March 26, 2003
SWEET FEAT:
Butler (27-5) has advanced to the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship for the first time since 1962. The #12-seeded Bulldogs emerged as the tournament's true "bracket-buster" with upsets of #5-seed Mississippi State, 47-46, and #4-seed Louisville, 79-71, in the First and Second Rounds of the East Regional in Birmingham, Ala. Butler's reward is a date with #1-seed Oklahoma at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, New York, on Friday, March 28. Also on hand in New York will be #3 Syracuse and #10 Auburn. Butler and Oklahoma will play in the first regional semifinal at 7:10 p.m. (EST), to be followed by the Syracuse-Auburn match. Butler made it's last trip to the "Sweet 16" in 1962, when there were just 25 teams in the tournament. The Bulldogs won a first round game with Bowling Green to advance to the round of 16 that year.
Butler has posted back-to-back NCAA Tournament wins for the first time in school history.
LUCKY SEVEN:
Butler's bid to the 2003 NCAA Tournament moved the Bulldogs into post-season play for the seventh consecutive year. The Bulldogs played in the NCAA Tournament in 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001, and in the National Invitation Tournament in 1999 and 2002. Butler has a league record seven straight 20-win seasons!
RECORD RUN:
Butler's victories over Mississippi State and Louisville gave the Bulldogs a school-record 27 wins. In the past three years, the Bulldogs have posted the top three single season win totals in school history!
Butler posted 20 regular season wins for the second consecutive year and for the second time in school history.
DOUBLE UPSET:
Butler's upsets of #20 Mississippi State and #14 Louisville were the Bulldogs' first-ever back-to-back wins over teams ranked in the "Top 25." The last Butler win over a "Top 25" team came at #21 Ball State, 75-66, on Dec. 19, 2001. The Bulldogs are 3-1 against "Top 25" teams in two seasons under head coach Todd Lickliter.
LEAGUE LEADER:
Butler leads the current Horizon League membership with nine regular season and league tournament championships. Loyola and Detroit each boast four league regular season and tournament titles.
Butler is the first team in the history of the Horizon League to capture four consecutive regular season championships.
ARCH MADNESS:
Senior Darnell Archey, best known for his free throw shooting, turned to his other strength - three-point field goal shooting - to lead Butler to the 79-71 upset of Louisville in the second round in Birmingham. Archey, who is Butler's all-time leader in three-point field goals, hit a career-best eight of nine three-pointers against the Cardinals and matched his career scoring high with 26 points. The 6-1 guard scored 20 points in the final 20 minutes, including six of six from beyond the three-point arc.
DOUBLE TIME:
Senior center Joel Cornette turned in his third double-double of the season with 14 points and a team-high 10 rebounds against Louisville. Cornette hit seven of 12 shots against the Cardinals. The 6-9 Butler center has nine double-doubles for his collegiate career.
THE SLIPPER FITS:
Late in the second half, center Joel Cornette leaped over the Butler bench in an attempt to save the basketball from going out of bounds. He landed squarely on the cart holding two water coolers, sending water splashing everywhere. One of the coolers spilled directly on Cornette's shoes. Senior Rob Walls quickly pulled off his own shoes and gave them to Cornette, who finished the game in his teammate's sneakers!
LONG DISTANCE OPERATORS:
The Bulldogs matched their season-high with 14 three-point field goals against Louisville and shot a season-best .636 from beyond the three-point arc. Butler hit five of nine (.556) three-pointers in the first half and nine of 13 (.692) in the final 20 minutes. Four different players contributed to the barrage, led by Darnell Archey with eight threes and junior Mike Monserez with four.
GAME WINNER:
Butler senior point-guard Brandon Miller hit a runner in the lane with 0:06.2 left on the clock to lift the Bulldogs to a 47-46 upset of #20-ranked Mississippi State in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship on Friday (March 21). The clutch shot was Miller's only basket in the final 19 minutes of the game! The Butler victory continued an amazing run that has seen a No. 12 seeded team defeat a No. 5 seeded squad in nine of the last 10 NCAA Tournaments.
