A Key to Wisconsin vs Butler

Matt Howard staying out of foul trouble: After Butler's one point win over number one seed Pittsburgh in the third round, Butler head coach Brad Stevens said, "We're just fortunate to advance because one thing these guys do is they play through the horn, and they'll always play through the horn. And I think that happens because of 54 [the number of Matt Howard]. I think that that's Matt Howard imprint on our program is you're going to give everything you have as long as you're out there every single day." Butler has been able to play very hard and very well for the entire 40 minutes of their first two tournament games because Howard has been able to stay on the floor. Howard has always had a tendency to get into a lot of foul trouble. In 12 games this season, Howard either fouled out or had 4 fouls, which limited his minutes on the court. Obviously, any time a team has to play long stretches without their all conference center, who scores nearly 17 points per game and averages nearly 8 rebounds per game, they struggle on both ends of the court. When Butler lost three games in a row in conference play, Howard fouled out in one of those games and had four fouls in the other two. However, Howard has been able to remain on the floor in Butler's two NCAA tournament games, which has been the key to the Bulldogs two victories. In Butler's first game, Matt had 15 points and 5 rebounds including the game winning tip-in at the buzzer. Howard played 33 minutes and only picked up 3 fouls. In the Bulldogs second game, Matt had 16 points and 6 rebounds including the game winning free throw. Howard played 38 minutes and picked up only 1 foul the entire game. The next challenge for Howard is to stay on the floor for Butler's sweet sixteen game against the Wisconsin Badgers.