Butler Basketball

Doesn't it seem like it is Butler's destiny to win the national championship this season? Every bounce and call seem to go their way. Whether it is a flop from Howard that a referee doesn't catch or a ball that falls directly to them for a perfect scoring situation, they always seem to be at the right place at the right time. Call it luck or basketball IQ, they just win games.

Shelvin Mack seems to play his best games in the biggest atmospheres. He shot 8-of-11 from the floor, including 5-of-6 from three-point range for 24 points against VCU. He is the go-to guy in the clutch, and every great team needs a guy who has ice in his veins.

Whether he is scoring 24 against VCU or 30 against Pittsburgh, Mack is a player that head coach Brad Stevens can rely upon down the stretch. Even when he didn't make one three-pointer against Wisconsin, he was the guy that put the game away with his step-back jumper.

The Bulldogs defense is superb in all aspects. They rebound the ball with great efficiency, box-out and contest shots. They pride themselves on being the more physical team.

They have a great feel for each other on the offensive side of the ball as well. They use screens well, play well off the ball and have multiple shooters from the perimeter.

Most importantly, Stevens is a fantastic tactician. He understands the opponents' flaws and knows how to exploit them.

For most of the season, Kemba Walker has been the one-man show for Connecticut. He makes everybody around him better simply by his presence. So much attention is needed to contain Walker that it leaves open shooters and cutters.

Ever since the Big East tournament, Jeremy Lamb has provided that second scoring threat for the Huskies.

He has been an on or off type of player throughout the course of the season but has had double-digit scoring games ever since the Big East tournament began. He is averaging 18 points a game leading up to the Final Four, including clutch shots against San Diego State and Arizona.

Not many people believed they would win five games in five days at Madison Square Garden. They were supposed to be "tired" and bow out early. That never happened—Walker and head coach Jim Calhoun wouldn't let it happen.

Now, Calhoun has a chance to win his third NCAA Championship. For a team that was picked to finish 10th in the Big East and was unranked before the season ever started, nobody could have predicted that they would be one game away from winning it all.

I like Butler in this game but expect it to be close. The experience of being in the national championship game last season will do wonders for them. They will be the underdog but thrive at that role. Brad Stevens will work his magic to exploit their weaknesses. If Howard can stay out of foul trouble and Mack can light it up from outside, Butler will be cutting the nets down come Monday night.

If you thought last year's appearance of a "mid-major" in the national title game was an anomaly, you're wrong.

For the second consecutive year, a team from outside of the power six conferences will be competing for a national championship. Unthinkable, right?

Wrong.

One of the two Final Four matchups pits Horizon League member Butler against Colonial Athletic Association member Virginia Commonwealth. Sounds more like a Thanksgiving weekend tournament game, doesn't it?

College basketball fans should get used to these types of teams in the final stanza of the big dance.

With an emphasis on college basketball's great equalizer, the three-point shot, many teams from small conferences such as the Horizon League and CAA have a very realistic chance at reaching the hallowed ground of the Final Four or even the National Championship game.

It is a trend unlike anything college basketball has ever seen. Most years, it is typical to mention teams such as Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke, Ohio State, etc. as teams in contention to win a title. However, teams such as Butler and VCU have staked a claim in that conversation.

Both of those small schools have shown what it takes to win games in the NCAA Tournament: tremendous defensive play, a high shooting percentage, and heart.

Heart is undoubtedly the most crucial aspect of both teams' runs to this stage. The sound of the roaring engine on VCU's sideline can be attributed to head coach Shaka Smart.

His team certainly reflects his wily personality. They play each possession as if it is the most important in the game. They play extremely physical defense. They press. To put it simply, they play hard. Really hard.

Similar to Shaka Smart and VCU, the Bulldogs of Butler play with the same passion and intensity. The driving force behind this team isn't evident of coach Brad Steven's personality.

It is a reflection of senior forward Matt Howard's work ethic and dedication. Like Howard, the team plays fearlessly. They never quit. They never give up.

The matchup of these teams will be must-watch television. America loves the underdog. America loves the blue-collar guys who bust their butts every day.

We will be getting that and more on Saturday night.

There are some out there that complain when they see teams such as Butler and VCU invade the final four.  Apparently, they believe, such hallowed ground is only meant for the truest of pedigreed programs.

