Butler did it! Bulldogs get spot in title game, beating MSU by 52-50

Butler did it! Bulldogs 52, Spartans 50

Forget about “Hoosiers,” folks. Butler is putting together its own incredible story.

The Bulldogs will be playing for a national championship Monday night.

Baby-faced forward Gordon Hayward scored 19 points and the fifth-seeded Horizon League champions knocked off Big Ten heavyweight Michigan State 52-50 in the Final Four.

Shelvin Mack battled through muscle spasms to add 14 points for the Bulldogs, the team that practices in the same building — Hinkle Fieldhouse — where they filmed the movie “Hoosiers” about the upstart high school team that proved they could beat anybody.

Just like the Bulldogs.

The scrappy team coached by a 33-year-old former marketing employee for Eli Lilly will play West Virginia or Duke for the national title. And just imagine what the atmosphere will be like at Lucas Oil Stadium, a 10-minute drive from the Butler campus.

“I’ll be honest, there’s so many people here I just wanted to focus on the court,” coach Brad Stevens said moments after the game, basking in the adulation that comes with a victory on the game’s biggest stage.

“Both sides really battled,” he said. “We were lucky to be up two at the end, and I think the difference was we held them to 3-0 the last 30 minutes, and we needed to.”

Butler will carry a 25-game winning streak into the championship game, the longest since Duke won 32 straight entering the 1992 national title game.

“Just really excited right now,” Hayward said.

Butler shot just 30 percent from the field and hit 5 of 21 from 3-point range, but the Bulldogs made up for it by going 17 of 24 from the foul line — including two by Ronald Nored, a 61-percent free-throw shooter, with 6.1 seconds remaining.

The Bulldogs fouled on purpose when Michigan State crossed midcourt, and Korie Lucious made the first free throw before missing the second on purpose. But the Spartans couldn’t track down the offensive rebound to put up a tying shot.

Lucious finished with 12 points and Durrell Summers had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Spartans, who were trying to advance to the title game on the 10th anniversary of their second national championship.

Michigan State was hampered by missing star guard Kalin Lucas, who ruptured his Achilles’ tendon against Maryland in the second round. The Spartans wound up with 16 turnovers, and Butler turned them into a 20-2 advantage in points off turnovers.

And a trip to the national championship game.

Tom Izzo wanted a foul on Draymond Green, who went hard in the paint but had his shot blocked going up from about 6 feet out, and he fouled out moments later when Butler pulled down the rebound with 6.1 seconds remaining.

Ronald Nored went to the foul line and made two, giving Butler a 52-49 lead.

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Talk about drama in Indianapolis.

Ronald Nored had his driving layin rattle out with about 28 seconds left, and the Spartans pulled down the rebound trailing 50-49 with 23 seconds left in the game.

The Spartans will have a chance for the final shot, if they choose to take it, when the teams come out of the timeout. The shot clock is off.

It took a terrific offensive rebound by Shawn Vanzant to finally break Butler’s field-goal drought, which had stretched more than 10 minutes. He found Gordon Hayward while falling out of bounds under the basket, and the Bulldogs’ star put in the short jumper to make it 50-46.

The Spartans came back at the other end and got their own offensive rebound after Durrell Summers missed the second of two free throws. Hayward was called for a foul that sent sent Draymond Green to the line with 56.3 seconds remaining.

He made both to get the Spartans within a point.

The Butler Bulldogs have missed 10 straight shots, haven’t made a field goal in 10 minutes.

And still haven’t given up the lead.

The score is 47-44 with 2:49 remaining.

The Bulldogs have survived to the final media timeout with a 47-43 lead, despite not hitting a field goal since there was 12:18 left in the game.

How are they doing it?

They’re shooting just 32 percent from the field and 5 of 18 from the field, but Butler has also forced 15 turnovers and made on 14 of 20 trips to the free-throw line — compared to only 5 of 10 free throws for the Spartans.

Also impressive are nine offensive rebounds that have led to some big second-half points, and Butler is only losing the rebounding battle 30-26 against a physical Michigan State team that lacks size but still tends to bang pretty hard inside.

Butler has missed its last seven field goals, including a couple by Matt Howard from just in front of the rim, but the Bulldogs still lead 47-43 with just over 4 minutes left in the first half.

They also have two fouls to give before going over the limit, while Michigan State has already gone over the limit for the double-bonus. That could be critical down the stretch.

The Spartans are getting frustrated while Butler continues to play with a cool head.

Gordon Hayward just made a nifty move on the baseline to draw Draymond Green’s fourth foul, and the Michigan State forward was visibly upset — about the foul and being left alone on defense. Hayward made one of two free throws to make it 47-41 with under 6 minutes left.

Raymar Morgan has been having a tough night because of foul trouble, missing four of his first five shots, but he stuck back his own miss to make it a four-point game.

The Spartans still trail 46-41 with under 8 minutes left, and are in danger of losing for the first time at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Remember, the Spartans went 2-0 at the football stadium in last year’s Midwest Regional.

In fact, the Spartans have the best winning percentage of any team inside the hulking venue. The Colts lost their first two regular-season games at the stadium — even though they haven’t lost since. The Spartans have a 1.000 winning percentage.

At least for now.

Matt Howard just made a couple of free throws to put Butler ahead 46-41 with just over 9 minutes to go in a battle of No. 5 seeds.

The Spartans are digging themselves deeper into foul trouble. Raymar Morgan still has four fouls, and Draymond Green has joined Chris Allen and Delvon Roe with three fouls each.

Butler is already 13 of 18 from the file compared to 5 of 10 for Michigan State.

Turnovers are also becoming an issue for the Spartans, who have turned it over seven times in the second against just one for the BullDogs. Michigan State has 14 turnovers for the game, and Butler has 10 steals.

Shelvin Mack also gave those legs a test moments ago and looked like he was moving around stiffly but will be able to play. He’s been dealing with some muscle spasms.

Shelvin Mack is getting massaged with pain-relieving gel on the sideline because of some muscle spasms in his legs, but the Butler training staff is unsure whether he’ll return.

With less than 12 minutes left, that would be a huge loss.

Mack was the only player besides Gordon Hayward to put up any sustained offense in the first half for Butler. He tried to play in the second half for a short period, but he wasn’t very effective and took a seat back on the bench.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo thinks timeouts could be critical down the stretch, or he simply has a lot of confidence in his team overcoming adversity.

Willie Veasley’s fastbreak dunk gave Butler a 44-37 lead, its biggest of the game, and put the Spartans in their biggest hole of the NCAA tournament. With the blue-clad crowd on its feet, Izzo let his guys play rather than calling a timeout to stop the momentum.

Nice move.

Delvon Roe scored at the other end to get within five, and a missed 3-pointer by Avery Jukes will give the ball back to Michigan State when play resumes after a timeout.

Michigan State made its first four field goals of the second half, closing within 39-37, but Avery Jukes restored the four-point lead with an offensive putback.

Both teams have done a poor job of playing help-side defense, allowing easy baskets inside.

The Spartans are also running into foul trouble against a team that shoots better than 70 percent from the foul line. Raymar Morgan just picked up his fourth foul, and Chris Allen and Delvon Roe have three each with 12½ minutes left in the game.

The foul on Morgan sent Gordon Hayward to the line — the Bulldogs are already in the bonus — and he knocked down one of two to make it 42-37.

The player whose shot inspired the movie “Hoosiers” had some prime seats for Butler’s first Final Four game — even if it wasn’t being played at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Bobby Plump was sitting with Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels while other members of the 1954 Milan High state championship team were scattered throughout the arena, a spokeswoman for the governor said.

Plump’s buzzer-beating jumper in the ‘54 Indiana state championship game gave tiny Milan the title. The shot inspired “Hoosiers,” and the climactic scene of that 1980s movie was filmed in Butler’s fabled arena.

Twenty minutes are in the books, and Michigan State and Butler aren’t giving any hints about who will be playing Monday night for the national championship.

Spartans 28, Bulldogs 28.

Michigan State looked as if it would be taking a lead into the locker room, calling timeout with a 28-25 lead and under a minute to go. But a turnover led to Shelvin Mack’s 3-pointer with about 35 seconds left, knotting the game.

Gordon Hayward has 13 points and Mack has a dozen for the Bulldogs, but the rest of the team combined to score just three points total. That includes Willie Veasley, who averages better than 10 per game but hasn’t made a field goal, and Matt Howard, who averages 11.8 points but has been mired in foul trouble.

The Spartans have been more balanced, with a team-high eight points from Korie Lucious and seven each from Draymond Green and Durrell Summers. Raymar Morgan has just two after sitting most of the first half with three fouls.

Both teams had been on lengthy scoring droughts before Garrick Sherman took a nifty pass in the post for an easy layup. Gordon Hayward answered at the other end for Butler with his third 3-pointer, making it 24-23 Spartans with under 4 minutes to go in the half.

Hayward hit his first four shots but had missed three in a row before finding the bottom of the net on that 3-pointer. The Spartans are doing a good job in their man-to-man defense of switching when Butler tries to set screens to free him up on the perimeter.

Hayward has 13 first-half points to lead all scorers.

Michigan State has gone more than 5 minutes without a field goal, and just had one taken away when Ronald Nored stepped in front of Delvon Roe and earned a charging foul.

Nored doesn’t score much, but he’s one of the best defenders in the Horizon League.

The two teams were charged up the first couple of minutes, rushing up and down the floor, but now they’ve slowed it down to the tortoise-like pace that most expected.