HEALTHY EFFORT:
Senior Brandon Miller, who was slowed by the flu during the Horizon League Tournament, stated that he was feeling much better when the Bulldogs arrived in Birmingham. His effort against Mississippi State gave every indication that his recovery is progressing. Miller led the Bulldogs with 14 points, and he posted four of Butler's five assists, while playing nearly 37 minutes. Miller had scored a season-low four points in the Horizon League Tournament title game.
OPEN END:
Top-seeded Butler fell behind 14-0 in the championship game of the Horizon League Tournament, and the Bulldogs never recovered, while falling to host UW-Milwaukee, 69-52. The second-seeded Panthers, playing in front of the largest home crowd in school history, scored 14 points in the first four minutes of the game and stretched that margin to 21-4 after seven minutes. Butler never got closer than 12 points for the rest of the game.
Butler reached the Horizon League Tournament championship game for the sixth time in seven years.
STRONG SHOULDERS:
With the Bulldogs struggling against Detroit in the league tournament semifinals, senior center Joel Cornette stepped up with his second-highest scoring performance of the season. The 6-9 post player hit all eight shots that he attempted against the Titans and finished with a team-high 19 points. He scored 11 of Butler's 19 first-half points, and he had a key rebound basket in the final minute to help secure the Bulldogs' lead. Cornette added eight rebounds, three assists and a steal in the 58-55 win.
Joel Cornette has led the Bulldogs in scoring in six of the past 12 games.
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS:
Junior Mike Monserez grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds in Butler's semifinal win over Detroit. The 6-6 forward had three offensive rebounds and eight defensive boards to lead all players in the game. It was the second double-figure rebounding performance of his Butler career. The Bulldogs out-rebounded Detroit, 31-28, as a team.
LIMITED ACTION:
Butler scoring leader Brandon Miller, battling the flu, played just 27 minutes against Detroit. It was the fewest minutes he's played in a Division I game this season. Miller was scoreless in 11 minutes in the first half, but he recovered with 12 points in 16 minutes in the final period. Miller put the Bulldogs in front for good at 30-29 with a three-point field goal with 16:32 left in the game. He hit two three-pointers in the second half.
CHARITABLE WORK:
The Bulldogs hit 15 of 19 (.789) attempts from the free throw line against Detroit. It was Butler's best free throw shooting performance since a 13 of 15 (.867) effort against Detroit last month. Brandon Miller led the Bulldogs with four of four from the charity stripe, while senior Darnell Archey was perfect on two attempts.
Darnell Archey has hit 25 straight free throws.
TITLE TRAIL:
A loss at Loyola on Feb. 13, dropped Butler from first place in the Horizon League standings for the first time since Jan. 9, and left the Bulldogs chasing UW-Milwaukee for the final two weeks of the league race. Butler caught and passed the Panthers by winning six consecutive games, including three on the road. The Bulldogs won five games in 10 days to end the regular season.
CLASSIC FINISH:
Butler's showdown with UW-Milwaukee lived up to and surpassed its advanced billing. The two league heavyweights slugged it out for 40 minutes and the outcome wasn't decided until the final shot. Freshman Avery Sheets electrified a capacity crowd and provided the decisive blow with a three-point field goal at the buzzer to give Butler a 76-74 victory. The Panthers had taken only their second lead of the second half, 74-73, on a pair of free throws by Justin Lettenberger with 0:04.2 left on the clock. Sheets then took the in-bounds pass against UW-Milwaukee's pressing defense, dribbled past two defenders to the three-point arc at the opposite end of the floor and delivered the game-winner as time expired. The first-year guard was immediately lost in the swarm of fans who raced onto the court, only to appear moments later above the crowd on the shoulders of his teammates.
PERFECT DOZEN:
The Bulldogs' win over UW-Milwaukee gave Butler a 12-0 record at home for 2002-03. It's the second time in the past four seasons that the Bulldogs finished with an unbeaten record in Hinkle Fieldhouse.
SENIOR SALUTE:
The Butler-UW-Milwaukee game was the final home appearance for the Bulldogs' six seniors - Darnell Archey, Joel Cornette, Lewis Curry, Brandon Miller, Mike Moore and Rob Walls. Archey, Cornette, Curry and Moore have each played four seasons, and they will finish as Butler's all-time winningest class with 100 wins over four years. Miller and Walls have played three seasons and have contributed to a better than 80% winning percentage! Butler's seniors have played for three different coaches and have recorded the top three season win totals in school history. They've contributed to four regular season conference championships, two league tournament titles, four post-season tournament bids and a 49-3 home record.
