| Butler beats MSU, one win from NCAA glory | ||
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Little Butler — still going. How’s that for a Hollywood hoops script. Call it “Hoosiers,” the sequel. Gordon Hayward had 19 points and nine rebounds, including one with 2 seconds left that sealed the game. The small school looked anything but, taking down another of college basketball’s biggest names with a 52-50 victory over Michigan State in the Final Four on Saturday night. Butler (33-4) will play No. 1 seed Duke, a 78-57 winner over West Virginia, in Monday night’s title game. In the Bulldogs’ hometown, no less. “We’ve been talking about the next game all year, and it’s great to be able to say the next game’s for a national championship,” Hayward said. The entire Hoosier state is along for the ride. Indiana and Purdue may be the state’s traditional basketball powerhouses, but it’s little Butler — enrollment 4,200 — that’s big time now. “If I was not playing, I’d be a Butler fan,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “I like they way they play, I like their story. They play like a Big Ten team.” |







