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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Caron Butler claims he has had better games.
He never had one this good in a bigger setting.
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What a nail-biter -- talk about Maalox time. It was a heartbreaker for Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek, but what a fantastic job he did this season. Remember, last year lots of people were screaming for Sendek's head. But he kept battling, he had the support of AD Lee Fowler (this year's NCAA tourney chair), and he got N.C. State to the Big Dance for the first time since 1991. It's hard to believe this program endured a decade-long tourney drought.
N.C. State played outstanding basketball Sunday, but UConn had the best player on the floor in Caron Butler. Every time the Huskies needed a big play, coach Jim Calhoun turned to his super, sensational sophomore. Butler (34 points, nine rebounds) made one big play after another, especially down the stretch. He was flawless from the free-throw line (12-of-12) -- including five clutch freebies in the final 11 seconds to ice the win.
Butler is my overall PTPer for the first two rounds of the tournament. UConn also got a great performance from guard Tony Robertson (18 points, 8-of-11 from field); Robertson was up and down during the season but is now playing his best basketball. Calhoun is one of those coaches who knows how to prepare a team and get his players ready for postseason action.
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The sophomore forward scored a career-high 34 points, missing
only three shots while making big 3-pointers and even bigger free
throws down the stretch as Connecticut beat North Carolina State
77-74 on Sunday in the second round of the East Regional.
"As far as a clutch performance at this time of the year,
that's how you measure players," Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said.
"He made the most special plays at the most special time and got
us to the Sweet Sixteen."
Connecticut (26-6) will play Southern Illinois, which beat
Georgia 77-75, on Friday in Syracuse, N.Y., in the regional
semifinals.
Butler was the reason.
The Big East co-player of the year was 10-for-13 from the field,
12-for-12 from the free-throw line and grabbed nine rebounds to
lead the Huskies, who didn't have their 11th straight win until the
final buzzer sounded and Julius Hodge's long 3-point attempt
bounced off the rim.
It was Butler and Hodge who were involved in the game's most
controversial play.
The Wolfpack closed within 72-71 on a 3-pointer by Marcus Melvin
with 47 seconds left. Connecticut ran the clock down on its next
possession and it seemed Butler waited too long to get his 3-point
attempt off. As the shot clock buzzer sounded, he shot and was hit
on the arm by Hodge. Butler made all three free throws for a 75-71
lead with 11 seconds to play.
Some of the players on the court reacted to the whistle. Those
underneath fought for the rebound but referee Scott Thornley had
made the call and replays showed Hodge hit Butler's right arm.
"I know I got fouled. He hit my forearm and the rest is
history," Butler said. "I didn't hear the whistle but I knew they
made the call, the correct call."
Hodge, who was distraught on the floor after his attempt to tie
missed, was adamant he didn't foul Butler.
"I couldn't believe there was a foul called. I was playing
tough defense," he said in a soft-spoken voice in the locker room.
"For a call like that to send us home and end our season, that's
just hard to swallow."
Anthony Grundy had 17 points on 5-for-17 shooting for the
seventh-seeded Wolfpack (23-11), who were making their first NCAA
appearance since 1991.
Every one of Butler's points was needed because the Huskies
turned the ball over again and again against the Wolfpack's
pressure defense. Connecticut finished with 21 turnovers, eight
coming in the opening eight minutes of the second half.
"We had to go to three guards in the second half. We had no
choice. I couldn't sit back and have the ball taken out of our
hands time after time after time after time," Calhoun said. "I
asked them in the huddle once, `What are we doing? This is
ridiculous.' But we were able to finally get the ball centered and
got some layups."
Butler was 2-for-3 from 3-point range, both coming in the final
6:06. His second came with 2 seconds left on the shot clock and
gave the Huskies a 70-63 lead with 2:36 to play.
Archie Miller made a 3 with 2:09 left to get the Wolfpack within
72-68 and the senior guard drove the lane and found Melvin for the
3 that made it a one-point game.
Then came the foul against Hodge, which replays showed was a
good call.
"I pretty much saw what you did," Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek
said. "Maybe the whistle was a little late."
Butler had to make the free throws and he wanted to do it alone.
"I was thinking, 'Make these or go home,"' Butler said. "I
told all my teammates, 'Don't come near me. Don't mess up my
rhythm."'
No Connecticut player even approached Butler as he drained the
three free throws.
North Carolina State came down court and freshman Ilian Evtimov
hit a 3 from the corner with 4.3 seconds left to bring the Wolfpack
back within one.
Connecticut inbounded the ball to Butler, who was fouled
immediately. He made two more free throws to make Connecticut
21-of-22 from the line for the game, but Hodge's dead-on 3-point
attempt bounced off the rim.
"I just threw it up and it didn't go in," Hodge said. "I
thought the shot was going in but it hit the front of the rim and
that was it."
Hodge, a freshman credited with being the difference for North
Carolina State this season, was face down on the floor after
missing the shot and Grundy picked him up by the shirt.
"I know how competitive he is and I'm just proud to play with a
guy like that," Grundy said. "He brought a lot of energy to our
team."
Tony Robertson had 18 points for the Huskies, who improved to
8-2 in second-round games under Calhoun.
Melvin, a 6-foot-9 forward, had 15 points and was 4-for-7 from
3-point range for the Wolfpack, while Hodge had 13 points and nine
rebounds.
The game was North Carolina State's third in a row against a
recent national champion. The Wolfpack lost to defending champion
Duke in the finals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and
beat 2000 champion Michigan State in the first round Friday, but
Butler made sure they couldn't beat the 1999 champion.
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On the Arm