The Bulldogs advance to the next round. They upset No. 1 Pittsburgh in the last two seconds of their game to secure the score at 71-70. A great game that was dominated by tight skills and a fight on each side ended in two foul calls that were going to determine the outcome of the game. Butler senior forward Matt Howard scored the game-winning shot on a free throw with 0.8 seconds remaining in the game. A second before the free throw was taken at the other end, a foul on Pittsburgh’s Nasir Robinson gave the Bulldogs the chance to do the impossible. Tied at 70-70, only one shot was required to send the team that was expected to win the tournament on a bus trip home.
“You win two games by three points, it’s going to be pretty crazy,” Howard explained after the game. “This is by far the craziest weekend of basketball [I’ve played]. This is the type of game you really play for.” While everybody is for the underdog, an end like this is always hard no matter which team it is. It was a heartbreaking and career end for Pittsburgh’s players who were destined to make it to the Final Four for the first time ever.
