Butler stuns top-seeded Syracuse

Reporting from Salt Lake City

Butler refused to go home. Now the Bulldogs have a chance to go back to Indianapolis on their own terms

Returning to the city as conquerors carrying mid-major dreams was not on the Bulldogs’ minds, they all have claimed, but that has come to the forefront after a 63-59 victory over top-seeded Syracuse at EnergySolutions Arena. The pesky Bulldogs will face Kansas State on Saturday in the West Regional final, their first Elite Eight appearance.

“We still have one game left before we can think about that,” said guard Shelvin Mack, who scored all 14 of his points in the first half to put the fifth-seeded Bulldogs (31-4) put up early. “We know how tough this next game will be.”

Hard to imagine one being tougher than Thursday’s, which came against a Syracuse team that won its first two NCAA games by 23 and 22 points and had not lost a game outside the Big East Conference this season.

A nip-and-tuck game turned on Willie Veasley’s three-point shot from the baseline, which bounced around the rim before dropping in. It gave the Bulldogs a 58-54 lead with 1 minute 40 seconds left.

“I was standing under the basket and it went in, then out, then in, then out, then in,” a relieved Butler forward Gordon Hayward said.

Moments later, Veasley tipped in a miss for a 60-54 lead with one minute left. From there it was a matter of making free throws. Gordon Hayward made three to send the Orange (30-5) home and put Indianapolis on the horizon.

“We can think about it now, because the next game can get us there,” said Hayward, who had a team-high 17 points.

Even Coach Brad Stevens, who spent postgame time shaking his head as players discussed playing in the Final Four at home, finally gave in.

“I know we’re going back home after Saturday’s game,” he said. “I just hope we have some season left.”

That chance appeared to be slipping away, as Syracuse applied pressure. Butler led by as many as 12 points in the first half, when the Orange turned the ball over 12 times. But an 8-0 burst midway through the second half, capped by Wes Johnson’s three-pointer, gave Syracuse a 40-39 lead with 13:29 left.

There was a lot of scrapping from that point, and the Bulldogs proved to be better at it. Syracuse led, 54-50, with five minutes left. Syracuse, which had 18 turnovers in the game, got sloppy with two turnovers and two misses. That became costly when Butler’s Ronald Nored, a 17% three-point shooter on the season, sank only his eighth from beyond the arc this season to cut the deficit to one.

“We knew to beat their zone we were going to have to make some threes,” Nored said. “I shot one after another all week in practice.”

Moments later Matt Howard’s layup gave Butler a 55-54 lead and then Veasley rattled in his shot.

“That was a relief,” said Veasley, who had 13 points.

Nored said the victory didn’t come on the offensive end, saying, “It was defense that got it done.”

Butler shot only 40% but held Syracuse to 44%. The Bulldogs also had 13 steals, five by Nored. His last, with four seconds left, sent the Butler bench into chaos.

“There are no mid-majors in this tournament,” Stevens said. “There are just a bunch of guys playing basketball with lots of passion.”

chris.foster@latimes.com

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