Butler Bulldogs
fever sweeping the nation. As if there isn't enough of a reason to cheer against Sparty, this team is fun to watch, is a true mid-major Cinderella and does things the right way. Coach Brad Stevens gave up a promising career at Eli Lilly to volunteer as a coach for Todd Lickliter a few years ago. That takes big time cajones and it paid off. Good story, good team, and they're capable of playing with, and beating, anyone in the country. I'm going to be cheering for them.
they are a great team and i love the way that gordon hayward plays
plus, i really want them to take down sparty
I have to root for MSU this once due to this: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=293532086
EDIT: I only root for state in the direst of circumstances; and wouldn't it be nice to have a Big Ten rep in the NC even if it's MSU?
March 29th, 2010 at 10:22 PM ^
Just curious why you have to root against them b/c you lost a close, regular season, controversial game to them in which the refs may or may not have determined the outcome b/c of a rule they followed to the best of their ability?
EDIT: to clarify, I don't hate Miami anymore now than I did before last nights game. I blame the refs and don't fault Miami for taking advantage of terrible officiating. I feel that this is a relevant example.
March 29th, 2010 at 10:31 PM ^
Good point. Go Bulldogs.
March 29th, 2010 at 10:16 PM ^
Please use the Google button on the internet machine to look up “Rivalry”
It would NOT be nice for our program to have to deal with its in-state rival winning it all.
watch. Gritty Grittenstein and all that. Both my bro-in-law and sister-in-law (plus their respective spouses) work at Lilly. None gave up their promising corporate positions to coach the Bulldogs. Rub it in time!
I'd like to think we're seeing Future Metrics (Evan) in Gordon Hayward. He's like a perfect Duke player, only he doesn't nauseate me.
As a grad from a fellow Horizon League school (Valparaiso) I have to cheer for Butler. It is just icing on the cake that I get to watch them take down that school in East Lansing. Gives me someone to cheer on until April 17th!
PS. New to the MGoBlog community. Excited to have a life line to all things Blue!
I've been a fan the past couple years...one of my friends from high school is in their theater/performing arts program and actually works as their mascot. Pretty sweet gig.
I went to Purdue for undergrad so I will definitely root for another Indiana school.
March 29th, 2010 at 10:10 PM ^
I haven't seen this posted in the last couple days, but if it has, neg away.
http://tourney.si.com/2010/03/27/homeward-bound-butler-to-the-final-fou…
Really interesting piece by Luke Winn on Butler and I would definitely suggesting taking a few minutes to read it.
March 29th, 2010 at 10:34 PM ^
The question is - how will Butler handle being the favorites in this game (currently the line is Butler -1.5)?
As we can see, the "home court" thing helped Baylor a little but it didn't make up the entire difference.
In the end, I think Izzo continues his rise to best college coach in America and hands Butler a close loss. Kudos to Brad Stevens for making it this far - he's going to be a rich man in the future.
Also, whoever wins this game I'm rooting for hard. The messed up tournament has made my brackets alive again (ZOMBIES) with two final four teams (WVU and Duke). As long as WVU or Duke, loses in the finals I'll cash. I will definitely hedge this bet online.
March 29th, 2010 at 10:42 PM ^
Butler can definitely win this game and the whole tournament. They play phenomenal defense and if they shut down Summer from the outside the Bulldogs should win. With their defense, I see it happening. Inside Howard needs to stay out of foul trouble and they should be fine. It is gonna be a fun game to watch.
Go Bulldogs!
March 29th, 2010 at 10:49 PM ^
I went to school at Butler for 2 years before wising up and transferring to Michigan; used to run laps around Hinkle for track practice when it was too snowy to put in a legit distance run and we'd usually blow it off and play a bit of hoops. The girls there don't put out as much as at Michigan State (my gf wouldn't have sex because pregnancy would ruin her career as a ballerina, which kind of defeated the purpose of dating a professional ballerina*), but the rims are indeed 10 feet high, just like at Michigan State and everywhere else.
Hardly a Cinderella, they have been a consistent sweet-sixteen level team for a decade.
*She was a nice dancer, but I wasn't interested in nice (or dancing), just breasts, and therefore she was no good to me. And so I was finished with her. She cried, and I hated her for it, because she made me feel bad. I started dating a girl who everybody said would put out, and she went with this asshole Chris Thompson who told me that he had sex with her after something like three dates. How had she gone from a girl who wouldn't do anything to a girl who would do everything?
March 29th, 2010 at 11:39 PM ^
WTF?
March 30th, 2010 at 12:13 AM ^
Down with Sparty!!!
I like that one dude on their team who has the Larry Bird mustache....he looks like he can't play at all but he's pretty solid. Looks like he's wearing Pony shoes too.
March 30th, 2010 at 10:08 AM ^
As a fellow Valpo alum, I gotta wonder why you would support Valpo's arch rival? I fucking hate Butler due to their arrogant fans and fact that they host the conference tournament every year. Not that I will root for Sparty in any sense but I'd fully support both of them somehow losing.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:57 PM ^
Uh, they host the conference tournament basically every year because they win the conference regular season title basically every year. It isn't like the league gives them an advantage, you earn hosting rights on the court.
I, like yourself, am not a fan of Butler. As you said, the fans are arrogant and whenever I have seen them play Valpo they play dirty. However, I feel the Horizon League is sometimes considered a joke because it is not the Big Ten, or any other power conference you would like to name. There is some good competition in Horizon play. Also, Valpo had several good moments when playing Butler. I like to think that if Butler can do it, maybe a final game of Michigan and Valpo isn't out of the realm of possibility.
Honestly, the better Butler does right now, the better Valpo can do recruiting. It just makes the conference look better.
March 30th, 2010 at 10:21 AM ^
If Duke and Butler make the final I win $1,000. I would root for them anyway and I think they are the better team. It's not like they are a 10 or higher seed, they are a 5 seed just like MSU. I wish Izzo would consider the Oregon job because no way does that piece of shit fan base deserve him.
Butler, In Final Four, with the Lead Pipe. Here is how I want to find a dead Tom Izzo in my next game of Clue.