Shelvin Mack has helped Butler trim the Michigan State lead to 22-20 with 7½ minutes to go in the first half, scoring nine points in quick succession. He’s providing a nice complement for Gordon Hayward, who is being shadowed everywhere he goes.

Both teams have turned the ball over four times, Michigan State has a narrow lead in rebounds, and both teams are shooting around 50 percent from the field.

Talk about a couple of evenly matched programs.

Tom Izzo was stomping his foot on the sideline moments ago, and for good reason.

Raymar Morgan just picked up his third foul with 10:11 left in the first half, putting the banged-up Spartans in a bind. Morgan has been among the hottest players for Michigan State, but just toweled off what little sweat he could work up in about 7 minutes of floor time and shrugged off an offer of a water bottle from a team trainer.

The only legit NBA prospect on the Bulldogs’ roster is carrying them early on.

Gordon Hayward is 4 for 4 from the field, including two early 3-pointers, but nobody else wearing Butler blue has managed to get in a rhythm. The rest of the team had been 0 for 4 before Shelvin Mack hit a short jumper moments ago.

Michigan State leads 18-14 with 11:02 left before halftime.

Speaking of Hayward, he said there haven’t been too many “wow” moments during this dream week in Indianapolis — except for that phone call Tuesday night from tennis star Andy Roddick.

“He’s just such a superstar, so for him to call, that was really cool,” Hayward said earlier in the week. “You know, I didn’t really think about it at first and then I had to listen to it again. He said ‘Hey, Gordon this is Andy Roddick’ and I was just like ‘Wow!’”

Hayward was nearly as good at tennis as he was basketball in high school.

Draymond Green has come off the bench to provide a spark for Michigan State, hitting a pair of baskets during a 10-2 run that answered seven straight points by Butler.

Green seems to be a little bit hobbled, too, reacting slowly on defense and moving poorly on offense. But at this time of the year, some bumps and bruises are only natural.

Raymar Morgan just checked in with two fouls for Michigan State, taking the place of Green, who plopped down on the bench with a towel over his knees.

The referees have been quick on the whistle, and foul trouble could become a story line because both teams play physical on defense and prefer low-scoring games.

Raymar Morgan already had a pair of fouls with 15 minutes left in the first half, and the Spartans have four as a team.

Butler players were asked before the game how they would deal with a team from the rough-and-tumble Big Ten, and guard Ronald Nored said the Bulldogs wouldn’t back down.

“We’re going to have to match their physicality, we’re going to have to match their toughness,” Nored said. “We’re going to have to match them on the boards.”

Butler big man Matt Howard also has two fouls with 14 minutes left.

It’s a party on the perimeter in the first couple minutes of the Final Four opener.

Korie Lucious hit two 3-pointers for Michigan State, making the green-clad fans in Indy forget all about injured point guard Kalin Lucas, before Gordon Hayward knocked down two straight of his own to tie the score 6-all about 3 minutes in.

The fans are loving it, but Tom Izzo might not be.

The Michigan State coach was upset that Lucious left his shooting arm up for a bit after his second 3-pointer. Izzo stomped his feet to get his guard’s attention and tapped his forehead to tell him to think twice, then went back to the bench muttering.

Magic Johnson made his way to his seat moments ago, flashing that enormous smile, slapping high-fives with the face-painted Michigan State fans in the front row of the student section.

Even for the Magic Man, this never gets old.

“This is what you live for. This is what it’s all about,” he said. “I love it.”

Butler fans are ready to party — six miles away from Lucas Oil Stadium.

With ribbons tied around trees and street posts, students, parents and alums started lining up outside of historic Hinkle Fieldhouse more than 2½ hours before tipoff and 75 minutes before doors opened for the school’s viewing party.

Some fans pulled coolers on rolling carts around campus, clearly preparing for a long night, and one Greek organization painted a basketball and Butler’s logo on its front lawn.

Nobody was complaining.

“Hey there’s nothing wrong with camping out, right?” asked freshman Stephanie Holgin.

That’s right.

It begins at last, after three weeks of thrillers and failures, dreams made and dreams dashed. Nearly every office bracket has been turned to confetti, so all that remains are four teams that have weathered the madness to reach college basketball’s biggest stage.

Lucas Oil Stadium. Indianapolis. The Final Four.

The scrappy hometown school, Butler, begins the festivities by taking on Michigan State, which is playing in its second straight Final Four under a coach who is better than just about any other when it comes to tournament play.

The Bulldogs will certainly have the homecourt advantage, but the Spartans know something about that. They played in the championship game against North Carolina at Ford Field a year ago, just a short drive from their East Lansing campus. The Tar Heels routed Michigan State.

The first game will be followed by West Virginia and irascible coach Bob Huggins, still in search of his first national championship, against the blueblood Blue Devils and coach Mike Krzyzewski, who consider it a disappointment when they miss the tournament’s final weekend.

They’re here now, all four of them are, but only two can play on.