Butler is 100-27 (.787) over the past four seasons.
BALANCED ATTACK:
Senior Darnell Archey led five Bulldogs in double-figures with 15 points in Butler's final regular season game. The 6-1 guard hit five three-point field goals against UW-Milwaukee, including four in the second half. Center Joel Cornette added 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while junior Duane Lightfoot came off the bench with 12 points. Senior Brandon Miller and junior Mike Monserez each added 10 points to the Butler attack.
Seven different players have led Butler in scoring in a game this season.
MR. BIG SHOT:
Freshman Avery Sheets wasn't the first option on Butler's game-winning play against UW-Milwaukee, but he wasn't a bad second choice. The 6-0 point-guard has been fearless in his first season with the Bulldogs. He came off the bench against Western Kentucky in the Rainbow Classic and hit four three-point field goals to help the Bulldogs to a 63-60 win. He scored six clutch points in the second overtime period to lead Butler to a double-overtime win over Loyola, and he hit four three-point field goals in Butler's three-point win at Detroit. Sheets came off the bench with 14 points to help Butler to a double-overtime victory over Cleveland State, 79-75.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE:
Butler's title showdown with UW-Milwaukee drew a capacity crowd of 11,043. It was the first official "sellout" at Butler since November 27, 1993, when the Bulldogs hosted nationally-ranked Indiana. Butler averaged nearly 6,000 fans for 12 home contests and finished with the second-highest single season attendance in school history. The 70,951 total for the season trailed only last year's school-record attendance of 75,500 (for 12 games).
Butler led the Horizon League in home attendance for the second straight year.
FINISHING TOUCH:
Senior Joel Cornette is putting a strong finish on his already stellar career. The 6-9 center has averaged 15.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists over Butler's ten games prior to the NCAA Tournament. He had 31 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and three steals in Butler's two Horizon League Tournament games. The senior leader has posted 10 double-figure scoring performances in Butler's last 12 games.
MILLER TIME:
With Butler facing a "must-win" situation to keep pace with UW-Milwaukee in the final week of the season, senior Brandon Miller stepped up with three consecutive double-figure scoring performances. The 6-0 point guard led the Bulldogs in scoring with 23 points, including the game-winner in the second overtime period in a double-overtime victory at Cleveland State. He topped Butler with 14 points in a win at home over UW-Green Bay and then finished the week with 10 points and four assists in the title win over UW-Milwaukee.
RELIEF ACE:
Junior Duane Lightfoot came off the bench with seven consecutive double-figure scoring performances to end the regular season. Lightfoot hit nine of 10 shots and finished with 18 points at Youngstown State and then posted 14 points on seven of 10 shooting at Cleveland State. He hit five of eight shots and scored 10 points against UW-Green Bay, before finishing the regular season with 12 points on six of eight shooting against UW-Milwaukee.
Duane Lightfoot ranked third in the NCAA in individual field goal shooting prior to the tournament.
DIALING LONG DISTANCE:
The Bulldogs nailed 11 three-point field goals in their title-clinching victory over UW-Milwaukee, including seven in the second half. Butler has hit 10 or more three-pointers in 13 games this season.
Butler ranked 23rd in the NCAA in 3-point field goal shooting and 19th in 3-point field goals made entering the NCAA Tournament.
GRAND PERFORMERS:
Senior Joel Cornette became the 28th player to join Butler's 1,000-point club with his first basket in the second half at Cleveland State. He ranks 26th on the Bulldog's all-time scoring list with 1,081 points for his Butler career. Senior Brandon Miller joined the 1,000-point club earlier in February. The Butler point-guard stands 24th on the Bulldogs' all-time scoring list with 1,114 career points. He's only the eighth player in Butler history to score 1,000 points in just three seasons. Senior Darnell Archey has tallied 977 career points.
GOOD HANDS PEOPLE:
Butler ranks second in the NCAA Division I in fewest turnovers per game (10.2).
GUARD 'DOGS: The Bulldogs lead the Horizon League in team scoring defense with a yield of 60.0 points per game. Butler has led the Horizon League in scoring defense for four straight years.
