Butler advances to its second straight final four by knocking off Florida in overtime

Butler guard Shelvin Mack said, “It’s a lot better than last year. This year, everyone just expected us just to fall off, a lot of people didn’t have faith in us. We went from being on the bubble to winning our conference to being picked to lose every game in the tournament. I would say we shocked the world again.” The Bulldogs are now the second team to reach back to back final fours from a "non-major conference" since UNLV achieved the same feat in 1990 and 1991. The Bulldogs run to the national championship game last season, certainly looked to help them down the stretch against the Gators. Chandler Parsons said, "It's not like it's their first time here. They were in this situation last year, so I think their experience helped them and I think they just came up with big plays when the team needed it."

The Bulldogs are very fortunate to have beaten the Gators because they had a poor shooting night. The team went 27.3 percent from behind the arc, only making 9 of the 33 three pointers they attempted. Butler looked confused at times on the offensive end of the court because of the Gators disguising and constantly changing their defense between man and zone. Shelvin Mack started out the game hot, making two three pointers and a jumper from the elbow. From that point on, Mack struggled going 5 for 17 from the field including 2 for 11 from three but he hit some clutch shots and finished with 27 points. Butler forward Matt Howard said about Mack, "I feel incredibly good for Shelvin. He... carried us. You can't fault him and say you lost us the game because he essentially won us the game. The kid's incredible. He really carries us at times. This is the type of player Shelvin is." The Bulldogs got solid contributions from Howard, who added 14 points, and Florida native Khyle Marshall, who had 10 points and 7 rebounds, all on the offense end of the court, off the bench. 


It is still hard to believe how Butler pulled off the victory over Florida because the Gators dominated down low. Butler had no answer for Alex Tyus and especially Vernon Macklin. Florida made an emphasis to continue to feed the post, and they only shot 9 threes during regulation. On every possession, Macklin got a touch down low and constantly went to his righty jump hook for buckets. Macklin went 11 for 14 from the field and had a season high 25 points. Alex Tyus also played well down low adding 14 points and 10 rebounds. Erving Walker struggled from deep only making 1 of 7 threes and Chandler Parsons looked uncomfortable all game, as the SEC player of the year had only 5 points. Parsons said, "They're tough. They're physical. They have all the characteristics of a good team.”

The game was back and fourth and close throughout. With 1:34 remaining in the second half, Shelvin Mack made two clutch free throws to bring the Bulldogs to within one. A Matt Howard free throw tied the game at 60 with 31 seconds left. Florida didn't look down low, where they had so much success during the game, but put the ball in the hands of their 5-8 point guard Erving Walker. He missed a fade away three point jumper with 2 seconds left and the game went into overtime. In the extra session, Florida totally forgot about looking into the post and settled for 5 three pointers. With 11 seconds remaining in the overtime and Butler up by one point 72 to 71, Shelvin Mack hit two more clutch free throws to extend the lead to 3 points. Erving Walker missed a potential game tying three point jumper with 8 seconds left, which sealed the victory and a final four appearance for the Bulldogs. Donovan said, "Walker was 1 of 10, and he's been such a clutch shooter for us. When you get into those situations where the game is coming down to the wire like that and it's one-possession games, anything can happen."

The Butler Bulldogs make winning plays in tight games. Butler coach Brad Stevens said, "We just kind of stayed together, stayed the course, figured it out, and just played resiliently... I'm incredibly proud of these guys. They carried their coach today in a big way... Our players did a great job, and [they are] just a special group. We're really just lucky they're Butler Bulldogs. I know this, somebody is going to have to beat us because of our will."Florida Coach Billy Donovan acknowledged that by saying, "Their will and their refusal to be denied really stood out." After the game, Ronald Nored, who had 4 points and 4 rebounds screamed, "We're back, baby!"