BUTLER

[setshot]

Hell of a game. Butler beating IU,Wow! I'm sure glad we don't play the dogs this year as IMO they'd eat us alive . Better coached and superior players. Next year?

[KL31NY]

That was such a thrilling game. Don't necessarily like seeing Butler win, but if it means No. 1 Indiana losing, I'm all for it!

[wh]

Congratulations to the Butler players and coaches.  That was an amazing performance!

[crusaderjoe]

Butler may have just solidified their place as the only non Catholic school in the new Catholic conference.  One hell of a job by those guys this afternoon.

[justducky]

Just shows how you can take a good team that brings most everbody back then fill in a missing piece or two (Clarke and the freshman) and with great and I mean great coaching turn them from pumkins into princesses. For decades I was a hard core Hoosier follower and could have cared less about Butler, but today there wasn't an instant where I was hoping for an IU run. Great game-great job

[zvillehaze]

I appreciate the kind comments, especially from wh.    But can someone please move this to the "Sports Talk" section before historyman shows up?  Thank you.

[VULB#62]

Yeah, but who else have they beaten?

Oh, that's right, Marquette, North Carolina and Northwestern so far -- plus Indiana. 

Gotta admit that they are worthy of the hype they get.

Crusaderjoe:  Re: "God's Conference" undergrad enrollments (with Butler included):

Butler          4034
Providence   4769
Seton Hall    5200
Villanova      6293
Marquette     8293
St. Johns     15,720
Georgetown  17,130
DePaul        25, 398

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Butler in "God's Conference"??

Oh well, even the Garden of Eden had a snake...

[atkins]

I think Stevens could teach Bryce a few things about coaching.  Hopefully, in a few years, Valpo will be able to win big games like Stevens' teams do.  Somehow, Butler beats teams that would destroy us by at least 30.  I hate to say it, but I think if Valpo played IU, the mercy rule would have to intervene. 

[historyman]

I appreciate the kind comments, especially from wh.    But can someone please move this to the "Sports Talk" section before historyman shows up?  Thank you.

[milanmiracle]

Just shows how you can take a good team that brings most everbody back then fill in a missing piece or two (Clarke and the freshman) and with great and I mean great coaching turn them from pumkins into princesses. For decades I was a hard core Hoosier follower and could have cared less about Butler, but today there wasn't an instant where I was hoping for an IU run. Great game-great job

Hey, we agree on something...man what a great game to watch! I also agree with your coaching assessment. Let's not forget they kicked off their projected starting point guard right before the season began. Scary when you think about how good Brad Stevens really is...

[usc4valpo]

Wow, these guys continue to shock the college hoops world.  Love them or hate them, they get it done.  On a national perspective, Brad Stevens does not get the credit he deserves.  He has to be rated the best coach in America based on what he has done with the resources he has had.  They do not have the cash and talent that Indiana and Duke and Kentucky have.

[valpo64]

Stevens a much better coach than Bryce?  Well I hope so, how long have they each been coaching?  A most unfair comparison to say the least.

[EddieCabot]

Stevens a much better coach than Bryce?  Well I hope so, how long have they each been coaching?  A most unfair comparison to say the least.

Good point.  Despite being two years older than Stevens, Bryce entered coaching 5 years after Stevens did due to his NBA career.  He's also just in his 2nd season as a head coach, while Stevens is in his 6th.  It would be much fairer to compare what Bryce did last year and is doing this year to what Stevens accomplished his first two seasons.  Remember, Stevens didn't get Butler to the National Championship game until his third and fourth seasons.

[bbtds]

Stevens a much better coach than Bryce?  Well I hope so, how long have they each been coaching?  A most unfair comparison to say the least.

Good point.  Despite being two years older than Stevens, Bryce entered coaching 5 years after Stevens did due to his NBA career.  He's also just in his 2nd season as a head coach, while Stevens is in his 6th.  It would be much fairer to compare what Bryce did last year and is doing this year to what Stevens accomplished his first two seasons.  Remember, Stevens didn't get Butler to the National Championship game until his third and fourth seasons.

