| Butler battles Michigan State in Final Four matchup |
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| === Butler battles Michigan State in Final Four matchup === Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - "Cinderella" is alive and well in this year's NCAA Tournament, as the Butler Bulldogs make their first-ever appearance in the Final Four when they tangle with perennial power Michigan State this Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Butler, which is located in Indianapolis, will be the first team to play in a Final Four in its hometown since UCLA did so back in 1972. The Bulldogs, the No. 5 seed out of the West Region, are riding the nation's longest winning streak at 24 games, last losing at UAB on December 22, 2009. Butler, under the tutelage of third-year coach Brad Stevens, went 18-0 in the Horizon League this season, and won the conference tournament as well. Its 32 wins on the year is both a school and league record. Stevens, who has amassed a record of 88-14 since taking over at Butler, has won the most games in Division I history in his first three seasons. Butler, which topped the likes of UTEP (77-59), Murray State (54-52), Syracuse (63-59) and Kansas State (63-56) in the tournament thus far, has won 117 games over the past four seasons to set a school and Horizon League record for most wins in a four-year period. The Bulldogs are playing in their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament and their seventh in the past decade, and they own an all-time tourney record of 12-9. As for Michigan State, there isn't a more successful team in the country [of late] in terms of Final Four berths, as coach Tom Izzo's club has appeared in six of the last 12 national semifinals. Every four-year player recruited by Izzo has appeared in at least one Final Four before leaving East Lansing. The Spartans, the No. 5 seed out of the Midwest Region, are 28-8 this season, and their four NCAA Tournament victories over New Mexico State, Maryland, Northern Iowa and Tennessee have come by a combined 13 points -- the lowest total margin of victory of any team to reach the Final Four since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. MSU, which is 7-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament games played in Indianapolis, has two national championships to its credit (1977 and 2000), with the 2000 title won in this very city. Michigan State is 13-10 all-time against Butler, and the last meeting between the two schools took place on December 20, 1971 in Indianapolis where the Spartans defeated the Bulldogs, 77-71. This is the first time the two have met in the NCAA Tournament, and the first time two No. 5 seeds have squared off in the Final Four. Both teams rely on some pretty stingy defensive play to achieve their goals, with Butler allowing an average of 59.8 ppg, and Michigan State 64.1 ppg. BU senior forward Willie Veasley noted the similarities between the two teams. "Both teams are very defensive minded. Our focus is defense, and their focus is defense. When their star player [Kalin Lucas] got injured, they had different guys step up. They regrouped from top to bottom. And I've seen that with us. When Gordon (Hayward) or I had to miss a game this season, we've just had different people step up." Offensively, the Bulldogs boast four double-digit scorers in the starting lineup led by Hayward and his 15.2 ppg. The leading rebounder for the team as well (8.3 rpg), Hayward is a 47.1 percent shooter who has also done a solid job at the free-throw line (.819). Shelvin Mack (14.1 ppg, 3.1 apg), Matt Howard (12.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and Veasley (10.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg) round out the productive quartet, helping Butler put up nearly 70 ppg, hit 45 percent of its total shots, 34.6 percent of its three-point attempts and 74 percent of its free throws. Hayward spoke about the respect he and the rest of the Bulldogs have for the Spartans. "They are just a great team. For us, I don't know if it's as much about the matchups as much as it is about us knowing their personnel. That's been a huge key for us this whole tournament, knowing personnel. You need to know what the other players are doing so you don't have to guard as much. For us, that's really big. I have to credit our coaches for doing such a great job." Mack continued Hayward's sentiment. "They remind us alot of ourselves. They have similar size. It's just a good opportunity for two physical teams to go out there and play. I think the biggest thing is to come out and play with our hearts. They are going to play as hard as we are, so we need to be willing to do things like sacrifice our bodies for loose balls and rebounds." Few gave Michigan State a chance to reach the Final Four once Lucas went down with a leg injury in the second-round game against Maryland. The loss of their leading scorer (14.8 ppg, 4.0 apg) meant other guys would need to step up for the Spartans, who average 72.4 ppg on 47.2 field goal accuracy this season. Raymar Morgan (11.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and Durrell Summers (11.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg), the MVP of the Midwest Regional after averaging 20 ppg, are the only other active double-digit scorers for Izzo's club, although Draymond Green (9.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg) and Chris Allen (8.5 ppg) aren't far off the pace. All will need to bring their "A" game if MSU is to survive this encounter with an extremely dangerous Butler squad. Izzo knows his guys has their work cut out for them, particularly in trying to break through the tough defensive job typically turned in by the Bulldog backcourt. "I've been really impressed with both guards.", Izzo said. "I've been really impressed with what seems likes an opening here, and all of a sudden, boom, they close it up so quick. They do not extend. They play a lot like -- I'd say it's more of a team that the guards, like when we had Cleaves and Bell, they play a lot of inside out. But they just don't give you many looks and openings." Izzo continued his praise of Butler. "I love Butler. I love (coach) Brad (Stevens). I think he's done an incredible job. I really like their players and what they stand for." Izzo noted that the lack of identifiable star power in the Final Four means a more team-oriented approach is necessary to win it all. "I do think when you look at the four teams that are in it, there's a lot of good players, but I wouldn't say anybody is relying on one player as much. For the most part, I think you got four teams that have earned their way here by probably playing good defense. If there's ever a year when maybe there's some of the four better defensive teams in it, I think this would be the year." 04/03 10:33:30 ET |
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