Shelvin Mack wasn't daunted by playing on college basketball's biggest stage.
Butler and coach Brad Stevens had just shaken loose from Virginia Commonwealth, 70-62, Saturday night and booked a spot in the national championship for a second straight season. But even as stars Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack tried to keep their emotions under wraps explaining how the Bulldogs had accomplished something no mid-major school had done since UNLV's high-flying Runnin' Rebels in 1990-91, Stevens sat off to one side, already scribbling notes for the next game.
A look at Saturday's games at the Final Four:
Of course Butler erased a late deficit. Of course the Bulldogs hit a clutch 3-pointer late in overtime. Of course they're going back to the Final Four.
Shelvin Mack scored 27 points, including five in overtime, and Butler returned to the Final Four with a 74-71 victory over Florida on Saturday.
For the second straight year, the NCAA tournament had a wild first weekend filled with upsets, buzzer beaters and virtuoso performances by star players.
Matt Howard stood at the free-throw line Saturday with 0.8 seconds left and a whole nation waiting to see if Butler could eliminate another No. 1 seed.
At age 34, Brad Stevens has already coached in a national championship game, won four straight regular-season league titles, beaten Bob Knight and reached the NCAA tournament's regional round in back-to-back years.
The little team that could just might outdo itself this season.
