Wright State stuns Butler for NCAA bid

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Wright State stuns Butler for NCAA bid
Associated Press


FAIRBORN, Ohio (AP) - DaShaun Wood was shocked when new Wright State coach Brad Brownell stood before his team for the first time and said the Raiders were going to the NCAA tournament.

Eleven months later, Wood helped make that wild prediction come true.

Wood scored 27 points and Will Graham hit four free throws in the last 12 seconds to lead the Raiders past No. 19 Butler 60-55 Tuesday night for the Horizon League postseason title and its second trip to the NCAA tournament.

"Coach came in from day one and said we could make it," Wood said while receiving high-fives and hugs on the crowded floor after the game. "All I know is we did make it. And nobody else thought it could be done."

Butler still looks like a solid bet to receive an at-large bid to its seventh trip to the NCAA tournament.

The Bulldogs have lost six of their last seven games at Wright State's Nutter Center - ending a five-game skid with Saturday night's 67-66 overtime win over Loyola of Chicago.

"This was not neutral," Butler coach Todd Lickliter said. "Our guys maintained their poise for most of the time, but you have to do it all the time to win."

Wood helped turn the tide after Butler (27-6) had scrambled back from an eight-point deficit to take the lead in the final minutes.

With the score tied at 52-52 and 1:25 left, Butler's A.J. Graves drove to the basket but Wood blocked the shot from behind. Then at the other end, Wood curled off a pick and hit a 3-pointer from the right wing with 1:06 left for a 55-52 lead for Wright State (23-9).

"It's all so hard to believe," Wood said. "We fought for 40 minutes. We knew we would have to do that to win."

Brandon Crone, who led the Bulldogs with 18 points, scored inside off the inbounds pass to cut the lead to a point as hundreds of Wright State students crammed around the floor in expectation of a celebration.

The teams each hit a foul shot, before Graham was fouled with 11.6 seconds left. A 66-percent free-throw shooter, he made them both for a 58-55 lead.

"DaShaun came up to me before the first set and said, 'Hey, you've got two shots. You only have to make one.' He was trying to loosen me up. That took some of the weight off my shoulders," Graham said.

Graves, who had 12 points, then rushed the ball up the court but missed a 3-pointer while trying to draw a foul with 4.5 seconds left.

"I was just trying to push the ball up and see what the best shot was that we could get," he said. "I knew we needed a 3 and I knew we didn't have any timeouts left."

Graham again was fouled with 1.3 seconds left and poured in two more to clinch the win, touching off a wild rush to the floor by the students.

The Raiders got off to an abysmal start against the team they shared the regular-season title with but ended up winning for the 11th time in their last 12 games.

Two fans dressed like the Wright Brothers - Fairborn is a suburb of Dayton, where the Wrights had their bicycle shop - held up a sign that said, "Win One for Orville and Wilbur!"

Even though they were regular-season co-champs, Wright State won the top seed - and the right to host the tournament - by virtue of a tiebreaker. The teams split two earlier meetings.

"Our kids believed all along that we could win this game and that we were going to play well," said Brownell, who took North Carolina-Wilmington to the NCAAs last year for the second time in his four years as a head coach. "We just didn't know what it was going to come down to. In every huddle we told them to relax, stay calm, play the next play."

Burleson scored 15 points and Wilson had 10 for Wright State, which has won a national championship in basketball - the 1983 Division II crown.

The Raiders' only previous trip to the NCAA tournament in their 20 years in Division I came in 1993, when they were pounded 97-54 by Indiana in the first round after capturing the Mid-Continent Conference tournament title.

The next NCAA challenge is an afterthought.

"We're not worried about the NCAAs for at least another 48 hours," Brownell said. "We're going to enjoy this with our fans."

[Raiderfan]

Wright State wins Horizon tournament, gets NCAA berth
Click-2-Listen
By Staff reports

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

FAIRBORN — For the first time since 1993, the Wright State men's basketball team is going to the NCAA tournament.

This was established Tuesday night when the Raiders beat the No. 17-ranked Butler Bulldogs, 60-55, in the Horizon League championship at raucous Ervin J. Nutter Center.

