(5) Butler vs. (2) Kansas State

So, Thursday night was fun, huh?

Butler advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history by knocking off the region’s No. 1 seed from Syracuse. The Indianapolis-based school moved within a game of playing in the Final Four in its home city.

Kansas State needed not one, but two overtimes to knock off sixth-seeded Xavier in what will no doubt go down as one of the greatest games in tournament history. If Ali Farokhmanesh’s ballsy three-pointer in the second round against Kansas is the most memorable shot of the tournament, Jordan Crawford’s 30-footer for Xavier – which forced the second overtime in Thursday’s heartstopping West Regional semifinal against KSU – is a close second.

Which brings us to Saturday.

The Bulldogs are, once again, going to have their work cut out for them. It’s hard to know how many times it will be said over the next day or two, but the Bulldogs are a small team, much smaller than the Kansas State Wildcats. What they lack in size they make up for in toughness, especially on the defensive end of the floor.

And that’s how they beat Syracuse. Granted, the Orange’s effort had a little something to do with it, but Butler’s performance on the defensive end of the floor can’t be overlooked. The Bulldogs held Syracuse to 59 points. They forced 18 turnovers. When Syracuse needed a basket the most, the Bulldogs got a stop.

But perhaps most importantly, they kept Syracuse off the offensive glass. That will be the key against Kansas State.

The Wildcats are much bigger and much more athletic than Butler. What Kansas State does offensively is to allow Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente free rein to shoot just about whatever they want, sending guys like Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels flying at the rim. The result, for K-State, is a fair share of offensive rebounds.

Butler cannot jump with Kansas State. The number five seed is going to need to put a body on the Wildcats. If they can keep K-State off the glass and prevent Pullen and/or Clemente from getting into a rhythm (if both of those guys get it going, it may not matter how well Butler plays), the Bulldogs will be playing in Indianapolis next Saturday. The Bulldogs will watch the team from “the other Manhattan” take the court on national semifinal Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer