region before the Orange was obliterated in Salt Lake City, on a night happiness and enthusiasm was noticed from a school that has never had much worth celebrating.

In the ending of a nerve-racking finish, the Bulldogs had taken down Syracuse, the No. 1 seed in the West Regional.

There was no one filled with much delight as Butler’s coach Brad Stevens, a 33-year old whose baby face convinces most people that he barely graduated from high school a year ago.

It’s a rarity to hear the Bulldogs celebrate an incredible win and sustain a grand achievement within a lackluster program, respectively turning into a legit tourney contender.

Nothing was sweeter than the Bulldogs knocking off the Orange, a top-seeded team predicted to advance to the Final Four or greater, win it all.

But with all the uncertainty and beautiful landscapes transpiring in a tourney filled with much buzz and romance, Butler wears a gigantic glass slipper after making a strong explanation.

March has turned into a wondrous storyline, seeing the unthinkable happen before our very eyes and dramatic finishes implement the coolest tale in college hoops.

In recent memory, the Bulldogs never developed much hype or regularity, until it conquered the proudest dream and capped a 63-59 win over a prominent school with much parity and talent.

None of it matters, with upsetting sequences becoming the commonplace in collegiate sports where balance and gifted athletes elevates a fragile program.

And while Butler is the archetype of an emerging program that has accelerated to new heights and continuously defies the odds and rational thinking, consider it a miracle of the ages.

But we must also consider that the Bulldogs are a vital contender, heading to the Elite Eight.

The feverish crowd made the trip to Salt Lake City, witnessing a glorious landmark unlike in prior seasons in which the latest defeat was convenient enough to lift sanity in a community that hasn’t had much of an advantage in basketball.

I’d say Butler is elite.

An uttermost performance in the Elite Eight is no bigger than the one that occurred less than 24 hours ago.

That’s a program with young teams. Therefore, the usual pattern following an evident win is that a young core has a tendency of becoming complacent.

In this case, Butler is an unusual breed, craving and coveted shining and traveling to Indianapolis for its first ever Final Four appearance in school history.

As the final seconds narrowed, a saddened Syracuse bench mired in a state of shock.

Wes Johnson, the star player for the Orange, was stripped and committed the team’s 18th turnover.

Jim Boeheim watched in despair and Andy Rautins looked as if he was ready to burst into tears, somehow kept his composure.

So much for all conceptions that this was a dangerous powerhouse ever since Kansas was eliminated.

On the other side of the court, there was a thrilled bench watching the memorable night take place.

The Bulldogs refused to finish without a fight, and never allowed the Syracuse publicity to bother them.

As we know, there’s always less pressure on an underdog team, attempting to establish an identity in a competitive tourney.

Rarely do you see Boeheim’s talented core fall to a much physical defense that humiliated the favorable school of the Big East.

This late in the tourney, any team can escape with a win, right?

“There are no better seeds in this tournament. There are just higher seeds,” said Stevens. “It’s about who plays better on a given night.”

Guess that answers the question.

As it turns out the better seed are the No. Five Bulldogs in the West regional.

Wouldn’t it be nice if their storybook season last until the Final Four?

That’s not such a bad prediction.

The nation is glancing at the toughest team alive in the tournament, a physical core refusing to leave teary eyed.

The stakes were high throughout a dramatic showpiece, but finally the Bulldogs had enough poise and energy to explode in the late minutes. Willie Veasley’s three-pointer from the baseline, bounced around the rim before dropping in.

Whether it was luck or skill, it fell in, and just like that the Bulldogs extended their lead to 58-54 with one minute 40 seconds left on the clock.

“I was standing under the basket and it went in, then out, then in, then out, then in,” Butler forward Gordon Hayward said in relief.

He was a heroic finisher, moments later tipping in a miss for a 60-54 lead with one minute left.

From there, it capped the biggest upset defeat since Northern Iowa stunned Kansas in what arguably will go down as the greatest upset in tournament history.

I’ll rank the Butler upset at an all-time high, but I just don’t know where.

For much of the evening, Butler had the swagger with its fierce offense, potent defense and monstrous dunks. Enough parity of executing endless onslaughts to ridiculously suffocate opponents and annihilate more brackets.

For Stevens, he averaged 29 wins a year in his brief tenure at Butler and has won more games at his age than any coach in modern collegiate basketball.

There’s a little luck for the Bulldogs.

Near the end, marked one of the wildest finishes in the tourney this year, with Butler finding a rhythm by scoring 11 straight points.

The world shouldn’t be surprise by the Final Four results? Remember, there was George Mason and even Davidson almost advanced two years ago.

It’s fine to say, Butler could be this year’s George Mason.