VCU's magical run ends against Butler

HOUSTON -- When it comes to finishing in this year's NCAA Tournament, no team has done a better job than Butler.

The Bulldogs finished off Virginia Commonwealth with a 9-2 burst in the final minute and won the battle of the mid-majors, 70-62, in an NCAA Tournament semifinal Saturday night at Reliant Stadium.

Now Butler is focused on finishing the job it left undone last season, when it lost the national title to Duke by two points. No one expected the eighth-seeded Bulldogs (28-9) to make it back to the championship game, but they ended 11th-seeded VCU's historic run of five upsets of major conference teams and now will meet Connecticut (31-9) for the title Monday night.

"Last year, we didn't get it done, and that's in the back of our minds," said Butler guard Shelvin Mack, who totaled 24 points and shot 5-for-6 from three-point range.

"It's a focused locker room," Bulldogs forward Matt Howard said of the postgame mood. "We all realize there's another game to be played and, hopefully, another game to be won."

A year ago, Butler was everybody's Cinderella on a magical ride that took it home to Indianapolis for the Final Four. But Gordon Hayward, who barely missed a shot from midcourt at the buzzer that would have beaten Duke in the final, is gone to the NBA. This year, Mack and Howard -- who had 17 points and eight rebounds and made 11 of 12 foul shots -- have led the way back to the brink of history for non-BCS schools.

But even though Butler is carrying the mid-major banner, Howard said: "The way we're looking at it is 'we' want to win. We don't look at it as mid-majors; we don't look at conferences. It's about players and the system and what they do. A lot of good teams are not from power conferences, and VCU is good evidence of that."

The Rams (28-12) were this year's Cinderella story after playing in the First Four just to get an 11th seed among the remaining 64 teams in the second round. They took control early with an 11-0 run and ran their lead to 15-7 when Bradford Burgess (15 points, nine rebounds) made three early three-pointers.

The Bulldogs shot only 33.3 percent in the first half but had a 34-28 lead at the half after hitting 11 of 13 free throws.

Jamie Skeen scored 27 points and kept VCU in the game in the second half.

The Bulldogs got 10 straight points from Mack to extend their lead to 54-47, but Butler's Howard had to sit with his fourth foul at 9:22. When he returned at 4:40, the Bulldogs were clinging to a four-point lead, but Shawn Vanzant buried a clutch corner three at 3:02 to push it to 61-54.

The Rams cut it to 61-57 when Skeen hit a three with 2:32 left. He had a chance for a four-point play but missed the foul shot.

For two seasons, the Bulldogs have conducted a clinic on being in the right spot at the right time, and Howard was when he grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to give the Bulldogs breathing room at 63-57 with 59.3 seconds left.

When that play was mentioned to Butler coach Brad Stevens, he said: "That's Matt Howard. I'm glad somebody noticed. He has a motor and a strong will to succeed, and nothing else matters."

Butler's determination was best measured by its 48-32 rebounding advantage. Burgess called the Bulldogs "the most physical team" VCU played.

Rams coach Shaka Smart added, "They have players that take the floor every single time with a clear head for winning."

That's all that matters to the Bulldogs Monday night.