ShelvinMack

The run Butler made last year to the NCAA championship game will always be special. It was this generation's ultimate college hoops Cinderella story.

This run, though, is much more impressive.

It was roughly eight weeks ago when the Bulldogs suffered a shocking 62-60 road loss to Horizon League cellar dweller Youngstown State. They were 14-9 at that point and a disappointing 5-5 in conference play.

Now, they've once again reaffirmed the notion that, no matter where they are in the NCAA tournament field, you can never count against Butler.

They trailed Florida by 11 with 9:25 left on Saturday in New Orleans, forced overtime and scored clutch bucket after clutch bucket en route to a 74-71 win and their second Final Four berth in as many years.

Boyish-looking Brad Stevens turned himself into a top young sideline prospect last season, but this year truly proved just how strong of an all-around coach he actually is.

After that embarrassing early February loss in Ohio, Butler regrouped

SullingerKentucky

If Jared Sullinger really is a man of his word, he'll certainly soften the blow for what was a wounded fan base on Friday night.

Following Ohio State's tough 62-60 regional semifinal loss to Kentucky in Newark, N.J., the nation's top freshman vowed to return for his sophomore season.

"I'm going to be an Ohio State Buckeye next year," he said. "Winning is that important to me. I don't like losing. This is not what I came here to do. This is not what I came here for, to sit here and see my seniors crying. I came here to win a national championship, to see them celebrate. I wanted to (share) tears of joy with these guys.

"I'm a man of my word. I won't change my mind for nobody. This is what I want. This is where I'm happy. I'm happy being an Ohio State Buckeye and playing for coach (Thad) Matta."

If Sullinger actually does follow through, it would be a complete breath of fresh air in the era of the one-and-done collegiate star.

Sullinger added that he wasn't caught up in the emotion of

In hindsight, Richmond should have probably let it go right away.

On the other side, Kansas should have probably waited a little longer.

Before taking the floor Friday night in San Antonio, the Spiders huddled in the tunnel as part of their pregame ritual. Meanwhile, the top-seeded Jayhawks attempted to exit the tunnel by squeezing around them on both sides.

In the middle of it, with the bodies getting a bit close, and just like that, the shouting and shoving began.

Pinning fault squarely on one side is a bit tough. It certainly appeared that Richmond was the first side to resort to shoving, but the conspiracy theorist might argue that Kansas ran out prematurely with the goal of getting into the Spiders' heads.

Kansas technically got the mind games started on Thursday, when players from both sides crossed paths in the Alamodome between practices and media sessions. During a brief exchange, Marcus Morris coldly said "You boys better be ready."

After Richmond's Kevin Anderson and

JimmerFinale

His left calf was aching, he played most of the second half with a bandaged-up chin and shot a porous 11 of 29 from the floor.

BYU rode Jimmer Fredette — now widely known as just "The Jimmer" — to the program's first Sweet 16 since 1981, a Mountain West Conference regular-season title and national prominence. But eventually, the magic had to run out.

Florida forced the drainage in sound fashion, ousting the Cougars on Wednesday night in New Orleans with an 83-74 overtime triumph.

BYU played either from behind or neck-and-neck with a bigger, stronger and deeper team all night, managing to hang around despite the nation's leading scorer taking longer than normal to get going.

Fredette missed his first six shots of the game, didn't score until there were just over six minutes left in the first half and, still, the two were tied at the half, 36-36.

Just after the start of the second stanza, TV cameras showed footage of Fredette having his calf worked on by the BYU training staff,

TyshawnTaylor

Before last weekend, Kansas was already the odds-on favorite to emerge from a thin Southwest Regional field and land its second Final Four berth under coach Bill Self.

Now, the top-seeded Jayhawks arrive in San Antonio for Friday's Sweet 16 showdown against an unexpected foe in 12-seed Richmond. The winner takes on whoever advances from another unlikely matchup between No. 11 VCU and No. 10 Florida State.

You can argue all you want that Richmond, VCU and FSU all played better last weekend than their seeds would lead you to expect. But all that the bracket crumbling around Kansas has done is ramp up the pressure on the Jayhawks to get to Houston.

Each of the other three regions have three of the top four seeds remaining entering the Sweet 16 round.

The last time KU made it to the Final Four — 2008 — the bracket had seemingly "opened up" in a similar fashion. That team's two second weekend opponents in Detroit were No. 12 Villanova and No. 10 Davidson. It took care of Villanova in

Like it or not, the referees have created as big of a buzz so far in this year's NCAA tournament as the likes of Jimmer Fredette, Kemba Walker and Cinderellas such as VCU.

In turn, NCAA supervisor of officials John Adams has received plenty of ink and press while having to address several of the questionable calls late in games.

The latest is the backcourt violation called against Syracuse's Scoop Jardine in the final minute of the Orange's season-ending loss to Marquette in Cleveland on Sunday evening.

"It appears from the video that we have seen that an error was made in applying the backcourt violation rule," Adams said on Wednesday.

With 51 seconds left and the game tied, 59-59, Jardine caught an inbound pass near mid-court, but was left with a baffled look when he was credited with a turnover for having allegedly crossed back over the timeline.

After that, Darius Johnson-Odom buried a clutch three for Marquette, and a handful of free throws later, the Golden Eagles propelled

In the past two months, few things have been able to rattle red-hot North Carolina freshman swingman Harrison Barnes.

Michael Jordan sure did, though, last Saturday in Charlotte.

The day before UNC punched its ticket to the Sweet 16 with an 86-83 victory over Washington, the players exited the Time Warner Cable Arena and had an encounter with the most legendary Tar Heel of all-time, and he had some interesting words for Barnes involving his choice in footwear.

Jordan playfully chastised Barnes for wearing the trendy Nike Zoom Kobe VI — Kobe Bryant's shoe. However, given Jordan's famed, maniacal competitive streak, there probably was a strong hint of seriousness to his message, as Bryant's kicks have gained significant ground on Jordan's in terms of popularity with young players. He is, after all, the NBA's active king of cool.

"If I see you in them Kobe Bryants, man, I'm gonna cut you right off," Jordan said. "I don't care if your feet kill you, you're gonna wear them Jordans.

"Wait

NolanSmith

With the NCAA tournament's second weekend set to begin on Thursday, The Dagger takes a look at the remaining fields in each of the four regions.

Oh, the storylines. You've got the defending national champs, this year's upstart du jour, a former powerhouse program again on the rise, and one of two survivors still carrying the torch for the Big East. Duke is still the odds-on favorite to emerge out of this bracket, especially with the addition of freshman star Kyrie Irving back into the lineup. The Blue Devils will have to get by Arizona, which rode the shoulders of Pac-10 Player of the Year Derrick Williams through a tough first weekend in Tulsa. On the other side, San Diego State, essentially playing at home, is in its first ever Sweet 16. The Aztecs are attempting to notch their first-ever victory over a Big East foe against UConn and red-hot star Kemba Walker.

How they got here
No. 1 Duke: Def. No. 16 Hampton and No. 8 Michigan
No. 2 San Diego State: Def. No. 15 Northern Colorado and