INDIANAPOLIS -
When he saw the game that was approaching on the schedule, Willie Veasley knew what he'd probably see.
Sure enough on Sunday, Butler head coach Brad Stevens walked into the team meeting room with film from a game that he can't forget, even if he wanted to.
"Its something we tried to forget," said senior guard Willie Veasley of the game against Loyola on February 15, 2009-but he couldn't forget "The Delay."
With just under four minutes left and the Bulldogs trailing, a lost child announcement was made over the intercom without much fanfare. A little while later, no kid, and the announcements continued. During a media timeout, both coaches for the schools decided to wait until someone located the child to restart the game.
It went on for over ten minutes.
Read: Big Second Half Vs. Loyola Clinches Butler A Share Of Horizon League Title
"The stoppage for so long," said Veasley as to what he remembered about the incident. "Not really understanding what was going on at first."
Eventually the child was found on top of a concession stand, having fallen through a gap in the floor in the upper part of the stadium, suffering only a few cuts and bruises. Butler was not so lucky, as a late rally fell short and the Bulldogs lost to Loyola by four.
"It kinda fit in because the game was kinda weird too," said Veasley, but losing to Loyola wasn't over the past three years.
During Veasley's freshman season of 2006-2007 another top-tier Butler team was upset by the Ramblers at home on February 22nd, costing them an outright Horizon League championship, and forcing them to go on the road for the tournament. Eventually they lost to host Wright State in the championship game.
Over the past four seasons, Loyola has been the only team in the Horizon League to win at Butler during the regular season, so a quick look back at the film couldn't hurt.
Read: Butler Gets Lucky 13th Win In Horizon League Play
"Butler gets everybody's best shot, and our guys certainly have a lot of respect for them, and are going to play incredibly hard," said Loyola coach Jerry Whitesell, who led both those teams into Indianapolis and came out with victories.
Even with the lessons of 2008 in mind, the Ramblers, who entered the game with a 4-10 record in the Horizon League, managed to give the Bulldogs problems. They shot just 6-of-27 from the field in the early on and found themselves trailing for most of the first half.
"They do a great job of running their stuff, and they'll, run it, run it, run it, run it," said Stevens of the Ramblers. "If you get too far behind, you're in trouble."
That's a lesson that stuck with the Bulldogs, as they managed to climb back into the game and cut the Loyola lead to two at the end of the first half. Unlike 2009, the Bulldogs were able to use an opening 19-5 run in the second half to take a commanding lead rather than playing catch up.
The Bulldogs hit 50 percent of their shots in the final 20 minutes while holding Loyola to just 8-of-23 from the filed to give the team a comfortable 62-47 victory and avoiding the Rambler letdown. It clinches at least a share of the conference title, thought no celebration is necessary till its clinched outright.
Read: Butler's Gordon Hayward Shines In Milwaukee
"This team is looking to do more than where we're at right now," said forward Matt Howard-who led the Bulldogs with 20 points. "It was great to come out and stick with it like we did tonight, but you can't come out against a good team, a really good team, or the great teams in the nation."
"We can't come out and play that way."
After the three years, and one kid delay, they certainly proved they can't against Loyola.
Sure enough on Sunday, Butler head coach Brad Stevens walked into the team meeting room with film from a game that he can't forget, even if he wanted to.
"Its something we tried to forget," said senior guard Willie Veasley of the game against Loyola on February 15, 2009-but he couldn't forget "The Delay."
With just under four minutes left and the Bulldogs trailing, a lost child announcement was made over the intercom without much fanfare. A little while later, no kid, and the announcements continued. During a media timeout, both coaches for the schools decided to wait until someone located the child to restart the game.
It went on for over ten minutes.
Read: Big Second Half Vs. Loyola Clinches Butler A Share Of Horizon League Title
"The stoppage for so long," said Veasley as to what he remembered about the incident. "Not really understanding what was going on at first."
Eventually the child was found on top of a concession stand, having fallen through a gap in the floor in the upper part of the stadium, suffering only a few cuts and bruises. Butler was not so lucky, as a late rally fell short and the Bulldogs lost to Loyola by four.
"It kinda fit in because the game was kinda weird too," said Veasley, but losing to Loyola wasn't over the past three years.
During Veasley's freshman season of 2006-2007 another top-tier Butler team was upset by the Ramblers at home on February 22nd, costing them an outright Horizon League championship, and forcing them to go on the road for the tournament. Eventually they lost to host Wright State in the championship game.
Over the past four seasons, Loyola has been the only team in the Horizon League to win at Butler during the regular season, so a quick look back at the film couldn't hurt.
Read: Butler Gets Lucky 13th Win In Horizon League Play
"Butler gets everybody's best shot, and our guys certainly have a lot of respect for them, and are going to play incredibly hard," said Loyola coach Jerry Whitesell, who led both those teams into Indianapolis and came out with victories.
Even with the lessons of 2008 in mind, the Ramblers, who entered the game with a 4-10 record in the Horizon League, managed to give the Bulldogs problems. They shot just 6-of-27 from the field in the early on and found themselves trailing for most of the first half.
"They do a great job of running their stuff, and they'll, run it, run it, run it, run it," said Stevens of the Ramblers. "If you get too far behind, you're in trouble."
That's a lesson that stuck with the Bulldogs, as they managed to climb back into the game and cut the Loyola lead to two at the end of the first half. Unlike 2009, the Bulldogs were able to use an opening 19-5 run in the second half to take a commanding lead rather than playing catch up.
The Bulldogs hit 50 percent of their shots in the final 20 minutes while holding Loyola to just 8-of-23 from the filed to give the team a comfortable 62-47 victory and avoiding the Rambler letdown. It clinches at least a share of the conference title, thought no celebration is necessary till its clinched outright.
Read: Butler's Gordon Hayward Shines In Milwaukee
"This team is looking to do more than where we're at right now," said forward Matt Howard-who led the Bulldogs with 20 points. "It was great to come out and stick with it like we did tonight, but you can't come out against a good team, a really good team, or the great teams in the nation."
"We can't come out and play that way."
After the three years, and one kid delay, they certainly proved they can't against Loyola.