The Raiders led 31-29 at halftime. They fell behind 10-0 but quickly went on a run sparked by DaShaun Wood, the Horizon League Player of the Year who scored 18 first-half points on his way to a game-high 27.

Next up for WSU is a date with a big-screen TV on Sunday as the Raiders and their fans await word from the NCAA tournament selection committee as to where they will be seeded and in what region.

They will play either next Thursday or Friday.

Last time they made it this far, the Raiders lost 97-54 to Indiana University, then the No. 1 team in the country.

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Raiders battle past Butler in thrilling final minutes
Wood has usual stellar game, Graham hits key free throws as Wright State wins Horizon League tourney final, 60-55.
By Marc Katz

Staff Writer

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

FAIRBORN — Hello, NCAA? Reservations, please. Wright State — yep Wright State — needs court time and some hotel rooms.

And could you please throw in some extra towels to wipe off the perspiration? It wasn't easy, you know.

Tuesday night 10,686 fans, mostly dressed in WSU green, watched low-scoring Will Graham sink four foul shots in the final 11.6 seconds as the Raiders beat No. 19 Butler, 60-55, to claim their first Horizon League tournament championship and secure only the second NCAA tournament invitation in 20 Division I seasons, the other coming in 1993.

Wright State is 23-9; Butler is 27-6 and will probably get an at-large NCAA bid. Bids and first-round opponents will be announced Sunday night.

As much as Graham meant at the end — while the teams schemed during six timeouts in the final 37.2 seconds — senior guard DaShaun Wood meant that much to the game and the season.

Wood, the Horizon League's Player of the Year, scored 27 points in his final game in the Nutter Center, including 18 in the first half, as the Raiders led 31-29 at the break after having trailed 10-0 after only three minutes.

It was Wood's 3-point basket with 16:30 to play that got the Raiders started, and he wasn't easily finished.

"Butler's a tough team," Wood said, surrounded by hundreds of fans who stormed the court when the game was finished and stayed while the players and coaches cut down the nets. "You've got to fight to the end.

"It's a great feeling. It's not just us, it's the coaches and fans. This may mean more to the fans. It has made them happy."

Wood not only led both teams in points, he had five assists, eight rebounds, a block and three steals. Drew Burleson added 15 points and Scottie Wilson came off the bench for 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Raiders took what looked to be a commanding 43-35 lead with about 10 minutes to go, then hit a dry spell, missing seven straight shots and a free throw as Butler closed the gap and tied the score.

Butler also took three brief leads, the last 52-50 on an A.J. Graves 3-point basket with 2:57 to play.

Burleson and Wood followed with baskets and the Raiders never trailed again.


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Tom Archdeacon: WSU has raucous, joyous night
By Tom Archdeacon

Staff Writer

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

FAIRBORN — In the middle of the joyous mob scene on the Nutter Center court, Drew Burleson — bracing himself to keep from being bowled over — wanted to say one thing right off the top:

"Coach Brownell is a man of his word. The very first time I met with him, he told me, 'We're gonna be cutting down the nets this year.' And sure enough we are. There are no words to describe this feeling, it's just ... it's ..."

His words were muffled by a woman with green painted cheeks who grabbed him and kissed him — hard.

"We love you," she gushed. "We love all you guys."

What's not to love about this Wright State team that fought off Butler, 60-55, Tuesday night to win the Horizon League tournament and, more importantly, a berth in the NCAA tournament.

It's something the school has done only once before in its 20 seasons of Division I basketball, but there's one difference in the two teams, said Jon Ramey, who played on that 1993 team.

"Back then we were a 16 seed and stood almost no chance against a No. 1 seed," he said of the Raiders' 43-point first-round loss to Indiana.

"This time these guys might be a 12 or 13 seed — they're playing that well now — and that gives them a legit chance to beat somebody. That's what this school is waiting for — a victory in the tournament — that will really say we've arrived."

That said, Tuesday night already was a coming-out party for a superb player — tournament MVP DaShaun Wood scored 27 points and got eight rebounds — an over-achieving team, a first-year coach who's now put two mid-majors in the tournament and especially a school and its hoops program.

