Butler Buzzes Bearcats

Thursday’s quarterfinal matchups at the Big East tournament were filled with drama and upset specials. The final feature was most theatrical. Bob Huggins’ nationally ranked seventh seeded Mountaineers bested his former Cincinnati Bearcats 54-51. The Bearcats, who defeated Louisville to reach the quarterfinal round, were a long-shot to advance. West Virginia was the only one of the four top ranked conference seeds to move on to semifinal Friday. Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Villanova were all defeated in the earlier games Thursday at Madison Square Garden. Maybe the double-bye is to blame for the disappointing play or maybe the underdogs were just finely tuned machines. It’s more likely the 16 Big East teams were somewhat evenly matched heading into the tournament. The Big East boasts some of the best players in the country and the most competitive conference. Third-seeded West Virginia squeezed out the lone win among the top four teams on Da’Sean Butler’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Butler’s clean trey lifted the Mountaineers to victory, breaking the hearts of Bearcat fans everywhere. WVU meets Notre Dame at 9pm tonight in a semifinal game. The Fighting Irish knocked off the number two seed, Pitt.
Cincinnati and West Virginia both struggled offensively. The offensive ineptitude shifted hands over the final three minutes. The Bearcats at least had an excuse. Cincinnati played for the third time in three nights, clawing their way to the quarterfinal Thursday evening. They did not dominate the glass in yesterday’s loss like they did Wednesday against the Cardinals. The Bearcats shot 33.3% and were led by freshman Lance Stephenson’s 19 buckets. The 25-6 Mountaineers’ leading man, Kevin Jones shot 50% from the field and finished with 17 points. West Virginia was aggressive on defense but blew an 18-4 first half advantage. Offensive woes are not new to WVU, a team that thrives on defensive prowess. Huggins’ squad has the worst shooting percentage of top 25 teams. The Bearcats made it a game with their durable free throw shooting (75%) and solid rebounding. Cincinnati turned to its perimeter shooting to get back into the game after trailing by three points at the break. Both teams scored 28 second half points. Cincinnati overcame a nine point deficit in the final six minutes of the game as WVU’s suddenly ugly defense allowed nine consecutive baskets.
Big East Rookie of the Year, Stephenson, drained a downtown shot to notch the game with 42 seconds remaining. The errant Mountaineers turned the ball over on a shot-clock violation instead of getting the shot off with six seconds left. Cincinnati’s Dion Dixon had a chance to win the game but fumbled the ball on the sidelines. Butler, who was covering Dixon on the play, took the ensuing inbounds pass from Devin Ebanks with three ticks on the clock. Ebanks notched 10 points and 5 assists. Butler sunk the game-winning shot on a high arching attempt from the arc. The Mountaineers were just 4-of-20 from long range, but Butler’s 3-pointer was the one that mattered most. Butler entered Thursday’s contest less than a week removed from a buzzer-beater against Villanova. Yancy Gates tallied 11 points and a team high seven rebounds for Cincinnati.

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