Butler, WVU OK
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Da'Sean Butler says his right hand is fine. If that's the case, so too are the West Virginia Mountaineers' hopes in preparing to face Kentucky in the East Regional finals of the NCAA tournament.
The second-seeded Mountaineers survived a momentary scare when Butler fell hard to the court and jammed his right hand midway through the second half of a 69-56 win over Washington on Thursday.
After spending a few minutes writhing in pain, Butler got up and continued playing in helping West Virginia (30-6) set a school record for victories — surpassing the 29-5 mark set by the Jerry West-led team that lost in the 1959 NCAA tournament final.
"I've played with worse," Butler said, pointing to his hand that was heavily wrapped in ice.
The senior guard's presence has been a key all season. Butler's the team's leading scorer and has hit game-winning shots six times already, including a running jumper with 4 seconds left in a 60-58 win over Georgetown in the Big East championship game.
And the Mountaineers, who face Big Blue on Saturday, can't afford losing anyone else to injury after facing the Huskies without point guard Darryl Bryant, who broke a bone in his right foot during practice Tuesday.
"That was a very big sense of relief," said forward Kevin Jones, referring to watching Butler get up. "Something would really have to be wrong if he didn't get up. Luckily, it wasn't that. He got up and showed how tough he was."
Butler scored 14 points, added seven rebounds and — shortly after he was hurt — made a key steal that helped cap a 20-6 run that provided the Mountaineers a 56-43 lead with 8:11 left. Jones scored 18 points and added eight rebounds.
Justin Holiday scored 14 and added eight rebounds for the Huskies (26-10), who were at a disadvantage after leading scorer Quincy Pondexter picked up his third foul with 4:27 left in the first half. Point guard Isaiah Thomas scored 13 before fouling out with 2:41 left.
The Huskies had a nine-game win streak snapped. The Pac-10 tournament champions were trying to become only the fourth school seeded 11th or lower to reach the round of eight.
"It definitely hurts. We made a great run down the last stretch of the season," Pondexter said. "It hurts right now. There's nothing much to say about it."
WEST REGIONAL Salt Lake City No. 5 Butler 63, No. 1 Syracuse 59
Butler became the latest mid-major team to knock off a top seed in the NCAA tournament.
Willie Veasley scored five of his 13 points during an 11-0 run down the stretch, and the Bulldogs rallied to upset No. 1 seed Syracuse for their 23rd straight victory.
The fifth-seeded Bulldogs (31-4) fought through Syracuse's vaunted zone defense and kept the Orange (30-5) from getting their fast break going most of the night.
Now, after reaching the regional finals for the first time in school history, Butler is one win from going home to Indianapolis for the Final Four. The Bulldogs play second-seeded Kansas State on Saturday.
Gordon Hayward scored 17 points and started the celebration while dribbling out the clock after the Bulldogs forced Syracuse into its 18th turnover.Wes Johnson had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Orange, the second No. 1 seed to go down. Northern Iowa stunned top-ranked Kansas in the second round of the Midwest Regional last weekend.No. 2 Kansas State 101, No. 6 Xavier 96Jacob Pullen made a 3-pointer with 31.2 seconds left in the second overtime for the go-ahead points, and second-seeded Kansas State beat No. 6 Xavier in a thriller.Terrell Holloway answered with two free throws, but Pullen came back with two of his own. Then, Xavier's Dante Jackson missed a 3-pointer that would've tied it and the Wildcats (29-7) iced it.Xavier's Jordan Crawford hit a 35-foot shot with 4 seconds left in the first OT to tie it. Holloway sent the game into the first overtime by making three straight free throws after being fouled while shooting from behind the arc with 5 seconds left.Crawford led Xavier (26-7) with 32 points and Pullen led the Wildcats with 28, including eight in the second overtime.EAST REGIONAL Syracuse, N.Y. No. 1 Kentucky 62, No. 12 Cornell 45Kentucky avoided the latest big upset by the Big Red.John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson stopped Cornell's captivating NCAA tournament run, sending the top-seeded Wildcats to a win in the East Regional semifinals.With much of the Carrier Dome crowd — and the country — pulling for an upset by the 12th-seeded Ivy Leaguers, Cornell (29-5) bolted to a 10-2 lead in the opening minutes.But Kentucky (35-2) overcame the early deficit with a swarming defense, spoiling all the fun at Cornell's loudest and largest pep rally.