So you believe that once Bryce gets his 5 years more coaching experience then Valpo will be playing in the national championship game twice (2018 & 2019) and beating the #1 team in the country (2020)? You really believe that?

[wh]

Stevens a much better coach than Bryce?  Well I hope so, how long have they each been coaching?  A most unfair comparison to say the least.

Good point.  Despite being two years older than Stevens, Bryce entered coaching 5 years after Stevens did due to his NBA career.  He's also just in his 2nd season as a head coach, while Stevens is in his 6th.  It would be much fairer to compare what Bryce did last year and is doing this year to what Stevens accomplished his first two seasons.  Remember, Stevens didn't get Butler to the National Championship game until his third and fourth seasons.

So you believe that once Bryce gets his 5 years more coaching experience then Valpo will be playing in the national championship game twice (2018 & 2019) and beating the #1 team in the country (2020)? You really believe that?

I hope this doesn't burst anyone's bubble, but no Mid Major will ever play in the National Championship game again in our life times, including Butler.  No sense in even thinking about it.

[StlVUFan]

wh, the only way your prophesy carries any weight with me is if the NCAA tournament is hijacked by the power conference teams so that mid-majors are excluded from the tournament, as I keep hearing NBA fan columnists dream about once a year.

Unless I'm failing to read the tea leaves of this new Catholic conference and all the other crap that's happening at the top of the pyramid, I will continue to believe that a mid-major making it to the national championship game will continue to be just as probable as it always has been: scant, yes; nil, no.

[HC]

http://cbbpps.wordpress.com/2012/12/16/indiana-vs-butler-1-falls/

[LaPorteAveApostle]

I think Stevens could teach Bryce a few things about coaching.

Gosh, I hope that Bryce was paying attention the first three times they crossed paths, then.

[wh]

I think Stevens could teach Bryce a few things about coaching.

Gosh, I hope that Bryce was paying attention the first three times they crossed paths, then.

Surgical precision...

[valpo95]

I think Stevens could teach Bryce a few things about coaching.

Gosh, I hope that Bryce was paying attention the first three times they crossed paths, then.

Surgical precision...

Ouch, that is certain to leave a mark.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

...a three-and-oh mark

[setshot]

BUTLER is now ranked 19/25 in the two major polls and #25 by Sagarin. Valpo? Sagarin has us ranked #111. We don't deserve to be ranked this highly!

[milanmiracle]

Stevens a much better coach than Bryce?  Well I hope so, how long have they each been coaching?  A most unfair comparison to say the least.

Good point.  Despite being two years older than Stevens, Bryce entered coaching 5 years after Stevens did due to his NBA career.  He's also just in his 2nd season as a head coach, while Stevens is in his 6th.  It would be much fairer to compare what Bryce did last year and is doing this year to what Stevens accomplished his first two seasons.  Remember, Stevens didn't get Butler to the National Championship game until his third and fourth seasons.

So you believe that once Bryce gets his 5 years more coaching experience then Valpo will be playing in the national championship game twice (2018 & 2019) and beating the #1 team in the country (2020)? You really believe that?

I hope this doesn't burst anyone's bubble, but no Mid Major will ever play in the National Championship game again in our life times, including Butler.  No sense in even thinking about it.

A whole lot of that statement will revolve around the status of the NCAA tournament. With conference realignment, there might not be an NCAA tournament anymore. I know it sound crazy now, but if the BCS schools have all the money and all the influence, why do they need the NCAA? If things mostly stay the same, it's very likely a Mid Major will not only get to the National Championship game, but somebody's going to win the whole thing! I'll take that bet. Butler, George Mason, VCU, the list keeps growing. You keep letting them knock on the door, eventually somebody's going to come in.

[StlVUFan]

BUTLER is now ranked 19/25 in the two major polls and #25 by Sagarin. Valpo? Sagarin has us ranked #111. We don't deserve to be ranked this highly!

Sagarin is a mathematical formula, not a poll.  We deserved to be "ranked" exactly there because that's what the formula says.