Instead, it has several guys who will probably play in Europe. Yet these Bulldogs will play on Monday night in the NCAA Tournament Championship Game. Amazing.
End of game, Butler wins 52-50: Butler has advanced. A Horizon League team will play for a chance to win the whole thing.
Second half, 0:02, Butler 52-49: Butler tries the foul approach, leading by three with a few seconds to play.
Second half, 0:06, Butler 50-49: Should there have been a foul called on Dramond Green's shot? No. There was contact, but it was initiated by Green, not Gordon Hayward.
Second half, 0:23, Butler 50-49: Oh, Ronald Nored's shot rattles in and out for Butler. Michigan State now has the ball with the shot clock off. If I were the Spartans, I would attack right away.
Second half, 0:56, Butler 50-49: Shelvin Mack is returning to the game for Butler. He has been sitting out for a long time. Let's see how that leg feels.
Second half, 1:18, Butler 50-47: Butler's Shawn Vanzant with a tremendous offensive rebound and a pass to Hayward for two. Great board.
Second half, 2:21, Butler 48-44: Shawn Vanzant hits one of two free throws for Butler. Can it's defense stop the Spartans?
Second half, 2:36, Butler 47-44: Butler has gone more than 10 minutes without a field goal. Butler is probably going to take more than free throws to advance.
Second half, 3:06, Butler 47-44: This one is going down to the wire and Butler looks like it is getting a little tight.
Second half, 3:46, Butler 47-43: I think I know one reason why Matt Howard picks up so many fouls: He does not properly hedge on ball screens. Howard always wants to switch to guard the ball when he should just hedge and recover to his man. He plays with a ton of heart, but this is one area that needs improvement.
Second half, 4:13, Butler 47-43: Points off turnovers are 19-2 in favor of Butler. That is a huge margin for Michigan State to overcome.
Second half, 4:19, Butler 47-43: Matt Howard with two tough offensive rebounds, but he is not able to score. Howard is never short on energy.
Second half, 6:04, Butler 47-41: Butler very rarely plays out of control. It is well coached and does not mind grinding out games. It plays like a mature team.
Second half, 6:34, Butler 46-41: Durrell Summers got the look I was talking about, but he missed the shot. Butler has done a very good job on the defensive glass this half.
Second half, 7:46, Butler 46-41: Michigan State needs to see if it can get Durrell Summers going in the second half. He has been the Spartans best player on offense since Kalin Lucas went down with an injury two games ago. He has 13 points and seven rebounds, but I would like to see him do more down the stretch.
Second half, 7:46, Butler 46-41: Twice in a row Michigan State has had good looks down low but has has not been able to convert.
Second half, 8:36, Butler 46-41: Butler coach Brad Stevens is 33 years old, but he looks like he is 16. Even with the baby face, Stevens has the look of a coach who will be around for a long time.
Second half, 9:24, Butler 46-41: From here on out Butler will be in the double bonus. Michigan State must be careful with how aggressive it plays on defense.
Second half, 9:32, Butler 44-41: Butler does not have a single turnover 30 minutes into this one. That is how you win in the NCAA tournament: You must value the basketball.
Second half, 10:14, Butler 44-41: Michigan State scores on an out-of-bounds play. That was a rare miscommunication by Butler.
Second half, 11:23, Butler 44-39: It looks like Shelvin Mack is on the bench with a leg injury. It would be a huge loss for Butler if Mack cannot return.
Second half, 11:32, Butler 44-39: There is a long way to go in this one, but Butler has begun the second half very strong. The fact that it is already in the bonus should worry Michigan State fans.
Second half, 12:38, Butler 42-37: Wow, Michigan State is already in the bonus with seven fouls. I told you that whichever team can find a way to score will advance at the half, and scoring at the foul line is an easy way to do just that. Butler is in the driver's seat.
Second half, 13:06, Butler 41-37: CBS just showed Summers alley-oop flush about eight times. He definitely threw it down with authority.
Second half, 14:19, Butler 38-35: Matt Howard needs to be smarter than that. I know he wants to cover everyone, but he cannot ride a guard and pick up a silly foul. Howard now has three fouls.
Second half, 14:53, Butler 38-33: Butler has it's largest lead of the game, and Michigan State has missed four straight free throws.
Second half, 15:24, Butler 36-33: Butler's Gordon Hayward picks up his second foul. Any time Hayward is guarding Dramond Green, Green should take him to the block.
Second half, 15:54, Butler 34-33: Ask (enough times) and ye shall receive. Butler has gotten the ball into the paint on its last two possessions and now heads to the free-throw line.
Second half, 16:41, Butler 34-33: I know that I am repeating myself, but Butler must start to get the ball down low on offense.
Second half, 17:16, Butler 34-33: Much like the beginning of the first half, there is a lot of scoring early in the second half. You need to get it early, before these D's get into a groove.
Second half, 18:12, Butler 32-31: Hayward now has 15 points as Butler retakes the lead.
Second half, 18:57, Michigan State 31-28: Korie Lucious begins the second half the same way he began the first — with a 3.
Second half, 19:55, 28-28: Only two Butler players had field goals in the first half. You can bet that Tom Izzo will have the Spartans trying to lock those two down.
End of first half, 28-28: It certainly seemed like Michigan State outplayed Butler in the first half, but the scoreboard would say otherwise.
Shelvin Mack and Gordon Hayward combined for 25 of Butler's 28 first-half points, but it's defense was able to keep the game close.