Butler ranked 13th in Division I in team scoring defense prior to the NCAA Tournament.
FAMILIAR FIVE:
For the third consecutive season, Butler has gone through its schedule without changing its starting lineup! Seniors Brandon Miller, Darnell Archey, Joel Cornette and Lewis Curry and junior Mike Monserez started all 32 games for the Bulldogs this year. Miller and Cornette also started every game in the previous two seasons.
ALL-LEAGUE:
Butler seniors Brandon Miller and Joel Cornette were named second team on the 2003 All-Horizon League Team, chosen by league coaches, sports information directors and media. The two also were picked to the five-player league All-Defensive Team. Cornette became only the second player in league history to be named to the All-Defensive Team for three consecutive years.
SMART PICK:
Butler senior Brandon Miller was named to the Verizon/CoSIDA Academic All-District V Team for the second consecutive year. Miller is a secondary education major.
BULLDOG BITS:
- Butler ranks among the NCAA Division I leaders in winning percentage with a 27-5 (.844) mark. Only three teams remaining in the tournament boast a better record (Kentucky 31-2, Arizona 27-3, and Pittsburgh 28-4).
- The Bulldogs have won more conference games over the past five seasons than any other Horizon League team. Butler is 61-14 in league play since the start of the 1999 conference campaign. The Bulldogs have finished among the top three teams in the league race in each of the last eight seasons and own five league titles during that span.
- Butler is the first team in league history to record 10 conference wins in five consecutive seasons.
- Head coach Todd Lickliter has tied Butler Hall of Fame coach Paul D. "Tony" Hinkle for most post-season wins by a Butler coach. Both mentors guided the Bulldogs to three post-season wins.
- Todd Lickliter already stands sixth on Butler's all-time list for coaching wins (52). He's second in 20-win seasons (2).
- Senior Darnell Archey became Butler's all-time leader in three-point field goals with his first three-pointer at Duke. He's added 34 three-point field goals since then, and his Butler career record currently stands at 216.
- Darnell Archey has hit 135 of his last 138 (.978) free throws. Archey has only missed eight free throws during his collegiate career!
- Senior Brandon Miller hit a pair of 3-point field goals against Mississippi State, boosting his career total for 3-point goals to 189. He ranks second behind teammate Darnell Archey on Butler's all-time list for three-point field goals.
- Seniors Brandon Miller and Joel Cornette have each started 96 consecutive games for the Bulldogs. Miller has started every game of his Butler career, while Cornette has played in all 127 games of his collegiate career, including 106 as a starter.
- Brandon Miller stands fifth on Butler's all-time assist chart with 303 career assists.
- Darnell Archey is tied for third in the Horizon League in three-point field goal shooting (.433), while teammate Brandon Miller ranks fifth (.422).
- Brandon Miller ranks third in the Horizon League in free throw shooting (.811). Darnell Archey (.972) and Mike Monserez (.807) have not made enough free throws to be ranked.
- Darnell Archey leads the Bulldogs and ranks 2nd in the Horizon League in 3-point field goals (77). He's 4th on Butler's single season chart for 3-pointers.
- Butler is 53-10 all-time when Brandon Miller scores in double figures. The Bulldogs are 36-7 when Darnell Archey reaches twin-digits.
- Senior Joel Cornette recorded his 600th career rebound with his second rebound at Duke. He's moved into 7th place on Butler's all-time rebound list with 704 career rebounds. He's 15 rebounds shy of Jon Neuhouser (1994-98) in the No. 6 spot.
- Butler boasts two of the top four field goals shooters in the Horizon League. Junior Duane Lightfoot leads the conference with a .657 mark, while senior Joel Cornette is fourth at .548.
- Duane Lightfoot currently has the best single season field goal percentage in Butler history. Butler's single season record is .654, set by Greg Jones in 1982-83.
- Butler's five losses this season have come on the road to teams that are a combined 53-3 at home.
- Butler has not lost consecutive games in the past 90 games.
- Butler ran its current homecourt winning streak to 18 straight games with the victory over UW-Milwaukee in the final regular season game.
- Junior center Ben Grunst has taken a leave of absence from the team. His status with the Bulldogs will be evaluated after the season.
