Times wires
Sunday, March 20, 2011
INDIANAPOLIS — The little team that could just might outdo itself.
After beating Old Dominion on F Matt Howard's last-second tip-in Thursday, eighth-seeded Butler upset top-seeded Pitt 71-70 on his free throw with 0.8 seconds left Saturday. Last year, Butler, seeded No. 5, upset the top two seeds to reach the title game, which it lost by two to Duke.
So after spending an entire season trying to distance themselves from last season's team, the Bulldogs are right back where they started.
"Nobody's going to pick us to beat Wisconsin, and nobody picked us to beat Old Dominion or Pitt, either," coach Brad Stevens said Sunday after arriving back on campus. "(Point guard) Ronald Nored came up to me and said, 'Coach, I've played in 10 NCAA games, and nobody has ever picked us to win.' "
Actually, Thursday's game against the fourth-seeded Badgers will be Nored's 10th. So far, he's 7-2. Not bad for the team that some picked to lose in the first round each of the past two years. Or for a team some wrote off during a three-game skid in late January and early February.
Butler won seven straight to clinch a share of its fifth consecutive Horizon Conference regular-season title then two more to win its tournament. Now it sits two wins shy of another Final Four berth.
Senior G Zach Hahn said it's only the start.
"It's exciting, and a lot of us have been here before. So we know what to expect, and we have to show the freshmen the ropes," he said. "This is what you play for, and you never want it to end."
Missing Patriot: George Mason F Luke Hancock, who scored 18 and made the winning 3-pointer in the opening win, didn't play in a loss to Ohio State. Coach Jim Larranaga said Hancock could not keep food down and was up all night and most of the morning throwing up.
Staying home: Duke and North Carolina won two more games in their home state. The Blue Devils have won 16 consecutive tournament games played in North Carolina since losing 98-87 to Providence in a second-round game on March 16, 1997, in Charlotte, the site of this year's games. The Tar Heels have won 25 in a row since losing 72-71 to Penn in a second-round game on March 11, 1979, in Raleigh.
Matter of inches: Virginia Commonwealth PG Joey Rodriguez is listed at 5 feet 10. After Sunday's win, he was asked if he really is 5-10.
"I'm really not," he said. "I'm like 5-9 and three-quarters."
He was then asked if it's more like 5-8.
"No, I'm not 5-8," Rodriguez said, his teammates snickering. "I take that to heart."