Butler is just one victory from another storybook ending

INDIANAPOLIS

When Milan beat Muncie Central in 1954 to win the Indiana high school state championship in arguably the most famous game in basketball history, the final score was 32-30.

That game took place about six miles from Lucas Oil Stadium. On Saturday night, in the opening game of the Final Four, Butler and Michigan State almost recreated "Hoosiers," -- without Bobby Plump hitting the winning shot. It was Gordon Hayward, who is to Butler what Plump was to Milan, who made the Bulldogs' only field goal of the last 12 minutes 18 seconds, but this was a game about missed shots, not about a made one.

"I really didn't think 15 for 49 was a great way to approach this game," Butler Coach Brad Stevens joked after his team had survived those shooting numbers to win, 52-50. "I never would have dreamed that we would have won the game that way."

They did win the game, though, with outstanding defense, with a critical offensive rebound late in the game, with a little bit of luck and perhaps a final push from the officials.

As is bound to be the case on a night when the teams shot a combined 33 of 91 from the field, the game came down to one possession.

With Butler leading 50-49, Ronald Nored had a layup go in and out. Michigan State called a timeout with 23 seconds left and -- not surprisingly -- tried to punch the ball inside to try to get the lead. Draymond Green caught the ball in the lane and went right at Hayward, who at 6 feet 9 plays inside on defense and often brings the ball up against pressure on offense.

Green went up and so did Hayward. The ball rolled off Green's fingers and came up well short -- an air ball from six feet -- with the Michigan State bench screaming for a foul. Given that the officials had been calling fouls on just about anything resembling contact all night, it probably wasn't an unreasonable hope.

No call. Nored grabbed the rebound and was fouled with six seconds left. Later, when Hayward was asked if he had gotten a piece of the ball on the play, he smiled and said, "Well, I either got a piece of the ball or a piece of his arm."

You have to love an honest Hoosier.

The game wasn't over at that point, especially since Nored had shot 3 of 12 from the line during the tournament.

"I'd really been practicing my free throws all week after the way I'd been shooting them," he said. "I saw a picture of myself in warmups at one of the regionals and I was aiming the ball. I tried to get my elbow under the shot and follow through with my wrist."