BUTLER 79, #14 LOUISVILLE 71

FG FT Reb BUTLER Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS Monserez 38 4-8 2-2 1-4 9 1 14 Curry 8 2-5 0-0 1-1 0 0 5 Cornette 40 7-12 0-1 3-10 3 2 14 Miller 35 0-4 3-5 0-3 6 3 3 Archey 35 8-12 2-2 1-3 2 1 26 Lightfoot Jr. 32 5-9 4-9 2-3 0 3 14 Sheets 12 1-2 0-0 1-1 1 1 3 Totals 200 27-52 11-19 9-25 21 11 79 Percentages: FG .519, FT .579. 3-Point Goals: 14-22, .636 (Archey 8-9, Monserez 4-7, Sheets 1-2, Curry 1-3, Miller 0-1). Team Rebounds: 3. Team Turnovers: 12 (17 PTS). Blocked Shots: 2 (Cornette, Lightfoot Jr.). Turnovers: 12 (Cornette 4, Miller 4, Sheets 2, Lightfoot Jr., Monserez). Steals: 6 (Monserez 3, Lightfoot Jr. 2, Cornette). Technical Fouls: Monserez. FG FT Reb LOUISVILLE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS Whitehead 36 6-8 2-2 2-6 1 1 14 Brown 24 3-6 0-0 0-3 2 1 8 Stone 23 1-4 0-0 1-4 1 1 2 Dean 18 1-5 0-0 0-2 1 3 3 Gaines 36 10-15 0-0 1-4 6 2 26 Dartez 14 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 2 0 Northern 7 0-2 0-0 1-1 1 3 0 Mohammed 9 0-1 0-0 1-2 0 2 0 Garcia 24 6-12 2-2 1-1 1 5 16 George 9 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 2 Totals 200 28-54 4-4 7-25 13 21 71 Percentages: FG .519, FT 1.000. 3-Point Goals: 11-25, .440 (Gaines 6-10, Brown 2-5, Garcia 2-6, Dean 1-3, Mohammed 0-1). Team Rebounds: 2. Team Turnovers: 14 (19 PTS). Blocked Shots: 2 (Dartez, George). Turnovers: 14 (Gaines 7, Garcia 3, Dean, George, Mohammed, Stone). Steals: 8 (Gaines 3, Brown 2, Mohammed 2, Garcia). Technical Fouls: None. Butler 34 45-79 Louisville 33 38-71 A-NA. Officials-David Libbey, Mark Whitehead, John Higgins.

DAVE'S POSTGAME ANALYSIS
Darnell Archey drained a career-high eight three-pointers to lead the Butler Bulldogs past the Louisville Cardinals, 79-71, and into the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament. Unlike Friday's game against Mississippi State, where the Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead, Butler found themselves playing catch-up for most of the first half. After Lewis Curry's jumper made it 2-0 Bulldogs, the Cardinals reeled off eight straight points. They pushed that lead out to 15 at 24-9, using a mixture of three-point shooting and drives to the basket. It was 26-12 when the Bulldogs switched to a zone defense, and much like it did Friday night, it held the opponent in check. The Bulldogs went on a 12-0 run to pull within two at 26-24, and eventually took their first lead since 2-0 at 34-33 on a Joel Cornette basket with a little under a minute to go in the half. That would be the score as the teams went into their locker rooms at halftime.
After trading baskets for the first four minutes of the second half (all but one coming from behind the three-point line), the score stood at 42-39 Bulldogs. Archey nailed a pair of three's and Duane Lightfoot, Jr. made a layup to push it out to 50-39. That's when the Reece Gaines show began. Gaines would score 19 of Louisville's final 32 points, including five three-pointers, to bring the Cardinals back in the game and keep them within striking distance. But Archey would hit all four of the three-pointers he took from that point, the last of which made it 73-69 Butler. Francisco Garcia made a layup with just over a minute left to pull within two, but Brandon Miller dribbled through full-court pressure, drove the lane, and fed Lightfoot for a layup and a chance at a conventional three-point play. Lightfoot's free throw bounced away, but Gaines missed a three-pointer at the other end and Louisville was forced to foul. Unfortunately for Cardinal fans, they fouled Archey, and the 97% free throw shooter calmly sank both attempts to make it 77-71. After a Cardinal turnover, Mike Monserez iced the game with a pair of free throws, and the Bulldogs were headed to the Sweet Sixteen in Albany with a 79-71 victory.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Archey. DA was an amazing 8-of-9 from three-point range to finish with 26 points, matching his career high.
Cornette finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Monserez nearly did as well, adding 14 points and nine assists to go along with four rebounds and three steals. Lightfoot also finished with 14 points. Curry had five points, and Miller and Avery Sheets finished with three points apiece. Miller also dished out six assists. Louisville was led by Gaines' 26 points and six assists.
It says a lot about Butler's team when you compare how they won each game in Birmingham. Friday night, they scored a season-low 47 points in a hard-fought, grind-it-out win over Mississippi. Tonight, they scored 79 points (two shy of their season high) and hit 14-of-22 three-pointers (64%). Neither game was necessarily a significant departure from Butler's style of play, merely a testament to the Bulldogs' ability to adapt their game plan to fit the opposition. And the coaches and players are to be commended for how well they were prepared for each game. The elation of being part of the crowd this weekend is something I won't soon forget. And the best part is, there's more basketball to be played.

The Bulldogs will now travel to Albany, NY, to face the #1 seed in the East Region, the Oklahoma Sooners. Game time is Friday, March 28, at 7:10 p.m. EST. Hope to see you there.

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