The game was televised on ESPN, and what a scene it sent nationwide. A crowd of 10,686 packed the place, and most of those fans — especially the painted up students — rarely sat down.

Ramey was a WSU player in three of the school's biggest basketball games ever — the 1993 victory over UIC that sent the Raiders to the NCAA tournament, the last-second defeat of No. 25 Xavier in the 1995 MCC tournament and the numbing loss in the title game to Wisconsin-Green Bay three nights later that cost them a second NCAA tournament invite.

"Those were all big games — and I was right in the middle of them — but this looks and feels a lot crazier," said Ramey, now a financial adviser with Smith Barney. "Maybe it's because when you're a player, you're kind of in your own little world."

That may be, but the players were pretty caught up in it at game's end.

With 1.3 seconds left — and Raiders guard Will Graham putting the finishing touches on the victory with two free throws — Wood started to dance on the court.

That's when he spotted a sign near courtside. At the buzzer, he grabbed it and went running into the crowd that mobbed the floor.

"This is the greatest feeling I've ever had in my life," he yelled before disappearing into the mob.

Soon all you could see was that sign he held above his head. It said: "Our Raiders are Ready to Dance."

In fact, some danced too hard. Once the court was cleared and the players had left, the only ones left scouring the court were the family of center Jordan Pleiman.

"Jordan's girlfriend," explained the big man's grandmother, "lost her shoe out here."


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Wood easy choice for MVP
By Marc Katz

Staff Writer

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

FAIRBORN — DaShaun Wood, in a most obvious selection, was named Most Valuable Player of the Horizon League tournament after scoring 52 points in his two games, including 27 in Wright State's dramatic 60-55 victory over Butler Tuesday night at the Nutter Center.

Wood was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammate Scottie Wilson, Butler's Brandon Crone and A.J. Graves, and Loyola's Blake Schilb, whose team lost in the semifinals.

Saved some cash

Butler — less than two hours away in Indianapolis — bussed over Tuesday morning, went through an early afternoon shoot-around at the Nutter Center, then retired to rest in a motel.

The Bulldogs bussed back after the game.

"We're trying to save the Horizon League some money," cracked a member of the Butler athletics department.

The Horizon League picks up traveling expenses for teams during the tournament.

Spent some cash

Wright State students pay an activities fee at the beginning of the year and can obtain up to two free tickets to each basketball game.

The Horizon League doesn't hand out freebies for its tournament, but WSU thought it wouldn't be right to make students pay for the biggest games of the season. The school put aside up to 2,000 tickets for the students for the tournament, handing out one for each valid ID. Cost to the school: $5 each.

Buddies forever

Horizon League Commissioner Jon LeCrone, a Vandalia Butler High School grad, invited several of his former teammates and former Butler coach Ray Zawadzki to the game.

"They're in suite 204," LeCrone said. "I paid for the tickets and food and got them some Horizon League stuff, too."

LeCrone occasionally drives to Dayton from his Indianapolis office to have breakfast with his buddies.

A growing rivalry

"Butler is one of the premier programs in the Horizon League," WSU coach Brad Brownell said. "I grew up in Indiana, and Butler had plenty of in-state rivals. They play Ball State every year and Indiana State."

"We're starting to build a program here," WSU senior forward Drew Burleson said. "I think that's adding to the rivalry a little bit."

Clean face this time

New WSU president Dr. Dave Hopkins had "WSU" painted in green on his forehead for Saturday's semifinal game against Green Bay, but not Tuesday.

"The students were egging me on Saturday," Dr. Hopkins explained, "but I was getting sweaty and the paint was running down my face. I decided not to do that again."

And in the booth

ESPN's broadcasters for Tuesday's game were Terry Gannon, who played at North Carolina State, and Steve Bardo, who played at Illinois.

Congrats from Oakwood

The city of Oakwood issued an official proclamation congratulating WSU "on an outstanding season and offers best wishes for continued success for the remainder of this season and in the future."


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Nutter's a new place, at least for now
By Kyle Nagel

Dayton Daily News

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

FAIRBORN — At 7:30 p.m., when an announcement filled the Nutter Center that the doors had opened to the public, students poured into sections 212 and 213 behind one basket.