Teams such as Butler, VCU and George Mason are what have made the tournament great.  The popularity of the tournament has never been higher.  Early round upsets have always been a part of the allure of the tournament but over the past 10 years we have seen a rise in higher seeded teams making it the Elite Eight and now the Final Four.

We are a nation that loves underdogs.  Our great Statue of Liberty reads: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”  Our nation is the ultimate underdog story.  We need teams such as these to succeed.

Quick, when you think championship NCAA moments what comes to mind?  Odds are that one of your first thoughts was of Jim Valvano running around the court after his surprising NC State team won the 1983 title.

Of course we love a proven winner. Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina have their place as the giants of the game.  Their importance is not just for the adoration of their fans but also as the teams that other people just love to hate.  The underdog story is what attracts us. 

Everyone is so attached the BCS schools.  Those conferences account for roughly 70 schools.  But let’s be honest, when people talk BCS schools they don’t consider Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Baylor and such.  So the number of top level school is very small.  Most people, if they went to college, graduated from one of the 4,000 other colleges and universities across the United States. The smaller schools like Butler and VCU represent more of the people.

What does yet another championship for UConn or Kentucky mean?  They already have nine titles between them.  A week from now nobody outside of Lexington or Storrs will care if either of them win it all.  But if Butler or VCU win, it will be the feel good story that will last awhile.   

NC State and Villanova currently top the list of all time upset winners.  It is time for another Cinderella to join them among.  Luckily with VCU and Butler matching up in the semi-finals, we are guaranteed to have a Cinderella in the finals.  Hopefully the slipper will be the perfect fit for one of them.

If you told fellow NCAAB fans in mid-March that your bracket included VCU and Butler in the Final Four, you probably would have garnered more than a few surprise reactions.

You also probably would have won your bracket.

One of the most intriguing match ups in Final Four history is such because of the surprise factor that comes with it.

One of the most intriguing things about Butler basketball is their young coach Brad Stevens.

He connects with his players. He is good under pressure. Cool, calm and collective, he’s a mastermind really.

At 31-years-old, he led Butler to a 30 win season.

At 33-years-old, he led Butler to the Final Four.

And just a year later, with a win over VCU, he could be leading Butler to the national championship.

VCU’s coach is a similar story.

In his early 30’s like Stevens, and in his first two years at VCU, coach Shaka Smart is 10-0 in post season play. This season’s run has been particularly memorable.

So far VCU has won their first five tournament games. They defeated Georgetown, USC, Kansas and Purdue, by double digits. And they were out-rebounded by 37 boards against Kansas, Florida State and Georgetown but still managed victories.

They’ve been doing it with shooting.

VCU hit 12-25 shots from 3-point range against Kansas, while the Jayhawks hit on only 2-21. That really was the difference.

VCU hit 12-26 from 3-point range against FSU, and shot 57 percent from the field against Purdue.

In the win over Georgetown, they hit 12-25 from 3-point range.

How much longer can this good shooting be sustained?

But really the key here is the circumstance.

Like Northern Iowa last season after defeating Kansas, VCU is probably just glad to be here. Sure, they would like to win the championship, obviously. But the question is whether they’ll be able to stand the propensity of all this craziness against a team like Butler who will be experienced and all business after coming up short against Duke last season.

Is VCU last season’s Butler?

Circumstantially, not quite. Butler came into the Final Four with a win over Kansas State as just a 4-point underdog, while VCU just knocked off arguably the best team in the nation. Also, Butler came into the Final Four with a 24-game winning streak before defeating Michigan State.

If anything for VCU, it’s shades of Colonial division rival George Mason in 2006.

In surprise fashion, the Patriots knocked off Michigan State, UNC and then Connecticut in the Elite 8 before losing handily to Florida in the Final Four.

Like Kansas, Connecticut was 30-3 that season.

The way these two teams are playing, this seems like a game where anything can happen. However, Butler's experience combined with unfinished business from last season could prove to be the difference.

In round one I wrote about Wofford’s chances to cover 8.5 points against BYU. In the Sweet 16, I wrote again about BYU and how they would lose to Florida in the rematch.

For the Final Four, with VCU potentially coming in high off a huge win over Kansas, against a Butler team that’s been here before, the edge must go to the Bulldogs (no longer underdogs) to get a second chance at the title against the winner of Kentucky/UNC.

