
OK, so it’s cliche and hyperbolic, but could Creighton be this year’s version of Butler?
Only time will tell, especially during March, but the potential for comparison is there, and I’m taking it.
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OK, so it’s cliche and hyperbolic, but could Creighton be this year’s version of Butler?
Only time will tell, especially during March, but the potential for comparison is there, and I’m taking it.

The biggest game of the Tom Crean Era takes place tonight in Bloomington.
Butler (3-2), the two-time national runners-up, heads south to play Indiana (5-0) in a game that Crean desperately needs to win against the coach that some in the Hoosier fan base think should have his job.

After 5 days of serious discussions about what has happened off the field in State College, Pennsylvania, it was nice to have two full days of actual games to take our minds off of more serious matters.
This week, I explain how a 1- or 2-loss team from a non-AQ league could realistically clinch a BCS bowl bid, why Oregon is more deserving than Alabama of a rematch with LSU, and why Major League Soccer needs to shift its schedule or risk losing casual fans.
But first things first.

In episode #4 of The Bottoms Line College Hoops Talk Podcast, I am joined once again by Rob Dauster and Troy Machir of Ballin’ Is a Habit.
The three of us discuss Troy’s recent interview with the great Jay Bilas, idiots tweeting crazy stuff at recruits, and previews galore including the Colonial, Mountain West, and West Coast Conferences plus Butler, Fairfield, Long Beach State, Michigan, and more.

As I continue through my 25 Non-BCS teams to watch, the next stop is smack dab in the Midwest at a school that has become the measuring stick for “mid-major” success in recent years.

Let’s just get a few things out of the way:
Connecticut is an incredible basketball team. What they accomplished over the past month is truly something to be admired. They played with an almost unmatched intensity at both ends of the floor, and are certainly worthy champions.
Kemba Walker – not Jimmer Fredette, Nolan Smith, or Jared Sullinger – is by far the best player in college basketball. He is offensively breathtaking, and always gives his all on both ends of the floor. He was an awesome leader on a worthy champion.
Jim Calhoun is a great coach. Even though this championship may not count some day, and his ethics have always been questionable at best, you can’t argue with the numbers: 850 wins, .700 winning percentage, 3 national titles and 11 Big East Championships.
Go ahead and compare those numbers with Bobby Knight…you will be stunned. And trust me, I don’t throw around Bobby Knight comparisons lightly.
Really, I don’t want to take anything away from the Huskies today. They beat Butler at their own game: they won ugly.
All of that said, this loss hurts worse than most.
The Butler Bulldogs have been known as the Cinderella story of the last two NCAA tournaments, finishing as the runner-up two years in a row.
It was fair to call them a Cinderella last season, but the label must be removed after another appearance in the championship game.

Editor’s note: I wrote the post below on March 20th, soon after Butler defeated Pittsburgh to advance to the Sweet 16. I am bringing it back to the front of the site because the questions about Brad Stevens’ future have only intensified since that win, with Butler now sitting on the precipice of the most unlikely NCAA title of all-time.
Since I wrote this, many other posts have come out parroting these points – with some doing this extremely well and adding further insight, like Dan Wetzel today. For those wondering why Brad Stevens would eschew more money and seemingly “bigger” jobs to remain at Butler, this post explains it.
As soon as the final buzzer sounded to officially conclude Butler’s thrilling victory over Pittsburgh (or wait – was that a whistle!?) it was inevitable: the talk of Brad Stevens leaving Indy for seemingly greener coaching pastures.
For example, I tweeted (only half-jokingly) that I was going to add a category to my bracket predictions for next year that awards a point “if your coach is Brad Stevens.” Immediately I received this response from Twitter user @EricJDoll: “So Tennessee gets an automatic bonus point?” I responded that there is no way Stevens will be in Knoxville next year and that the Tennessee job isn’t nearly as good a job as the Butler gig that Stevens already has. @EricJDoll responded: “I hope he stays at Butler, but somebody is going to throw A LOT of money at him this summer.”
And he’s right. There is absolutely no hotter coaching name than Brad Stevens, and a number of high profile schools would probably fire their current coach if they knew they could bring in Stevens. So any big conference team in a BCS conference would gladly throw buckets of money at Stevens to lure him away from Indy. But it ain’t happening.
In this post, I’m going to outline a number of reasons that those buckets of money will not and should not matter. Brad Stevens is going to be a ‘Dawg for a long, long time.