The arena, which seemed too big for the team for much of the past decade, was all of a sudden too small. Even though the Horizon League tournament final wouldn't begin for another 90 minutes, the students crammed into the general admission seating with the enthusiasm of Christmas morning.

The security guards assigned to the student section wore earplugs.

There were men with Viking hats and fake golden locks. There were two fans dressed as Wilbur and Orville Wright. There were painted faces, tube balloons, wigs and plungers (we'll get to that later).

The newly fashionable Raiders faithful chanted the names of Wright State athletic employees and slapped high-fives when they walked by. First it was Joni Williamson, the promotions director. Then Bob Grant, the department's associate athletic director for development.

At any game in December, there wouldn't have been an eighth of these students.

As Williamson said while we chatted in her office Monday afternoon, it has been difficult to get the students involved. Since she arrived in August, Williamson has worked with the school's student government to get more students to games.

What they needed most was a successful team to see, and that has been delivered by a few veterans and coach Brad Brownell.

The team is a good story, sure. But the better story comes from those who go to classes during the week. Many don't live on campus, so it's difficult to corral them on a weeknight.

Of course, it wasn't all flattering from the student population. Early in the game, some students held up plungers and chanted to Butler guard A.J. Graves, "A.J.'s Fu-ture!"

That was just part of the scene as Wright State topped No. 19 Butler, 60-55, for the Horizon League Tournament championship.

It was Mardi Gras without the beads and the booze. It was the office holiday party, with smiles and handshakes and an abundant feeling of excitement.

Everyone wanted a ticket, including some fans wearing tennis-team shirts from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington (from which Brownell came to Wright State last spring) who were sitting behind the Raiders bench.

You've heard this story, right? With each passing game in the past month, those of us who have come to plenty of Raiders contests in the past few seasons look at each other and say, "Is this the same place?"

It keeps growing. Now, instead of loads of empty seats, you have students sprinting past one another to get on the front rail.

Has this season changed WSU support for the near future?

We'll know when next season starts.


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March 7, 2007

Horizon League Tournament Championship: Wright State 60, Butler 55
This title gets away
Bulldogs beaten at their own game as Raiders win to land NCAA berth
By David Woods
[e-mail]

DAYTON, Ohio -- The Butler Bulldogs' strengths are defense, 3-point shooting and free throws. Wright State beat them in all three categories Tuesday night and is on its way to the NCAA Tournament.

The 19th-ranked Bulldogs, with four losses in eight games, must regroup as they await Selection Sunday for an NCAA assignment.
DaShaun Wood scored 27 points and Will Graham made four free throws in the closing 12 seconds to lead Wright State to a 60-55 victory in the Horizon League Tournament championship before a near-sellout of 10,686.
Wright State was 10-of-22 on 3-pointers to Butler's 7-of-23. Butler's 55 points equaled its lowest output of the season.
The Bulldogs (27-6) might have wondered if a foul should have been called against Wood on A.J. Graves' 3-point attempt. With Butler trailing 58-55 and time expiring, Graves sidestepped Wood, who appeared to brush him.
Graves said it was not a foul. Butler coach Todd Lickliter didn't complain about officiating, either.
"There was more than one play during that game that we could have done a better job. If we had, then it wouldn't have come down to anything like that," Lickliter said.
Wright State rebounded Graves' miss. Graham, whose two free throws put Wright State ahead 58-55 with 11.6 seconds on the clock, made two more to spark a wave of Raiders fans swarming the Nutter Center floor.
Wright State (23-9) lost at Butler 73-42 on Jan. 6. Now, the Raiders have earned the Horizon's automatic NCAA spot and the ire of all "bubble teams" that hoped Butler would come through. Butler seems headed for a second at-large berth in five years.
"That's something I have some peace with," Lickliter said. "Because if this were the last game, I'd be crushed. Because I don't want it to end. This team has responded and responded and responded."
Graves, who had shot 3-of-25 in two games here this year, was 5-of-14 for 12 points. Brandon Crone led Butler with 18.
With Butler trailing 56-54, Crone missed the first of two free throws with 11.6 seconds left. He made the second.
"I feel I kind of failed my team a little bit tonight," Crone said. "It's my job as a senior to step up and lead them.
"It's just a disappointing loss. It's nothing we can hang our heads on. And hopefully, we'll get to continue."
Graves made a difficult 3-pointer with 2:56 left to put Butler ahead 52-50. Later, he drove to the basket but had his shot hit under the rim. Wood's 3-pointer put Wright State ahead to stay, 55-52, with 1:06 to play.
Wood was 9-of-15 from the field, including 6-of-10 from the arc. Butler switched Drew Streicher and Willie Veasley onto Wood after Graves couldn't contain the league Player of the Year.
Wood was voted tournament MVP. Graves and Crone joined him on the all-tournament team.
Butler burst ahead 10-0 before 31/2 minutes elapsed. The Bulldogs couldn't capitalize on their advantage and needed Graves' one-hander high off the glass to pull within 31-29 at halftime.
The Bulldogs had a difficult schedule late in the season and "don't have to pull anything together," Lickliter said.
"People are under the impression that it's just win, baby. But there are factors that go into it, and I think our guys have done that over and over and over.
"They have had a terrific season, and they're playing good basketball right now."
Etc.