FIRST AND SECOND ROUND NOTES:
- Junior Mike Monserez had a career-high nine assists and just one turnover in Butler's upset of Louisville. The nine assists were the most by a Butler player this year, breaking the previous mark of eight set by Monserez against Ball State.
- Mike Monserez made his first two three-point field goal attempts against Louisville and was four for seven for the game from beyond the three-point arc. Monserez had hit just 10 of 36 three-point attempts in the 10 games prior to the NCAA Tournament.
- The 26 points scored by Darnell Archey against Louisville were the most by a Butler player this season.
- The eight three-point field goals by Darnell Archey against Louisville tied the third-highest total by a player in an East Region game.
- Reserve forward Duane Lightfoot was the only Butler player to score in double-figures in both of Butler's tournament games. Lightfoot came off the bench with 13 points against Mississippi State and then posted 14 points in a reserve stint against Louisville.
- Butler's 47 points against Mississippi State were the fewest scored by the Bulldogs this season.
- The Bulldogs held Louisville scoreless for a stretch of 4:44 in the first half and went on a 12-0 run to help overcome a 24-9 deficit. Butler eventually took a 34-33 lead at halftime.
NCAA NOTEBOOK:
- Five members of Butler's current squad played in Butler's NIT game in Syracuse, N.Y., last year. Senior Brandon Miller led the Bulldogs with 15 points, while senior Joel Cornette posted six points and three rebounds. Junior Mike Monserez came off the bench with nine points, while senior Darnell Archey had six points in a reserve role. Senior Mike Moore also played in the game.
- Assistant coach Mike Marshall and director of basketball operations Matthew Graves were players on the 1997-98 Butler team which played Oklahoma in Hawaii. Marshall came off the bench with five points, while Graves played in the game, but didn't score.
- Todd Lickliter is the third coach to lead the Bulldogs to a win in the NCAA Tournament. Paul D. "Tony" Hinkle guided Butler to a pair of tournament wins in 1962, and Thad Matta led the Bulldogs to a tournament victory in 2001.
- Freshman Avery Sheets is one of six members of the 2002 Indiana All-Star team playing in this year's NCAA Tournament. Other members of that all-star team in this year's tournament are Matt Kiefer of Purdue, Rodney Carney of Memphis, Dedrick Finn of Xavier, Anthony Winchester of Western Kentucky and Blake Shoen of Southern Illinois.
NCAA NOTEBOOK
- Senior Joel Cornette will be scoreboard watching when the Bulldogs aren't playing. His brother, Jordan, is playing in the NCAA Tournament with Notre Dame. Joel's parents, Joel Sr. and Christi, watched Jordan play in Indianapolis on Thursday, March 20, and then drove to Birmingham, Ala., to watch Joel play on Friday, March 21. They drove back to Indianapolis for Notre Dame's game on Saturday, March 22, and then returned to Birmingham to see the Bulldogs win on Sunday, March 23!
- Butler scoring leader Brandon Miller was slowed by the flu during the Horizon League Tournament. He was scoreless in the first half of Butler's semifinal game against Detroit, and he matched his season-low of four points in the championship game.
- Miller has had five different coaches in college (Steve Alford and Barry Hinson at Southwest Missouri State; Barry Collier, Thad Matta and Todd Lickliter at Butler). He also had three different head coaches in high school. Perhaps that experience has influenced his post-basketball ambition - to be a college basketball coach!
- Senior Darnell Archey owns the best single season free throw percentage in Butler basketball history with his current .970 mark. He's also ahead of the NCAA Division I single season record of .959, set by Craig Collins of Penn State in 1985. But Archey won't set a new national record - he hasn't made enough free throws to qualify for the national rankings.
- Archey was the third Butler player to enter the national record books when he compiled his NCAA Division I record streak of 85 consecutive free throws made. Butler's Darrin Fitzgerald set several Division I records for three-point field goal shooting in 1986-87, and the Bulldogs' Mike Pflugner set a national standard in 1996 by fouling out of a game in 1:38!
- Junior Duane Lightfoot, who ranks among the national leaders in field goal shooting, did not score a field goal last year! He was 0-8 from the field in 14 games.
- Head coach Todd Lickliter has already guided the Bulldogs to three of Butler's "Top Ten" winning streaks - 13 straight wins (2001-02), 10 consecutive wins (2002-03) and 8 straight wins (2001-02).
