The Butler University men’s basketball team faced Seton Hall in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament in a true #GrittyNotPretty game.
It was the first game of the tournament for the Bulldogs, who avoided the play-in games by one seed. The Bulldogs went into the tournament with a massive chip on their shoulder – an 0-4 record in the Big East Tournament
For the Bulldogs, this was a game where the world was watching and they needed to deliver. And they did, but not until crunch time.
In the final minute, Kamar Baldwin made a jumper, Seton Hall drained a 3, Baldwin missed a lay-up and Tyler Wideman had the most crucial putback the Bulldogs had ever seen. This happened all within the final minute. After Wideman’s put back, Seton Hall had one last shot to take, and they missed it.
In that moment, I turned to my friend and said, “Did Butler just win?”
The ending was anticlimactic, but the final minute was wild and a true representation of Butler’s #GrittyNotPretty season.
The win landed Butler a date with Villanova tonight at 9 pm.
The Bulldogs have always seemed to have the Wildcats’ number. The algorithm is simple – Dogs > Cats. Right, Trip?
On Dec. 30th, Butler handed Villanova their first loss of the season. The Wildcats came out on top in their second match-up of the season. The rubber match will take place tonight.
To reach the semifinals, Villanova topped seventh-seeded Marquette.
Markus Howard and Andrew Rowsey combined for 45 points for Marquette, but with only 25 other points scored, the Golden Eagles were unable to capture the victory. Villanova won 94-70. Mikal Bridges led the Wildcats with 25 points, and Jalen Brunson was close behind with 21.
The Bulldogs will look to outplay and outscore the No. 2 seed in a #GrittyNotPretty fashion.
