Courtesy of its 70-62 win against VCU in the national semifinal Saturday, Butler is making its second consecutive trip to the national championship, joining the likes of Florida, Kentucky, Arkansas, Michigan and Duke since the field was expanded to 64 in 1985.
Actually, since '85, only 17 teams have been to Final Fours in back-to-back years, including each of the last three years -- Michigan State in 2010, '09; North Carolina in 2009, '08; UCLA 2008, '07, '06; Florida 2007, '06.
And now Butler.
So how well does this bode for Butler winning on Monday?
Butler and UConn have never met and the Bulldogs lost to the only Big East foe it played this year (Louisville), but there's something to be said for experience. Eleven of the 13 players on the Butler roster were on last year's team.
"Experience is something that you can't teach," former Butler star Gordon Hayward said. "It's a different situation and it's going to be completely different, but at the same time they've been in this scenario before. They've been around the media and all the hype that goes into the Final Four. So they know what that's like and I don't think that's going to rattle them."
| Teams that made back-to-back national championship appearances | ||
| Year | Team | Result |
| 2011 | Butler | vs. UConn |
| 2010 | Butler | L. Duke |
| 2007 | Florida | W. Ohio State |
| 2006 | Florida | W. UCLA |
| 1998 | Kentucky | W. Utah |
| 1997 | Kentucky | L. Arizona |
| 1996 | Kentucky | W. Syracuse |
| 1995 | Arkansas | L. UCLA |
| 1994 | Arkansas | W. Duke |
| 1993 | Michigan | L. North Carolina |
| 1992 | Michigan | L. Duke |
| 1991 | Duke | D. Kansas |
| 1990 | Duke | L. UNLV |
| 1985 | Georgetown | W. Villanova* |
| *Georgetown defeated Houston in 1984 before the field expanded | ||
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