HOUSTON � This national semifinal victory for Butler can be attributed to brawn as well as brains.
By Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY
Butler forward Matt Howard (54) drives against Virginia Commonwealth's Toby Veal during Butler's NCAA Tournament semifinal victory in Houston.
By Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY
Butler forward Matt Howard (54) drives against Virginia Commonwealth's Toby Veal during Butler's NCAA Tournament semifinal victory in Houston.
Long praised for their high basketball I.Q. and smart, situational approach, the Bulldogs played the tough perimeter defense necessary Saturday and battered Virginia Commonwealth on the backboards to earn a 70-62 victory and a spot in the national title game for the second year in a row.
The Rams (28-12), who had made 12 three-pointers in three of their last four NCAA games, were 8-for-22 from behind the arc Saturday. But four of the conversions came on their first eight attempts, helping VCU take a 15-7 lead.
From that point, the Rams made only four more, on 14 tries, and were outscored 63-47.
The Bulldogs overwhelmingly won the rebounding battle 48-32 and got 19 second-chance points off 16 offensive rebounds.
Matt Howard's 17 points and eight rebounds were key for the Bulldogs inside, and Shelvin Mack had a terrific shooting night with 24 points, including five three-pointers on six attempts.
Seven of VCU's 3's were made by either Jamie Skeen, who had game-high 27 points or Bradford Burgess (15 points). The rest of the team shot 1-for-11 from behind the arc.
Bulldogs coach Brad Stevens said a defensive key was stopping the high-octane Rams from getting their running game going, thus stopping them from getting open 3's.
"I thought we did a great job matching up in transition," Stevens said after the Bulldogs (28-9) won their 14th in a row. "I only remember a couple of times where they even shot threes in transition. Number two is, they only shot one off of an action other than a ball screen all night that I can remember. Early in the game, I thought we were not aggressive or assertive enough in our rotations."
Burgess pointed to the backboards as a backbreaker for VCU.
"Getting outrebounded like that, we can't win many ballgames," he said. "Their physicality, the boards, rebounding was an example of that. They're probably the most physical team we played all year, and it showed today."
That notion was seconded by Rams coach Shaka Smart, who said he felt his team, for some reason, took its foot off the gas after grabbing the early eight-point lead.
"I think for the majority of the game they were the more aggressive team, and that made the difference," said Smart. "That was probably the biggest difference between this game for us and our last five. I think it had more to do with Butler, though, than with us.
"Our guys fought and battled. Make no mistake about it, this one really stings."
Smart, however, noted a foul discrepancy, in which the Rams, despite not really being the aggressors, were called for 24 personals to Butler's 16.
"I better be careful about that. My conference commissioner (Tom Yeager) is in the back (of the room)," Smart said in the postgame press conference. "I thought the foul disparity was significant. It really affected the game. We'll go back and watch the tape.
"There are some teams that have a way of being physical on the defensive end without getting a lot of fouls called on them, and that's a very good attribute. Drexel in our league is terrific at it. And Butler is that way. Not just tonight, but in a lot of games, they really use their bodies well, they know how to position. That was definitely the case in this game."
Stevens, however, felt good about the aggressiveness of his team.
"You tell me going into the game we outrebound them by 16, turn it over one less time than them (10-9), I would have felt pretty good about the result," he said.
And so, the Bulldogs, again, are on the cusp of an unlikely national title, a year after falling excruciatingly short against Duke.
And the experience of being on this stage helped Butler fight through the upstart Rams, Howard said.
"Tonight I think, (was) just like any game," he said. "In our minds, I don't think we let our surroundings get to us. It didn't really feel necessarily like a national semifinal. And I think that's a good thing. It helps you play just like you normally would."
The Bulldogs played smartly and physically.
And so they'll play again on Monday.
more golf news more baseball news more soccer news sports football
No comments:
Post a Comment