Butler has trailed at halftime in all six defeats. . . . Butler 3-point specialist Pete Campbell played 11 minutes and scored two points for his lowest total in 19 games of 2007. . . . Butler has lost six in a row at Wright State. . . . Butler is 4-5 in league championship games since 1992.


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March 7, 2007

Bob Kravitz
Bulldogs don't look like world-beaters

DAYTON, Ohio -- Where has the magic gone?

For three months, Butler was this season's George Mason story, the college basketball world's inspiring little-school-that-could tale, the unlikely giant killers who not only knocked off its bigger in-state rivals, but went to New York and stunned Tennessee and Gonzaga in the Preseason NIT.
In the last month of this season, though, the magic seems to have reached its expiration date. Suddenly, those long-range A.J. Graves bombs aren't falling.
On the Bulldogs' final possession of a taut, endlessly intriguing game, there was Graves standing behind the arc, his team down three, pump-faking a defender and getting off a good shot with an up-and-under move.
No good. Ballgame.
It was all the Bulldogs could do to get off the floor before the fans washed over the court like a giant wave.
The team that stared down some of the country's best programs now can't find a way to beat the likes of Loyola and Wright State. With Tuesday's 60-55 loss in the Horizon League final, the Bulldogs are limping into the NCAA Tournament, losers of four of their past eight games.
Just don't suggest that to Butler coach Todd Lickliter, who bristled (mildly) when he was asked what his team needed to do to right itself before the NCAA Tournament.
"I don't think we have to pull anything together,'' he said. "Any big guy (meaning big-name program) that comes in here is leaving the same way we're leaving. That's the fallacy of this. We play the big guys, and Loyola is as talented as the big guys, Wright State can play with them and you'll see that in the first round, the way we always do.''
So what has happened to Butler's dream season?
Lickliter feels like nothing much has happened, and his team is still poised for a tournament run. The schedule down the stretch has been brutal, including a league championship on Wright State's home floor. Horizon League teams are every bit as good as the people Butler beat early in the season. Graves, who has been in a shooting slump in recent weeks, isn't getting the same open looks as he moves through the conference schedule a second time.
Maybe.
Or maybe a dose of grim reality has set in. Maybe Graves has worn down. Maybe it was a case of facing those big-name teams early in the season, when the opponents' freshmen were still freshmen.
Whatever.
Still, the way this season has crumbled in recent weeks, it's hard to concoct a realistic scenario where Butler makes much noise in the NCAA Tournament. Now, the road gets harder. With a win over Wright State on Tuesday, they were looking at, oh, a fourth to sixth seed in the NCAA Tournament. With the loss, we're probably talking six to nine.
In the end, Butler had itself to blame. Once they lost at home to Loyola on Feb. 22, the door was opened for Wright State to win the league and play this conference final on its home floor. And this, friends, was no small home-court advantage. There are bigger gyms around the country, but none more alive.
The Nutter Center was nuts, and it was crazy a number of hours before the game. The Wright State administration bought the roughly 2,000 available tickets, then gave them away free to students on a first-come, first-served basis. Some students had been standing in the cold since 11 a.m., and when the doors opened at 7:30 p.m., hundreds of students rushed in and grabbed seats like it was a cash giveaway.
(Just an aside, but the Horizon League's unconventional tournament setup is as inspired as it is successful. In 2002, commissioner Jon LeCrone was saddened by the sight of 1,500 fans in Cleveland for the league final between Loyola and Illinois-Chicago. Soon after, the format was blown to bits. First-round games were to be played on campus. The top two teams in the league got byes into the semifinals. And the last two rounds were played at the home of the highest remaining seed.)
Butler started off brilliantly, jumping out to a 10-0 lead, but Wright State had a kid named DaShaun Wood, who almost single-handedly turned the game around. He had 18 points in the first half, proving far too quick for Graves to defend. Lickliter made the smart adjustment, putting 6-7 Drew Streicher on the 5-11 Wood with two minutes left in the first half, but, in the end, it was too late.
At least Butler has a second chance to make a second impression. As Lickliter pointed out later, Butler lost the league championship game at Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Milwaukee before embarking on their journey to the Sweet Sixteen.
As Lickliter exited the news conference, he eyed Wright State coach Brad Brownell and shook his hand.
"You're going to do a great job representing the league,'' he said.
Brownell smiled. "I just hope we can do half of what you've done,'' Brownell responded.
Maybe, for Butler, there's some magic left. If not, it's going to be a short, sad postseason.
[phone] or e-mail [e-mail].


Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star.

[raiderrunt]

Wood You Believe It: Wright State Dancing
March 7th, 2007

By Bill Kintner

DAYTON – It was 90 minutes before game time and the upper lot outside the Ervin J. Nutter Center on the campus of Wright State University was already filled. There were TV satellite trucks parked all round the outside and people hawking tickets.

This is the championship game for the Horizon League and there was certainly a buzz in the air. The student section was already a 1500 strong an hour before game time and by the time the game started there was over 2500 students raising heck for their beloved Raiders.

This is Mid-major basketball at its best and tonight there was a crowd of 10,686 and it is the third largest crowd in the history of the Nutter Center.

Tonight’s game matches the No. I seed Raiders versus the No. 2 seed Butler Bulldogs. In the Horizon League pre-season poll Wright State was picked
No. 5 and Butler No. 6. I guess that goes to show you that the game is played on the court and that polls really don’t mean that much.

Of course, Butler had been out-performing the polls for years. For instance, earlier this year when Butler ran through the Pre-Season NIT they were unranked until they knocked off their third big boy. Those wins in order were Notre Dame, Tennessee, Indiana and Gonzaga.

Tonight’s game was a thriller to the end as the teams battled back and forth before the Raiders were able to get a couple more stops than Butler.

The game was tied nine times. The lead changed seven times.

But Wright State’s DeShaun Wood scored 27 points including six 3-pointers to lead the Raiders to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 14 years.

In the first half Butler (27-6) jumped out to a 10-0 lead as three different players scored on four straight shots. It wasn’t until the 16:24 mark that the Raiders got on the board when Wood hit a 3-pointer.

Wright State’s Coach Brad Brownell did not call a time out since his players were getting good looks and they just were not falling.
“What I am going to do? Pull them over and tell them to start making shots? That just puts more pressure on them,” explained Brownell. “Now if they weren’t getting the kind of shot I like then I bring them over and tell them we need better discipline in our offense.”

After that 10-0 deficit Wright State (23-9) went on a 19-5 run which made gave them a 19-15 lead. From that point on Wright State maintained a modest lead of between two and six points for the rest of the half.

“It seemed like they were able to counter a lot. I was really impressed. They (Wright State) stayed poised. There is a reason why they have only lost only one game in here this year,” explained Butler Coach Todd Lickliter. “My hat goes off to Wright State they are a terrific team in this league and I wouldn’t want to play them in the first round.”

