NCAA Basketball Review

Butler Makes History in Route to Elite 8

March 26th, 2010 Posted in NCAA Tournament

 

The amount of upsets this year’s NCAA Tournament has featured shows how the gap between college basketball’s elite programs and the rest of the country is shrinking. The strongest case for this phenomenon in the tournament could have been on display last night in Salt Lake City when the Horizon League’s Butler Bulldogs defeated the Big East regular season champs Syracuse 63-59. Butler punched their first ticket ever to Elite 8 thanks to inspired play by sophomore forward Gordon Hayward and senior guard Willie Veasley.

The Bulldogs have never sent a player to the NBA in the school’s history. The university outside of Indianapolis has been gaining steam since making the tourney for the first time in 35 years in 1997. The Bulldogs made two previous Sweet Sixteen appearances in 2003 and 2007, but have never been this close to a Final Four berth. Their opponent will be #7 nationally ranked Kansas State, who will be coming off a double overtime victory of Xavier. Butler will no doubt be the underdog against the Wildcats, but that might just be a role that suits the Bulldogs. Should be a great game.