Indystar.com says Butler intends to seal the deal in 2010.
The Bulldogs have been in the Horizon League Tournament basketball championship game five times since 2001, and won just once. They reached the title game for a fifth year in a row, erasing a 10-point deficit to beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee 68-59 before 6,327 Saturday night in a semifinal at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Matt Howard’s 18 points led the 12th-ranked Bulldogs to a school-record 19th consecutive victory, the nation’s longest active winning streak. After sitting out a game with a back injury, Gordon Hayward (10 points, 13 rebounds) became the first Butler player in 36 years with five straight double-doubles. No. 1-seeded Butler (27-4) will play No. 2 seed Wright State (20-11) for the league’s automatic NCAATournament berth at 9 p.m. Tuesday, also at the fieldhouse. Wright State beat No. 7 seed Detroit 69-50 in the first semifinal.
Tuesday’s outcome will influence NCAA seeding, but that is secondary to what the Bulldogs want. Cleveland State upset Butler 57-54 in last year’s championship.
“Losing the tournament last year, I think that fueled our focus this year,” Butler guard Ronald Nored said. “To take it game by game, possession by possession, because it was in those late possessions in the championship game that we didn’t really do what we’re supposed to do.”
Howard called it unfinished business.
“We don’t feel comfortable with where we’re at, I can tell you that,” he said.
Milwaukee (20-14) never let the Bulldogs feel comfortable. The Panthers led 25-15 in the first half and 29-28 at halftime. They pulled within 50-49 with 61/2 minutes left.
The 10-point deficit equaled the largest overcome all season by Butler, which trailed Davidson by 10 in the opener. The Bulldogs are 7-3 when trailing at halftime.
This game was interrupted by 49 fouls, 28 by Milwaukee. There was never any rhythm.”It’s part of it,” Butler coach Brad Stevens said. “You just have to adjust to it.”
Howard and Nored combined on 14 of the Bulldogs’ final 21 points. All five Butler starters reached double figures: Nored had 13, Shelvin Mack 12 and Willie Veasley 11.Anthony Hill scored 15 for Milwaukee before fouling out. He was a force against the Bulldogs all season, having scored 18 and 21 in two earlier meetings.
Milwaukee’s Ricky Franklin was guarded by all-league defender Veasley and finished with nine points — six under his average — on 3-of-10 shooting.
Butler endured 4-of-18 shooting on 3-pointers but compensated with a 22-11 edge on free throws made and committed only seven turnovers. Milwaukee started 9-of-17 from the field but was 12-of-38 thereafter.
At 14-0, Butler could complete an unbeaten home season for the first time since 2003. But that’s another number to the Bulldogs. They want a banner.
“The guys have not talked about seeding. Not once talked about the NCAA Tournament,” Stevens said. “And their locker room is right next to my office, and I have not once heard any bracketology or any of that stuff from them.”