It looked like the Raiders would take a four point lead into half time until Butler’s A. J. Graves hit a 3-pointer with a second remaining to cut Wright State’s lead to two at 31-29.

In the second half the Raiders slowly started increasing the lead until Drew Burleson hit a falling-away 3-pointer to give his team their biggest lead of the game at eight points making it 43-35.

But the Bulldogs were a little down but nowhere near out.

A 3-pointer from Brandon Crone got the Bulldogs rolling. They fought until they tied the score at 45-45.

This baby was going down to the wire.

With just a little less than 90 seconds left in the game Graves drove to the basket only to get the ball blocked by Wood who came up behind him. When they got down to the other end Wood came off a pick to hit a 3-pointer to make it 55-52.

With just 33 seconds left Crone who led the Bulldogs with 18 points took a pass in the lane and scored.

Just a few seconds later Wright State’s Vaughn Duggins was fouled and hit one foul shot to make it 56-54.

Crone was fouled by Burleson with 11 seconds left and made one foul shot to narrow the gap.

Will Graham was fouled and made both foul shot to give the Raiders a 58-56 lead.

Then at the other end Graves wiggle through several defenders and heaved up a 3-pointer but missed.

Graham was fouled again and he sunk both shots with 1.3 seconds left and that is where it ended.

As the buzzer sounded thousands of fans descended on the court for a celebration that was long over due, as the on-court celebration got going the Butler players hustled off the court toward their locker room knowing they will be going to the NCAA Tournament too.

Burleson scored 15 points and Scottie Wilson scored 10 points for the Raiders. Graves also scored 12 points for the Bulldogs.

When asked if his team has fallen off since their impressive run early in the season Lickliter said they were playing well and didn’t think his team would have any problems when they play in the post season. He cited some of the factors in Butler’s recent losses as a tough schedule with very little rest between games and then having to come into a hostile arena to play to play a very good team for the championship.

“We are playing some of our best ball right now,” he said defending his team after the game.

We will see in a little more than a week.

On the Horizon (League)

*There was a young coed wearing a shirt a UNCW shirt and holding a sign that read “UNCW Tennis is getting Rowdy.” She was referring to the Wright State mascot Rowdy Raider. During this tournament there has been a small contingent of Sea Hawk fans at the Nutter Center for each game supporting Brad Brownell and his new team.

*There were two fans dressed up like the Wright Brothers with a sign that said “Win one for Wilber and Orville.”

*University of Northern Iowa Athletic Director Rick Hartzell was one of the officials tonight. For the record I thought he did a good job.

*This is the third time this year that Butler and Wright State have played and the 30th time they have faced off. Butler leads the all-time series 16-14

*Butler is 19-0 when holding opponents under 60 points this year.
They remained perfect when the Raiders hit 60 points with 1.3 seconds remaining in the game.

*As the clock wore down and the Raiders were ahead by three, the game officials had the media get up form the media tables in front of the student section so they could take down the tables so the students didn’t trample over members of the media.

*As the game wore on and the score went back and forth there were probably 10 bubble teams watching at home praying for Butler to win.

*Butler has lost six of their last seven times at the Nutter Center.

*Former Raider Coach Jim Brown was in attendance tonight. He was the top assistant coach on Ralph Underhill’s staff and he was the interim coach for the 1996-97 season after Underhill was fired. He said that DaShaun Wood was the difference in this game and he also pointed to Butler’s
lack of an inside threat as a factor in the Raiders win.

*Tonight’s game was covered by Mike DeCourcey of Sporting News, Pat Forde of ESPN.com, Mike Lopresti of Gannett/USA Today, Fox Sports Radio, ESPN Radio and a ton of regional media. In fact, the Horizon League issued over 140 media credentials for this year’s tournament compared to just 80 last year. Mike DeCourcy credited that increase to Southwest Ohio being a great basketball area.

*The all-tournament team was:

DeShaun Wood WSU (MVP)
Brandon Crone Butler
Scottie Wilson (WSU)
Blake Schilb (Loyola)
Scottie Wilson (WSU)

www.collegehoopsnet.com/new/story/wood_you_believe_it_wright_state_dancing43438