In a game that changed leads five times, Butler finally pulled away from Vanderbilt with a 17-3 second-half run, winning 76-66 to reach the Las Vegas Invitational final.
“I thought we responded when we needed to,” Butler coach Chris Holtmann said. “We told them at (a late) timeout ‘If we’re not excited about playing in a close game in this kind of environment, then we’re not ready to do this. It was good for us to be in that environment.”
Quotable
“It’s a terrific program, well-coached and they play really hard and with discipline. If that’s who we play, it’s going to be a tremendous challenge but this is why you come to these types of events. … You want to do it against a high-caliber team.”
— Butler’s Holtmann, speaking before UA played Santa Clara, on a possible matchup with the Wildcats on Friday.
