Butler returns to Final Four

NEW ORLEANS -- Butler did it again. Showing its trademark Bulldog tenacity, Butler battled back from an 11-point second-half deficit against Florida to send Saturday's Southeast Regional final into overtime. The Bulldogs have made crunch time their comfort zone in this NCAA Tournament, and they won a game that came down to the last possession for the third time in the tournament, pulling out a 74-71 victory when Florida's Erving Walker missed a potential tying three-pointer with eight seconds left.

Butler's Ronald Nored beat Chandler Parsons to the rebound and tossed the ball to the other end of the floor as time ran out. That play by Nored and a bunch of other hustle plays typified the comeback by the Bulldogs (27-9), who outrebounded Florida 41-34, including 16-8 on the offensive boards, and outscored the Gators' bench 23-2.

"We kind of stayed together, stayed the course, figured it out and just played resiliently," Butler coach Brad Stevens said. "I'm incredibly proud of these guys. They carried their coach today in a big way. Our players did a great job, just a special group."

Butler became the first non-BCS school to reach two straight Final Fours since Nevada-Las Vegas in 1990-91.

Shelvin Mack led Butler with 27 points and got double-figures help from Matt Howard (14) and Khyle Marshall (10).

Florida (29-8) was topped by Vernon Macklin's 25 points and got 14 points and 10 boards from Alex Tyus and 17 points from Kenny Boynton. The 5-8 Walker of Brooklyn, who also missed a three-pointer at the end of regulation, shot only 1-for-10.

"I thought the difference in the game was right around the nine-minute mark, there were an enormous amount of loose balls that we did not come down with," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "I thought the game was won by them on loose balls."

The perfect example came in overtime with the score tied at 62. Butler freshman Marshall grabbed an offensive rebound, missed a shot, grabbed his own rebound, scored, was fouled and made the free throw for a 65-62 lead. After Walker made his only field goal from three-point range to give Florida a 70-69 lead, Mack answered with a three at the 1:21 mark for a 72-70 lead.

Florida's Tyus hinted at frustration for not going inside with the ball more down the stretch. "I feel like our players just weren't really looking for us," he said.

Donovan pulled Macklin for the final 1:34 of regulation, opting to put the ball in Walker's hands with the score tied at 60. He had a good look but clanked it. He also pulled Macklin for the final 3:33 of overtime, figuring Butler would foul him because he is a poor foul shooter.

"It's frustrating," Macklin said. "I wanted to be on the floor. I'm not that great a free-throw shooter, so I didn't want to jeopardize my teammates."

Florida had a chance to build on its 61-50 second-half lead, but Butler was relentless. "We were down nine, and there was a media timeout," Stevens said. "We just said, 'Score, stop, score, and the game will get a lot tighter.' And we did score. All of a sudden, it went from nine to four and you've got a ballgame and momentum late."