You know Butler if your eyes are drawn to the TV around March. They’re the little engine that could–no, that did. Once a Cinderella, Butler doesn’t get to surprise anybody anymore. Or do they? Because No. 5 North Carolina didn’t look ready for the unranked Bulldogs down in Paradise Island, Bahamas–where the teams are holidaying hoops-style.
Butler went on a big run in the second half and built a comfortable 14 point lead, hanging on to win 74-66. The Bulldogs featured balanced scoring (Barlow, 17; Martin, 17; Jones, 12) and big time rebounding to dominate the bigger Tar Heels. Butler shot less than 30% from the floor and still won. Must have been the 29 offensive rebounds they grabbed. UNC head coach Roy Williams is really, really mad about that.