Editor’s note: this was originally posted last week, but I’m bringing back to the front of the site for those who missed it. Great work by Twitch. And here is his analysis and prediction for tonight’s National Championship game between Butler and UConn.
Butler wasn’t big enough.
Old Dominion was the BEST rebounding team in the nation. Sure, Butler had finished up a solid season, but they were nowhere near the same level of a year ago.
They were too thin up front. Howard and Smith were certain to get in foul trouble, and as soon as that happened, the Bulldogs wouldn’t be able to keep the best team from the Colonial League off the boards.
Butler really had no chance.
On paper…

As someone who has picked Butler in every single game of the entire tournament, what I’m about to write might not surprise you.
Regardless, don’t gloss over this fact: my heart wants to pick Butler…but so does my head.
Now, I understand that Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps, Dick Vitale, and Hubert Davis all picked UConn. In fact, the only person I have heard pick Butler is Doug Gottlieb…not exactly the person you want endorsing your team.
However, I have heard various forms of the same argument come out of every talking head’s mouth: “Kemba Walker is a winner, and he won’t let UConn lose.”
With all due respect to the Kemba, (believe me, I love watching the Revolutionary Iverson ball it up every night) that statement is a slap in the face to guys like Matt Howard, Ronald Nored, Shawn Vanzant, and Shelvin Mack.
I listened calmly as Jay Bilas told Mike and Mike on the radio this morning that “Butler would have a hard time stopping UConn’s fast break, and that would probably be the difference in the game.”
Apparently, research and facts are useless and irrelevant if you work for the World Wide Leader. Someone should tell Jay that Butler just held one of the best fast breaking teams in the country, VCU, to ZERO fast break points on Saturday night.
But that’s ok. Butler has made a living off of proving the doubters wrong. The 2011 NCAA Championship Game will be no different.

In the first of tonight’s two Final 4 matchups, the Butler Bulldogs defeated VCU 70-62 to advance to the NCAA Championship Game on Monday night.
In the second Final 4 game, Connecticut led most of the way and held on for a close victory late. Kentucky had a shot for a three on their final possession, but they missed. UConn grabbed the rebound and held on for the victory.
Monday night, the 8th seeded Butler Bulldogs will face the 3rd seeded Connecticut Huskies to determine the 2011 national championship. It’s David versus Goliath, and it’s going to be one hell of a game.
Butler has done it again. The Bulldogs defeated VCU 70-62 tonight to advance to Monday night’s championship game.
For those of you looking ahead, here is the tip time for Monday night’s championship game, plus a few thoughts about tonight’s Butler victory.

If you say that you had Butler and VCU facing off in the Final Four, you’re a liar. Well…unless you’re these two folks. They did actually have Butler and VCU in the Final Four.
But they’re also insane. They have to be. Right?
Apparently not.
Saturday night, the most unlikely Final 4 in NCAA Tournament history will tip off when Horizon League champion Butler, an 8 seed, faces Colonial Athletic Association runner-up Virginia Commonwealth, an 11 seed.
March Madness indeed.
This was originally posted on March 27th, 2011
I feel like I just watched Kirk Gibson hit a hobbled home run, because all I can think right now is, “I don’t…believe…what I just saw!”
But it wasn’t a Kirk Gibson home run that I just saw; it was a VCU Rams home run. More like a grand slam, against #1 seeded Kansas. And now the Virginia Commonwealth Rams, led by Shaka Smart, will be facing the Butler Bulldogs, led by Brad Stevens, in the Final Four.
Wow.

The 8th-seeded Butler Bulldogs beat the 2nd-seeded Florida Gators on Saturday to win the Southeast Region and advance to their second straight Final Four.
In overtime, with less than a minute to go, a Butler male cheerleader saw the camera while transitioning from a timeout to the action…and he let his Bulldog pride go on full display for the entire nation.
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