Butler’s Matt Howard plays hero again

Butler forward Matt Howard has developed a knack during the NCAA tournament for being in the right place at the right time.

During the final second of the third round against No. 1-seeded Pitt, Howard jumped up for a rebound on a missed free throw and was fouled by Pitt forward Nasir Robinson.

Howard made his first free throw and missed the second on purpose to run out the clock and secure the Butler's 71-70 upset.

Howard is no stranger to being a hero. In fact, his paint presence is the reason the Bulldogs were even playing Pitt in the first place.

During the Bulldogs second round game against Old Dominion, Howard put back a missed shot at the last second to give Butler a 60-58 win as time expired.

"This is by far the craziest weekend of basketball, and the type of games that you really play for," Howard told reporters after the game. "You know that obviously you'd like to really play your best and blow teams out, but with such great teams you know it's going to come down to the end, and these are the type of games and moments that you play for as a competitor."

Howard has been the team's most consistent player all season. He led the Bulldogs in points and rebounds heading into the tournament, led them to the Horizon League tournament championship, and has been a key contributor in both games on both offense and defense.

"I think he's made Butler better," coach Brad Stevens said of Howard. "Like how many guys can say that? He has made a whole university better. I respect him a great deal for that."

Howard was kind of in the background last year during Butler's amazing run to the national championship game while guards Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack emerged as stars. And while Mack is still with the team (Hayward is in the NBA), Howard has had no trouble asserting himself as the go-to guy for the Bulldogs.

So now, as Butler heads into its second consecutive Sweet 16, Howard is the man to watch and in some cases the man to fear, especially in a close game with little time remaining.

"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," Stevens said. "And I think that that happens because of 54. I think that that's Matt Howard's imprint on our program is you're going to give everything you have as long as you're out there every single day."

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