To most people, it’s crazy to think that Brad Stevens won’t leave Butler. Why would he stay at Butler when he could work for Missouri, NC State and now possibly Purdue?

In a world where coaches are constantly leaving for the next big thing, Brad Stevens is more old school and classy than the coaching profession he works in.

We see it all the time. Matt Painter has a great job at his alma-mater in Purdue, has enjoyed success, and already has some good recruiting classes locked in. However, reports are now saying that maybe he’s leaving for Missouri.

It’s just another case of a coach getting more money in a bigger atmosphere, and that’s what people want.

It feeds men’s ego when they get a promotion, even if they’re going from a great job to a rebuilding situation. More money means more power and more success, right?

In this day and age, yes. Brad Stevens is the only exception.

Signing his long-term deal with Butler secured him for that time, but he could still leave for a top job if he really wanted to. For once though, a college team has a phenomenal coach that would rather be insanely successful in the Horizon League than go on a long rebuilding process in the Big Ten or SEC.

While some may think that isn’t a good choice, it is for Stevens. Why should he leave a program he’s taken to the Final Four two years in a row? Obviously they’re doing something right.

Butler’s been to more Final Fours in the last two years than North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky and Indiana, if people want to look at it like that. Now, if they come away with a National Championship, more and more people are going to want to come to Butler.

Another thing to look at is Butler’s recruiting class. Stevens has a pretty good one coming in 2011. From an Australian point guard, to a forward that scored 52 points in one game this season, to a dead-eye shooting guard that has outstanding range, this Butler program is not going away.

Brad Stevens is building for the future, and he will want to stick around to see what he can get done in Indianapolis. There’s no reason that Stevens won’t finish on top of the coaching profession, as he is already on pace to break the all-time wins record when he’s done.

Coach Stevens is now as hot as anything in the basketball game, but there’s no shaking him. He will be building something great at Butler for a long, long time.

This article was originally published on Bark of Hinkle. An everything Butler Bulldogs website. Check us out and follow us on Twitter @barkofhinkle.

Do you know what the "Butler Way" is?  No?  Well, I do.  I'll let you in on it somewhere within this work. 

First things first, though.  I have a question for you:

How would you feel if a popular local radio host labeled your favorite skyrocketing college basketball program a "Cinderella" at the biggest basketball tournament?  You probably wouldn't like it, and I wouldn't either.

To Butler fans—or at least to one of them—calling Butler basketball a "Cinderella" is insulting.

While I was listening to a radio program one recent morning, I heard a caller insist one of the hosts shouldn't refer to the Bulldogs as a Cinderella.  A spirited discussion ensued.  The fact that it happened on a San Antonio station—a town asking us to respect the Spurs—is a shame. 

In NCAA basketball jargon, a "Cinderella" is a team coming out of nowhere to achieve great success in the National Championship chase.  In real life, "Cinderella" is a folk tale symbolizing the overcoming of unjust oppression—with a triumphant reward. 

Good over evil. 

Babylon against the Butler University Bulldogs.

The Babylonian radio host stood firm in what he perceived to be his triumphant argument that since Butler lost their best player from last year, they can be called a Cinderella. 

While there could be a thin line between a Cinderella story and a budding program like Butler's, the host's argument is definitely flawed.  He implies the Bulldogs are one-hit wonders in basketball.

As a budding college basketball power though, Butler has achieved wonderful success the last eight years.  The Bulldogs intend on being here to stay as a power, and I believe they will.  Anyone who does the research would probably agree.

Before 1919, Butler's teams were nicknamed the "Christians."  Legend states the name was changed because of the football team's mounting and excruciating losses.  The men's basketball team is the savior of the school's athletics right now.

Having won at least 20 games and reached postseason play in 12 of the last 14 seasons, Butler has made nine NCAA tournaments.  They made the Sweet 16 in 2003 and 2007, and of course went to back-to-back Final Fours in 2010-2011.

Since the 2006-2007 season, they sport a 15-8 record against BCS leagues—7-2 against the Big Ten.  They've done a lot along the way.

The way they ball and the program's success is the "Butler Way."  It's team style from Indiana basketball's glory days—the way the game should be played.

