Salt Lake City, 3/25/10 Renowned for their tenacity, the Bulldog made it™s fame in the fighting pits of Renaissance England. Those with the most gameness a willingness to keep fighting through adversity were prized by breeders above all else.
It was that fighting spirit animating Butler University™s Bulldogs Thursday night against Syracuse, driving the latest upset in a Madness not short of them. Loyal readers know previous pieces were profiles of two of the four #1 seeded teams the University of Kentucky Wildcats & the University of Kansas Jayhawks. A profile of #1 West Regional Syracuse was next in the series, but seemingly their endeavors were not favored by the Fates.
Instead this piece will serve as study on why the Orange got peeled 63-59 by a fifth seeded team and why the ‘Dogs are thinking Indianapolis (site of this year™s Final Four & home of Butler University) or bust.
Question the first: why did Syracuse, a 30-4 team coming in leave so humbled? One reason was starting center Arinze Onuaku, missing from the lineup since a quadriceps muscle injury suffered during the Big East tournament. Strangely enough, the injury came during one of Syracuse’s rare losses, to another band of bulldogs, Georgetown University’s Hoyas. Coincidences aside, Onuaku’s rebounding & scoring prowess season averages of 5.1 boards, 10.5 points, & 67% from the field were hard to replace, as was the on-court leadership the senior provided.
It’s also reasonable to assert that Syracuse had not been truly tested until their collision with Butler. The Orange blew out 16th seeded Vermont by 23 points on the Tournament’s second day, followed by a drubbing of 8th seeded Gonzaga by 22 points a few days later. However, against a team justifiably proud of stingy man-to-man defense, Syracuse committed 18 turnovers to Butler’s 7. Further confounding their heavyweight opposition with 13 steals, the Bulldogs – who shot worse from the field & had fewer assists were able to pull out the win.
Question the second: why Butler? Why did this underdog & undersized gang of Jacks end up giant killers? Their defense was mentioned, but bears another example: against a team that scored in bunches (166 total) their previous games, the ‘Dogs dug deep & held Syracuse nearly scoreless for the first seven minutes, building a 12-1 lead. Forced into catch-up nearly all game, the Orange were finally ahead 54-50, with five & change remaining to play. Butler again ramped up the defensive intensity, reaching a fever pitch at the four minute mark. Bulldog Willie Veasley came up with a steal that was converted into a 3-pointer, kicking off an 11-0 run. By the time Syracuse scored again, there were only 35 seconds left in a game already lost.
Defense wins championships is Gospel wisdom in basketball. After holding Syracuse to a tie for season low points scored, the Bulldogs proved they have what it takes. Going into the first Elite Eight in school history, Butler feels homeward bound with the wind at their backs.
