Butler keeps 20-game winning streak in perspective

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/18/2010 -

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Every time Brad Stevens walks into Hinkle Fieldhouse, he peers into the rafters.

There he sees the overflowing banners listing conference titles and NCAA tournament appearances and quickly realizes what Butler has become: A national model for mid-major schools.

But even with all the attention and success, the third-year coach understands this NCAA tourney will be different for the blue-collar Bulldogs. His team is no longer a surprise, seeded fifth in the West Region, and takes the nation's longest winning streak, 20 games, into Thursday's first-round contest against UTEP.

``I've never been a part of anything like that, and I've been a part of some pretty special things here,'' Stevens said after win No. 20 brought his second Horizon League tourney title in three years.

Stevens and his players admit they're not thinking about 'The Streak' because there's so much work still to do.

They're motivated to make amends after last year's first-round exit - a 75-71 loss to LSU - despite playing with three freshmen starters and struggling late in the season.

Now, a year older, a year wiser and with a far stronger finish, Butler wants to recreate some of its postseason magic.

In 2003, the Bulldogs became the tournament darling after upsetting Louisville in the second round. They were also the biggest impediment to Florida's Final Four run in 2000 and the Gators' second national championship run in 2007.

And this year, the Bulldogs (28-4) have a resume that would make the nation's biggest programs proud.

- They are the only Division I team with a perfect conference record, last losing Dec. 22 at Alabama-Birmingham.

- They won a fourth straight league title by a record six games and nearly set a new record for victory margin in the conference title game. Second-seeded Wright State made its final basket to trim the margin to 25, the record is 26.

- Butler won eight of its last nine games by at least nine points, the only exception coming at Valparaiso when conference player of the year Gordon Hayward sat out with a sore back.

- Three of their four losses came to NCAA tourney teams - Clemson, Georgetown and Minnesota - none of them at home.

- Plus, the Bulldogs defeated three NCAA teams - Big Ten champion Ohio State, Metro Atlantic Athletic champ Siena and Xavier - and beat UCLA on its last trip to California.

But it's the final sprint that may go down as the Bulldogs' biggest achievement, thanks to an unwavering desire to keep improving.

``It's hard to even think about that (20 straight wins),'' junior center Matt Howard said. ``It's nowhere near where the Connecticut women are. Twenty games, that's a lot, but if you start dwelling on that, it can end real quick. We've just got to keep that focus to keep it going.''

At Butler, that's how you play basketball.

Glamourous titles and individual successes always take a backseat to what's best for the program.

Perhaps it's the reason Butler has never produced an NBA player.

Or why one of the nation's oldest gyms, which has hosted stars ranging from Oscar Robertson to Greg Oden, is best known for its Hollywood role in the movie ``Hoosiers.''

Or why all but the most avid basketball fans would struggle to name Howard and Hayward as the last two Horizon League players of the year.

If the Bulldogs have learned anything this season, it's this: Follow the blueprint.

``We've been through a lot, through wins, through losses,'' sophomore point guard Ronald Nored said. ``Everything hasn't been perfect, but we've been persistent and fought through everything.''

Whether it was the brutal nonconference schedule that took the Bulldogs from California to New York City, the early-season foul trouble that plagued Howard or all those conference teams that know how to defend Butler's offense, the Bulldogs figured out how to win with only one senior starter and one of the nation's youngest coaches.

The 33-year-old Stevens has rewritten the book on success. He has won 84 games, the most ever in his first three seasons breaking the previous record of 82 which was shared by Gonzaga's Mark Few and Nevada's Mark Fox, and he's done it the Butler Way.

Yet after making seven NCAA appearances since 2000, reaching the regional semifinals twice, winning the NIT Preseason Tip-Off title in November 2006, this year's winning streak may go down as Butler's biggest achievement of the decade.

Unless, of course, they win four more, make it back home to Indianapolis and get to hoist a Final Four banner.

``One of the things that's neat about this run is they've brought it every single night and in games where, quite frankly, people would really get on them if they lost, from the outside,'' Stevens said. ``They don't care. These guys just believe in doing the right things. I know this, when we get in the huddle and we're meeting at media timeouts and we're together, we believe in each other and we're going to try to put our best foot forward.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.