Butler upsets top seed Syracuse

SALT LAKE CITY - Willie Veasley, getting back on defense, glanced up and watched his three-pointer bounce high off the rim - as so many of Butler's shots had before.

He paused, though, as the ball drifted back, caromed off the backboard and fell through the net - a huge bounce that helped seal the Bulldogs' 63-59 upset of top-seeded Syracuse last night in the West Regional semifinals.

"I was headed down the court on defense because I figured it was going to go over the top of the backboard. But I looked back and it came down and went through," Veasley said. "That was a H-O-R-S-E shot. I've never made a shot quite like that."

Veasley followed his fortunate trey with a tip-in as the Bulldogs scored 11 straight points and became the latest mid-major team to knock off a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Syracuse joined Kansas as No. 1 seeds who have been bounced. The Orange's loss leaves only West Virginia to represent the Big East in the Elite Eight.

With its 23rd straight victory, Butler reached the regional final for the first time in school history and is one win from going home to Indianapolis for the Final Four.

"We said this word over and over in Indianapolis, and that word is 'resolve.' These guys have resolve," Butler coach Brad Stevens said. "It's hard to measure, but they've got it."

The Bulldogs (31-4) certainly did in the last five minutes, holding the Orange without a point from the time Syracuse went up by four with 5:23 left until a too-little-too-late layup with 35 seconds remaining.

The Orange (30-5) had 18 turnovers in another loss in the round of 16. Syracuse hasn't played in a regional final since winning the 2003 national title.

"The game was a story of turnovers. They didn't make turnovers," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "They were really good with the basketball.''

Wes Johnson had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Orange.

"We knew they pride themselves on defense, and they played us tough," Johnson said. "We accomplished a lot this season, as the expectations for this team weren't very high. We won games we weren't supposed to and won the Big East Conference outright. We have a lot to be happy about. But to lose like this, it hurts."