David v Goliath as Butler looks to upend Florida
The No. 2 seeded Florida Gators appear poised at making a trip to Houston, but standing in their way is tournament darling No.8 Butler who is no surprise to upsetting schools ten times their size.
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#8 Butler (26-9, 13-5 Horizon) vs. #2 Florida (29-7, 13-3 SEC)
Date/Time: Saturday, March 26, 4:30 PM EST
Venue: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA.
Broadcast: CBS
Money Line: Butler +135, Florida -155
Spread: Florida -3
Over/Under: 132
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The Bulldogs have now won 12 straight games overall entering Saturday’s Southeast Regional Finals in New Orleans against the Gators.
Just one year after Butler’s surprising run to the championship game of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, few bracketologists expected them to make a deep run after the early departure of lottery pick Gordon Hayward to the NBA. Maybe not even within the Butler locker room.
But Coach Brad Stevens’ team is exactly where they want to be, as they appear ready to duplicate that success this season.
Through the first three rounds of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs have executed a nearly flawless offensive assault while playing remarkably good defense.
After narrowly escaping its first two NCAA tournament games by margins of two points or fewer, the Bulldogs pulverized Wisconsin, leading by as much as 20 points en route to a 61-54 victory.
Senior forward Matt Howard registered his first double-double since January, posting 20 points and 12 rebounds, while as a team the Bulldogs held the Badgers to just 30.4 percent from the field (17-56)–Wisconsin’s second worst shooting performance this season.
Meanwhile, Florida did what most thought they couldn’t do—shutdown Jimmer Fredette and his surging BYU Cougars in the Southeast Regional Semifinals in New Orleans on Thursday.
After relying heavily on its backcourt duo of Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton through its first two tournament games, the Florida frontcourt took advantage of an undersized BYU squad, as Alex Tyus scored 19 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as in an 83-74 overtime win that ended the Cougars valiant run.
Boynton had 17 points, while Walker and SEC Player of the Year Chandler Parsons each scored 16 for Florida, which outscored BYU 15-6 in the extra period of play.
Fredette still led all scorers with 32 points, but he shot just three of 15 from 3-point range as the Gators were able to control the inside forcing BYU to its outside shooting.
Butler must control the pace of the game and create turnovers, something Florida is susceptible to. The Gators will look to counter that plan by bringing its up-tempo high-octane offense.
The odds makers have the Florida Gators as a -3 point favorite with an over/under of 132.
Check out the latest Elite 8 Odds here.
Matt’s Free Prediction: The Bulldogs are a methodical and disciplined squad, and I’m leaning towards Butler to reach the Final Four for the second consecutive season.
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