Butler hasn't won any NCAA titles employing this style yet, but neither has a number of other major college programs. 

Butler could very well bring home the bacon this year.

A sign of a great program is the production of great players, and they're building a tradition of having strong play from their guards—a winning formula in the tournament. 

Butler's junior guard A.J .Graves was a John Wooden Award National Player of the Year Finalist in 2007.  Former head coach Todd Lickliter was the National Coach of the Year back then also.

Since April 4, 2007, 34-year-old head coach Brad Stevens has been leading Butler's men's basketball program.  All he's done is go to the school's only two Final Fours.  Before the Final Four's though, he became the third-youngest head coach in NCAA Division I history to post a 30-win season. 

Last year, he broke the NCAA record for most wins by a coach in his first three years.  He also became the second-youngest head coach to make an NCAA National Championship basketball game.  His team came within two points of winning it all last year—losing to Duke 61-59 in the title game held in Indianapolis.

Headquartered in Indy, they play in the Horizon League along with Cleveland State, Detroit, Green Bay, Loyola, Milwaukee, UIC, Valparaiso, Wright State and Youngstown State. The Bulldogs have made appearances in NCAA tournaments represented by both the men's and women's basketball squads.

The men first qualified for the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 1962; they finished in Regional Third Place.  Their overall NCAA tournament record is just above .500 at 10-9.   

The men's tournament is often referred to as the "Big Dance."  Cinderella wasn’t supposed to be at the ball, but her Fairy Godmother made it happen.

Cinderella ended up marrying Prince Charming, who had searched his entire land for the woman who wore the famous glass slipper.  One of the morals of the story is that beauty is a rare and admirable treasure, but graciousness is of higher value.  In fact, it's priceless—like fine crystal.

Besides grace—according to the moral of the story—intelligence, courage, good breeding and common sense are talents from heaven.

Cinderella learned grace from her godmother, who taught her to behave like a queen.  Without grace and the blessings from a higher power, nothing is possible; with it, one can do anything.

Just ask the Butler Christians—I mean Bulldogs.  Just don't call them "Cinderella."

Before I get called a power-hungry elitist, just hear me out...

Butler and VCU are both great stories.

• Virginia Commonwealth Rams: From being ripped for even being in the field of 68, to now being two games away from being crowned national champion.
• Butler Bulldogs: Back-to-back Final Four appearances. 9-1 in their last 10 tournament games. Who would have thought, right?

Ahh, America loves the underdogs. But do we love underdog vs. Cinderella, and do we actually like underdog/ Cinderella getting a shot or even winning it all? There is no doubt that America loves David vs. Goliath. If you don't believe me, go look at the ratings for the 2011 Rose Bowl and last year's national championship game between Butler and Duke. Saturday will be the test on America to see if we really care when it's Cinderella vs. underdog.

Heck, even the other side of the bracket has compelling stories. Look at Connecticut. With arguably the best player in the country in Kemba Walker the Huskies still have enough gas in the tank from their physically and emotionally draining Big East championship run. As for the Kentucky Wildcats, Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones have the shot at doing what John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, and three other first-round draft picks could not do, and that is win an national championship.

Alright. I get it. I get it. America loves story lines and America loves the underdog. But something I believe that America wants more than anything is competition. If they didn't, sites like this aren't made and what the hell are sports even for?

Competition decides who is best. America wants the best and they want to know WHO is the best of the best. Is UConn the best team in the land, even when it finished ninth in its own conference? Is Kentucky the best team in the country? It lost six road games inside the SEC.

Granted, you could make cases for and against every big-name school in America, and the shoe could fit for UConn and Kentucky. But are you ready to declare Butler or VCU as the best college basketball team in the nation?

"Great" and "very good" intrigue us more than "mediocrity" with momentum. Everyone loves to see the little guy get a shot, but when the little guy capitalizes, does America really like it? Tell me. Would you rather see VCU vs. Butler, or would you rather see Butler vs. Kansas or even two powerhouses like Kansas and Florida go at it for a shot at the championship game?

In my opinion, the bottom line is this: This has been one of the weakest years ever in college basketball; this Final Four proves that theory well. While Butler and VCU made it, don't tell me you wouldn't rather see legit, great/very good teams fighting for the title as the best basketball team in the tournament.