NEW ORLEANS — When unbelievable keeps repeating itself, is it any less unbelievable?
Either the Butler Bulldogs implausibly, unbelievably did it again, reaching the NCAA Final Four for a second consecutive season, or it’s time for the college hoops country to take this news flash seriously: Butler is for real.
The Bulldogs are not unbelievable. Their success is becoming predictable.
Rallying from an 11-point, second-half deficit, Butler stunned the Florida Gators 74-71 in overtime Saturday in a thrilling Southeast Regional championship game at the New Orleans Arena.
“They had great, great heart tonight,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. “I knew they had that. I thought the difference in the game was right around the nine-minute mark. There was an enormous amount of loose balls that we did not come down with that they came down with.”
In particular, it was Butler senior forward Matt Howard who imposed his will on the game.
“Yeah, it wasn’t just me though,” Howard said. “We talked about not having any regrets. At that point, there were some things we could be doing a lot better, and just being aggressive. If you’re offensive rebounding or something like that, don’t have any regrets of not going.”
Howard is Butler’s leader in scoring, rebounding, quirks and quips, but he got in just enough early foul trouble to play a tad cautiously. When Florida forward Alex Tyus hit a jumper with 9:26 remaining, Butler was down 51-40. At that point, Howard and his post mates were struggling to stop Florida’s inside game. Gators senior center Vernon Macklin had 21 of his team-high 25 points by then, and Tyus had 12 of his 14 points.
Then Howard seemed to hit a do-or-die gear. On the next two possessions, he hit a layup and came up with an offensive rebound.
The Bulldogs were back in the game.
Shelvin Mack, a junior who has been Butler’s second-best scorer all season, shook off his second-half shooting slump by hitting a 3-pointer with 1:21 left in overtime that turned out to be the game-winner.
Stuff happens when playing Butler. Two of Florida’s best players, point guard Erving Walker and Southeastern Conference player of the year Chandler Parsons, hit a combined 3-of-19 shots from the field.
Instead of Macklin and Tyus continuing to work inside, Florida started chucking. Walker was 0-for-7 when he took the last shot in regulation with the game tied 60-60. He brought 0-for-8 into overtime.
Howard epitomizes Butler’s mystique. There are times when Howard is all knees, elbows and awkward mannerisms. But like Butler, Howard is better than he looks.
“I’ve been told that by other people, but not by other players,” Howard said. “I’m not going to change the way I play. I could, I guess, but it wouldn’t do any good.”
The NCAA Tournament committee made Butler a No. 8 seed. It then beat No. 9 Old Dominion on a buzzer-beating tap-in by Howard, No. 1 Pitt on a free throw by Howard with 0.8 seconds left, No. 4 Wisconsin and now the No. 2 Gators in overtime.
How? No team is tougher than Butler.
“They have a great internal will,” Donovan said.
And no player on Butler is tougher or more rugged than Howard.
“Matt Howard will be an NBA player, and his team would be winning where he went to school,” Butler coach Brad Stevens said. “That’s who he is. He makes teams better. He is a winner.”
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
Last-minute dramatics
A look at Saturday’s frantic finishes:
Mack keys Butler’s win
Second half, two seconds left: Florida’s Erving Walker misses 3-pointer, game goes OT.
Overtime, 1:20 left: Butler’s Shelvin Mack hits a 3-pointer, giving Butler 72-70 lead.
0:19: Down 72-71, Kenny Boynton misses a long 3-pointer for Florida.
0:08: After two free throws by Mack, Walker misses a 3-pointer.
Two shots at victory for Arizona
Second half, 3:11 left: UConn’s Jeremy Lamb, below, dunks for a 62-55 lead.
1:02: Jamelle Horne hits a 3-pointer to cap an 8-3 Arizona run and cut the lead to 65-63.
Final 10 seconds: Arizona’s Derrick Williams misses a 3-pointer. Kyle Fogg grabs the offensive rebound and gets the ball to Horne, who misses his wide-open 3 at the buzzer.
