2010 NCAA Basketball Tournament: Syracuse vs Butler

Exactly two weeks ago today, Syracuse lost its opener in the Big East tournament to Georgetown.

Why should anyone bring that up?

After that game, a game in which the Orange couldn't stem the bleeding during a second-half Georgetown surge, it became apparent that Syracuse had a fatal flaw. Specifically, Syracuse didn't have a go-to scorer, didn't have a guy that the Big East regular-season champions could give the ball to when they desperately needed to stop a run. At some point, that particular flaw had a very good chance of coming back to bite them, and bite them hard.

Tonight it did.

Butler was the team that showed up ready to play Thursday night at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 12-1 lead and cruised into the halftime locker room up 35-25, when Shelvin Mack scored all 14 of his points. With all the talk coming in centering around Syracuse and its vaunted 2-3 zone, it was Butler's impenetrable man-to-man defense, combined with Syracuse's out-of-sync offense, that allowed the Bulldogs to open up a double-digit lead.

It's a pretty safe bet that Jim Boeheim ripped into his team at the half, as the Orange came out in the second half a different ballclub. With Andy Rautins and Wes Johnson leading the way, Syracuse went on a 15-4 run to open the second half, and it looked like Butler was knocked back on its heels.

Yet, Butler isn't a team that gets bullied around. You don't win 30 games without facing your fair share of runs, absorbing them, and learning how to throw a counterpunch. The Bulldogs answered SU's initial 15-4 run by scoring on their next two trips, eventually pushing their lead back to 48-43 before Syracuse hit them with another run. A Kris Joseph dunk with 5:23 left capped an 11-2 burst and gave Syracuse a 54-50 lead.

And that's when the old "we don't have a go-to scorer" problem reared its head.

Butler's Ronald Nored, a 19 % 3-point shooter coming into this game, banged home a three to make the score 54-53. On the next possession, Matt Howard scored on a layup. On the possession after that, BU's Willie Veasley got a lucky bounce on a three, having it rattle in and out, kiss off the top of the glass, and drop home. Just 50 seconds later, he tipped in a miss to give Butler a six-point lead with 59 seconds left.

And what about Syracuse in that span, you might ask? The Orange could only come up with three missed jumpers by Scoop Jardine, one by Andy Rautins, and two Rautins turnovers.

On paper, Syracuse had all the makings of a title contender. But without that go-to scorer, they were just waiting to get upset.

What's Next

Butler moves on to face Kansas State, who won a double-overtime classic against Xavier in the nightcap. The Bulldogs, who are not all that big, will have their work cut out for them as the Wildcats are one of the best in the country at getting to the offensive glass.

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Recap - Syracuse vs Butler

What's Next