I think we all can stop questioning Butler's legitimacy at this point. You don't reach the national championship game by accident.
The Bulldogs have defeated five Sweet Sixteen teams this season. If they beat Duke, it'll be six. That's simply phenomenal.
I hope the Butler fans soak up every minute of this, because when it's all done, win or lose Monday night, they'll probably have a new coach and lose Gordon Hayward to the NBA. This is a run for the ages.
AP Ranking = 7
ESPN/USA Today Ranking = 7
NCAA Seed = 2 (West Region)
Record = 29-8
- Loyola Chicago (14-16)
- Western Illinois (13-17)
- Boston University (21-14)
- No. 2* seed Ole Miss (24-11)
- No. 3* seed Dayton (25-12)
- IUPUI (25-11)
- FHSU (22-7)
- Washington State (16-15)
- No. 6 seed Xavier (26-9)
- No. 8 seed UNLV (25-9)
- Alabama (17-15)
- No. 16 seed UAPB (18-16)
- Cleveland State (16-17)
- South Dakota (22-10)
-
No. 10 seed Missouri (23-11)
- No. 5 seed Texas A&M (24-10)
- Colorado (15-16)
- No. 8 seed Texas (24-10)
- No. 7 seed Oklahoma State (22-11)
- No. 3 seed Baylor (28-8)
-
No. 1 seed Kansas (33-3)
- Nebraska (15-18)
- Iowa State (15-17)
- Oklahoma (13-18)
- No. 5* seed Texas Tech (19-16)
- No. 15 seed North Texas (24-9)
- No. 7 seed BYU (30-6)
-
No. 5 seed Butler (33-4): Win over No. 5 seed Michigan State (52-50 in the NCAA Tournament)
*NIT