It is no surprise that both defenses have played well. Whichever team can find a way to put some points on the board will advance to the title game.
End of first half, 28-28: A great end of the half for Butler. The Bulldogs hold the Spartans scoreless for the final two-plus minutes and go to the locker room tied.
First half, 0:55, Michigan State 28-25: For Butler, Mack and Hayward are the only two players who have looked to score.
First half, 1:53, Michigan State 28-23: Hayward jacks up another 3-pointer for Butler. The Bulldogs must get take a chance down low.
First half, 2:42, Michigan State 28-23: Michigan State has done a great job of working the ball down low in the past few minutes while Butler continues to attack from the perimeter. That is exactly why the Spartans have the advantage on the scoreboard.
First half, 3:03, Michigan State 26-23: Tom Izzo certainly isn't afraid to use different players. Even without the injured Kalin Lucas, ten Spartans have already played.
First half, 3:32, Michigan State 24-23: For Butler, Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack have provided the offense, scoring 22 of it's 23 points. Someone else needs to step up with Howard on the bench with two fouls.
First half, 3:45, Michigan State 24-23: Just as I write that, the Spartans feed the ball to the post and score.
First half, 4:10, Michigan State 22-20: The scoring has come to a halt as both defenses have settled in. Both teams need to find a way to get the ball down low.
First half, 4:46, Michigan State 22-20: Ronald Nored just took a great charge. Terrific defense. It looks like both of these teams are attacking with just the pick-and-roll. I would like to see some set plays against these defenses.
First half, 7:26, Michigan State 22-20: Shelvin Mack just grabbed a defensive rebound and banged a 3 from the top of the key. That was poor transition defense. Michigan State needs to know that Mack loves to shoot off the dribble like that.
First half, 8:20, Michigan State 22-17: I love good defense and both of these teams take pride is stopping the opposition.
First half, 9:15, Michigan State 21-17: Michigan State's Raymar Morgan now has three fouls just 10 minutes into the game. That could be a problem for the Spartans.
First half, 10:01, Michigan State 18-17: Gordon Hayward has 10 points early, but he is on the bench right now. Let's see how Butler does on offense without both Hayward and Howard.
First half, 10:44, Michigan State 18-14: Butler has won 24 straight games. You have probably heard that several times this week, but it is still worth mentioning again.
First half, 11:02, Michigan State 18-14: The Bulldogs are definitely not intimidated by the bright lights or the fact that they are playing only a few miles from campus, and look good early. Butler needs to keep the Spartans off the glass, but besides that, the team looks very strong.
First half, 11:15, Michigan State 18-14: Again, Butler stops the initial attack and forces a bad shot, but it cannot grab the rebound.
First half, 12:14, Michigan State 16-12: The Spartans have shot the ball extremely well early. Unfortunately, they will not be able to keep that up.
First half, 13:21, Michigan State 16-7: Matt Howard picks up his second foul for Butler. What else is new? I love Howard's energy, but the big fella picks up way too many cheap fouls.
First half, 14:24, Michigan State 12-7: Early on, Michigan State has given Butler a little taste of it's own medicine by playing terrific man-to-man defense.
First half, 14:47, Michigan State 10-7: Michigan State's Raymar Morgan picks up a quick two fouls. Morgan is important because he is one of the few Spartans who can create his own shot.
First half, 15:51, Michigan State 8-7: Butler must keep Michigan State off the offensive glass if it hopes to advance. The Spartans make a living off of second-chance points. Early on, Michigan State has missed three shots, but it has gotten the rebound on two of them.
First half, 16:28, Butler 7-6: Neither team looks nervous early. That is impressive, especially for Butler.
First half, 16:51, Butler 7-6: In big games, it's all about who will step up. So far, both Korie Lucious and Gordan Hayward have knocked down a pair of 3s.
First half, 18:24, Michigan State 6-0: Michigan State starts the game with an offensive rebound followed by an open 3-pointer. You need to keep the Spartans off the offensive glass.
First half, 19:46, 0-0: Michigan State and Butler are underway in Indianapolis. Can Butler continue it's dream run and make the title game?
5:56 p.m.: First up on Final Four Saturday is Butler and Michigan State. This is definitely not a consolation game. Both of these teams have proven they are capable of winning it all.
8 a.m.: Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, two No. 5 seeds had never advanced to the same Final Four — until now. In fact, Michigan State and Butler are only the fifth and sixth No. 5 seeds to reach the Final Four during that span.
Butler has had a very difficult run to the Final Four. The Bulldogs defeated both the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in their region (Syracuse and Kansas State), so no one can say Butler has had an easy path. Butler now finds itself playing in its hometown of Indianapolis, just a few miles from its campus — so it should have a decided home court advantage in terms of the fans. But will the added pressure of playing so close to campus put extra pressure on this mid-major?
In terms of seeding, Michigan State has had a relatively easy run to the Final Four. Even though the Spartans were the No. 5 seed in the Midwest, they did not have to face any of the top three seeds in their region (Kansas, Ohio State or Georgetown). They defeated three single-digit seeds, none of which were considered real threats to win it all.
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo continues to impress. In his 13 seasons at Michigan State, every upperclassman he has coached has played in the Final Four — quite an amazing accomplishment.
Neither team was expected to reach the Final Four, and they both have nothing to lose. Butler is the Vegas favorite, but you should never bet against Tom Izzo in the NCAA tournament.
