INDIANAPOLIS — Roosevelt Jones stole an inbound pass with 3.5 seconds left and hit a floater from just inside the free-throw line right before the buzzer to help No. 13 Butler upset No. 8 Gonzaga 64-63 on Saturday night.
Jones finished with 20 points and the Bulldogs have won 13 in a row, including two consecutive without their top scorer, former Arkansas Razorback Rotnei Clarke. It’s the first time Butler (16-2, 3-0 Atlantic 10) has ever beaten three top 10 teams in one season. They also defeated then-No. 9 North Carolina in November and then-No. 1 Indiana in December.
Gonzaga (17-2, 4-0 West Coast Conference) was led by Saw Dower and Elias Harris who each had 20 points. The loss ended the Zags’ eightgame winning streak.
After starting the second half in a 33-32 deficit, Butler scored the first five points of the second half and never trailed again. But the Bulldogs also never trailed until Elias Harris’ layup made it 59-58 with 1:24 left.
Jones answered 18 seconds later with a layup to give the Bulldogs the lead, and the team traded the lead on the next four possessions until Butler’s Alex Barlow was called for traveling with 3.5 seconds left. But on the inbound play, the Zags overthrew 7-foot center Kelly Olynyk and Jones looped around, caught the ball and drove from midcourt for the winning shot, setting off a wild celebration.
It was a game that came with all the trimmings, and it lived up to every bit of the hype.
In the morning, Butler’s most famous player, Bobby Plump, took two shots from the same spot in the same gym where he made the winning shot for the 1954 Milan team that became the basis for the movie Hoosiers. He missed both.
Some fans rekindled memories of past eras with jerseys bearing the names of former Butler players such as Matt Howard and Duane Lightfoot. Every seat was filled 10 minutes before tip-off, and the students who were standing in line more than 2 1/2 before the game’s scheduled starting time literally ran into Hinkle to get a precious seat behind one of the baskets to see the first game at Hinkle between two top 15 teams.
And afterward, those fans rushed the floor.
MISSOURI VALLEY
Shockers extend streak
WICHITA, Kan. — Creighton Coach Greg McDermott believes he has a good team. He also believes the Bluejays can be an elite team by the end of the season.
The trouble Saturday was that Creighton needed to be just a bit better than good.
Carl Hall had 17 points and 13 rebounds to help Wichita State seize control in the second half, and two missed three-pointers by Ethan Wragge in the final seconds doomed the Bluejays to a 67-64 loss, snapping their 11-game winning streak.
Doug McDermott had 25 points to lead Creighton (17-2, 6-1 MVC), which dropped into a first-place tie with the Shockers (17-2, 6-1) in the Missouri Valley Conference. Grant Gibbs added 14 points and eight assists but missed an important free throw in the closing seconds of the game.
ATLANTIC 10
VCU keeps winning
PITTSBURGH — Rob Brandenberg scored 22 points and No. 22 Virginia Commonwealth dominated in winning its 13th consecutive game, 90-63 over Duquesne on Saturday night at Consol Energy Center.
The Rams’ Treveon Graham had 17 of his 20 points in the first half, when VCU (16-3, 4-0 Atlantic 10) used a 26-2 run to seize control. It would cruise to extend what is the nation’s second-longest active winning streak.
VCU Coach Shaka Smart became the second-youngest coach to reach 100 career victories. The 35-year-old needed 131 games, 30th-fewest in NCAA history. Only 11 other coaches reached 100 wins in their first four seasons, including Butler’s Brad Stevens. He was 34 when he won his 100th game.
Derrick Colter had 15 points to lead the Dukes (7-11, 0-4), who have lost six consecutive.
Sports, Pages 29 on 01/20/2013