The Butler men’s basketball team will take on No. 1 Indiana University Saturday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Follow Collegian managing editor Colin Likas and associate multimedia editor Matt Rhinesmith Saturday as they blog live from the event. They will provide in-game updates and analysis on the action. The blog link is below, and coverage will begin at 1 p.m. The game starts at 2 p.m.
It’s a consecutive Final Four appearance for the Butler Bulldogs after another intense NCAA tournament upset. The Butler Bulldogs defeated the Florida gators 74-71 on Saturday.
Click through the photos to watch the Butler Bulldogs overcome their struggle in the first half of the Elite 8 game and eventually defeat Florida in overtime.
What do you think about the Bulldogs’ match up against Florida? We’ve done our homework and gathered the dish on our Gator opponents. Here’s what we’re up against:
Assistant Sports Editor Lance Rinker and Staff Writer Matt Rhinesmith blog the game live from Butler The game tips off at 4:30 p.m., but we’ll start giving you the inside scoop at 4:15 p.m., giving you ample time to hype up for the big game.
While the No. 8-seeded Butler men’s basketball team practiced, scouted and recuperated, Butler students proved that fandom knows no bounds.
Many Butler seniors spent this afternoon on Bourbon Street, which senior forward Matt Howard in an interview Wednesday jokingly called “a street unlike any other.”
Senior and Dawg Pound President Kyle Murphy found a corner balcony to hang out on with friends.
Senior Kelsey Adams was with Murphy and made sure to wave the Butler flag hanging from the balcony and shout “Go Dawgs!”
Seniors Ben Scro and Wade Shidler were nearby on the balcony, and when asked about Butler’s run in the NCAA tournament, Shidler said, “Final Four, gonna win the championship, yeah.”
Senior Claire Peterson joined her fellow seniors after spending the day eating gumbo, shopping and walking down Bourbon Street snapping photos.
Non-Butler students and locals flocked to the Bulldog crowd. Many shouted out “Yeah Dawgs!” and “Go Butler!” as they walked by, and some even stopped to discuss the team.
A New York native was more than complimentary toward Butler head coach Brad Stevens and the team, calling them “a great team full of All-American guys.”
Regardless of residence, though, it seems that the city of New Orleans has become just another victim of the Butler Bulldog charm.
If someone down here isn’t a Florida fan, odds are they’re cheering for the Bulldogs.
Today is a slow day for the No. 8-seeded Butler men’s basketball team. Some were pretending to be members of the media, while others were ready to go back to bed.
Senior guard Shawn Vanzant took a short, mostly unnoticed nap at an afternoon press conference, and senior forward Matt Howard was walking around the arena in the clothes he very well may have slept in.
The players appear to be somewhat sleep-deprived, a revealing quality reminding all that the team is a bunch of “tweens” who have homework to do when they’re not on the basketball court.
But while the Bulldog starters were being interviewed, the usual Butler substitutes were in their locker room entertaining themselves.
Freshman forward Khyle Marshall was laughing with some Indianapolis media members, and other players were conducting interviews of their own teammates.
Junior forward Garrett Butcher and senior guard Grant Leiendecker took it upon themselves to make freshman forward Erik Fromm feel included in the media day activities, using smart phones and cameras to record Fromm’s insight on trivial things.
“My red hair gets even more fiery in the summer,” Fromm said. “And I’ve thought about growing a beard and becoming a lumberjack, if [head coach Brad Stevens] would let me.”
Stevens was perhaps the most focused of all Bulldogs, discussing everything from how recent success has changed recruiting to the status of sophomore center Andrew Smith’s left ankle, which was sprained last night against No. 4 seed Wisconsin.
“Smith will likely not practice today,” Stevens said. “We’ll test him in shoot around tomorrow morning, and he should be ready to go tomorrow.”
Stevens also said awareness has certainly increased on the recruiting trail but that he and the staff are also not going to pretend to be something they’re not.
“We’re very aware of who we are, and we’re focused on recruiting guys that are passionate about come to Butler, want to represent themselves and their team well and ultimately want to be a great student,” he said.
Howard, despite having “bed head” earlier, combed his hair and was his usual academic self at the afternoon press conference.
“Execution plays a part in it, but being prepared and ready to play definitely helps,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve ever played Florida, and [coaching] is really critical at this time of year when you don’t know teams that well.”
Junior guard Shelvin Mack said that rebounding will be a key to the Elite 8 matchup.
“[Rebounding] will be our main goal tomorrow against Florida, as it’s been the whole tournament,” he said.”
Both teams share a high amount of experience in NCAA tournament play, so wide eyes and speechlessness shouldn’t affect the final result.
Florida returned five starters from last season, which include three current seniors and quick junior guard Erving Walker.
Senior forward Chandler Parsons scored 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out seven assists in Florida’s Sweet 16 game against No. 3 Brigham Young last night.
He was more than supported by senior forward Alex Tyus, who seized a career-high 17 rebounds and scored 19 points, one shy of his career high in scoring.
Butler starts two seniors, Howard and guard Shawn Vanzant, alongside the only other upperclassman in Mack, but Butler also has junior guard Ronald Nored, the starting point guard last season, and senior 3-point shooting specialist Zach Hahn.
Still, Stevens quelled the idea that experience determines the outcome of games.
“Experience plays a role, but it doesn’t play the same role as preparation or executing does during those 40 minutes,” he said.
The game, which will determine the winner of the Southeast Region, tips at 4:30 p.m. Eastern.
Although the Bulldogs and Gators may have met twice in past NCAA tourney’s, the schools couldn’t be more different. And, sure, while they might have two national championship titles on us, Butler is the only team from last year’s tournament that’s still up for the big win. Click and drag the chart to see how else we compare:
Have the latest Butler University news, sports, entertainment and opinion in the palm of your hand by following us on Twitter and liking us on Facebook.
Send us your letter, complete with your full name and affiliation with Butler University. Please keep your letter under 500 words. All letters may be edited by The Butler Collegian's editorial staff for style and grammar. Or, you can send your letter to: collegian@butler.edu.
CONTACT US
Have a question or concern? We're here to help you.
You can call us at 317-940-8813 or email us at collegian@butler.edu.
Follow Us!
Have the latest Butler University news, sports, entertainment and opinion in the palm of your hand by following us on Twitter and liking us on Facebook.