Butler 53, Miami (Ohio) 52
INDIANAPOLIS -- It was Brandon Polk's biggest and easiest basket of the game.
Left alone when his defender made a lunge at the driving Avery Sheets, Polk grabbed the rebound and rolled the ball back over the rim with two seconds to go, giving Butler a 53-52 victory over Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday night in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament.
"I saw Avery drive and knew he was either going to do the runner that he did or dish it over, so I just wanted to be ready either way and get in position for the tip-in if he was to shoot it," Polk said.
Polk was being guarded by Tim Pollitz, who led Miami with 17 points and 11 rebounds and had given the RedHawks their last lead at 52-51. After a Butler timeout, the Bulldogs worked the ball to Sheets, who drove toward the basket.
"He drove by and I thought I had to go out and do something, so I tried to block his shot," Pollitz said. "Somehow, it rimmed in and out and Polk was right there. I can't believe we would let a guy just be right there on the last play of the game. ... What can you do?"
The Bulldogs (20-12) will play a first-round game Friday at Florida State (19-9).
Butler coach Todd Lickliter said Miami's size and its defense gave the Bulldogs problems.
Butler 72, IPFW 55
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Duane Lightfoot had 22 points and nine rebounds to lead Butler to 72-55 victory over Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne on Wednesday night.
After losing in overtime by three points to Horizon League leader Illinois-Chicago five days earlier, Butler (9-11, 4-6) took out its frustrations on nonconference foe IPFW -- just 3-18 in its second season of Division I play.
The Bulldogs opened the game on a 30-8 run capped by Bruce Horan's 3-pointer with 6:39 to go in the first half, while holding the Mastodons to 30 percent shooting for the half.
Horan, who scored 12 of his 14 points from behind the 3-point line, was among nine players to score during the Bulldogs' run and finished with 11 at halftime.
Butler cruised to a 41-20 lead at the half, and IPFW never got closer than 14 points after that.
David Simon led the Mastodons with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Beau Bauer scored 11.
Lightfoot, who has scored in double figures Butler's past eight games, made 11-of-16 shots from the field, and the Bulldogs shot 47 percent overall for the game.
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Mississippi State vs. Butler
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- With one huge shot, Brandon Miller erased any doubt about whether belo
Miller's runner in the lane with 6.2 seconds left carried the 12th-seeded Bulldogs past No. 5 href misissipi
47-46 in the first round of the East Regional on Friday night.To hit a shot like that in the NCAA Tournament, nothing compares to it," Miller said. "It's something you dream about when you're a kid. It's something you dream about when you're 23. Definitely the biggest shot of my career Maybe the biggest ever for Butler (26-5), which faces Rick Pitino and fourth-seeded Louisville on Sunday.
After the clock ran out, a euphoric Miller raced around the court pumping his fist in the air, while teammate Mike Monserez jumped onto a press table waving his arms at Butler's fans. The Bulldog players came back onto the court and gathered in front of their bench a few minutes later, relishing in the victory.
Michael Ignerski missed a fadeaway jumper with 25 seconds left for Mississippi State (21-10). The 6-foot Miller then brought the ball up the court and hit the running shot in traffic.
"We had run that play so many times before, I was just trying to come off the screen and see what the defense gave me," said Miller, a senior transfer from Southwest Missouri State. "I had the little runner open. That was a shot I didn't have when I came to Butler, a shot that coach (Todd) Lickliter taught me."
Mississippi State's Timmy Bowers overshot on a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
Butler won acclaim at the NCAA Tournament three years ago by taking Florida to overtime as a No. 12 seed, and the Bulldogs gained a bona fide reputation when they upset Wake Forest in 2001. Now the Horizon League regular-season champions can add another entry to their history of upsets.
Butler felt jilted last year when it failed to get invited to the tournament, despite a 25-5 record. But this time, the Bulldogs proved they belong.
"We just felt like we were making up for lost time," Duane Lightfoot said, "because we felt like we got snubbed last year."
Miller had 14 points and Lightfoot added 13 for Butler, which received an at-large berth for the first time since 1962.
Mario Austin had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Mississippi State.
Butler took a 45-44 lead when Michael Monserez picked up a loose ball and drilled a wide-open 3-pointer from the right corner with 1:55 left. Ontario Harper hit two free throws 22 seconds later -- his first points -- to flip-flop the lead again.
Miller got trapped in the lane and threw the ball away, giving it back to Mississippi State with 1:33 left. But he more than made up for that with the game-winner.
"I didn't see exactly what happened," Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said. "He made a tough shot. He kind of flipped it up there."
Not surprisingly, it wasn't a flashy, high-scoring game. Both teams rank among the nation's top defensive teams, giving up just over 60 points per game, and they favor setting up in half-court offensive sets.
It was a huge contrast to Louisville's full-court press in the previous game, setting up a clash in styles for Sunday.
Butler clearly wasn't intimidated by the SEC Western Division champs, jumping out to a 12-3 lead.
"When you have tremendous respect for your opponent, your focus is very good," Lickliter said. "When these guys saw who we were playing, I think they all really tuned in and focused on what we were trying to do."
Mississippi State lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991, spanning three.
Butler Bulldogs
Brandon Polk raised two fists. He wasn't going to strike anyone, although there were incidents Saturday in which he was hacked or provoked.
Polk was demonstrating in a postgame interview how close-knit Butler's Bulldogs have become.
"We're a team this year," he said. "We're together on and off the court. Everyone is going the same direction."
He didn't say this was a game that would have gone the other direction a year ago. But it would be fair to characterize Butler's 70-62 victory over Wright State as a reversal of fortune.
Butler built a 20-point lead before a season-high crowd of 6,654 at Hinkle Fieldhouse and ended a streak of five successive losses to Wright State. Raiders rooters, a large number wearing "Beat Butler" T-shirts, were ready for the streak to continue.
If not for A.J. Graves, it might have.
After Wright State trimmed the lead to 48-39, he scored Butler's next three baskets on dribble drives. He then passed to Bruce Horan for a 3-pointer that expanded the gap to 60-46.
After that lead diminished to 64-58, Graves went 6-for-6 at the foul line over the final 69 seconds. Graves' percentage has declined -- from .919 last season to .785 -- but he said teammates tell him he's who they want at the line.
"It makes me want to step up and do it," Graves said.
Graves, who had offseason surgery on his right foot, said treatment on an ailing left foot has been so effective that the injury is "almost nonexistent."
Wright State beat Butler three times last season, the first two with closing runs of 10-0 and 15-2 to erase Butler leads. That 0-3 mark contributed to a 13-15 record for Butler's first losing season in 12 years.
Saturday's victory lifted the Bulldogs (11-8, 4-3) into second place in the Horizon League, one week after they had drifted to eighth. The league gives first-round byes in the postseason tournament to the top three seeds.
"I really believe in this team," Butler coach Todd Lickliter said. "This team has been a lot of fun to coach. And I have a lot of confidence in them.
"Last year was last year."
Butler never trailed, bolting to a 27-7 lead. Wright State was within 34-22 by halftime but never got closer than six.
Polk, who has a 22-point average over the past five games, led Butler with 19. Graves' 17 featured 12 in the final nine minutes. Brandon Crone, who had totaled just 10 points in the previous four games, added 13.
Wright State (8-10, 4-4) was led by forwards Drew Burleson and Jordan Pleiman with 18 each. Point guard DaShaun Wood added 12, four points below his average.
