Butler, Purdue use true grit to get programs into Sweet 16

Coach Matt Painter kept believing in his team even as he watched his Purdue University team fritter away a 19-point lead.

He did, after all, recruit these players to excel in tough times. And he did spend two years using the lessons from consecutive overtime losses in the NCAA men's basketball tournament to show his team what it took to survive in March.

So when the Boilermakers steadied themselves, retook the lead and reached their first Sweet 16 in seven years, Painter wasn't surprised. He simply knew the Boilermakers, finally, were tough enough.

"No question, having that grit back after not having it for a couple of years helps," Painter said. "We put a lot of skill on the court, but we also have guys who are competitive."

Painter, after all, grew up a fan of former Indiana University coach Bob Knight, went on to play for Purdue Coach Gene Keady and then served on Keady's staff briefly before succeeding his former coach.

Experience has taught Painter just how delicate it can be to find the proper balance.

After finishing last in the Big Ten Conference in 2013-14 with guys who were content to rely more on their athleticism than mental toughness, Painter changed course.

He brought in gritty overachievers who embraced old-school principles built on effort and led Purdue to its first outright conference title since 1996. Nothing reinforced those beliefs more than Saturday's comeback victory against Iowa State.

"Leads are blown throughout March Madness, which is all about close games. I always tell the guys, 'If it's not a blowout, then it is a close game,'" junior forward Vince Edwards said Monday. "We have learned to be able to take a run—like Iowa State's—and be able to withstand it."

The best teams always do, which is why fourth-seeded Purdue will now face top-seeded Kansas (30-4) in one of Thursday night's Midwest Regional semifinal games .

Finding players who are the right fit is a challenge for every coach and program.

At Butler University, it's a tradition that has been passed down through nearly a half-dozen coaches over a span of two decades. Former coach and current athletic director Barry Collier started the process by turning the Bulldogs from perennial also-ran into a regular conference contender and NCAA Tourney hopeful.

Thad Matta and Todd Lickliter kept the momentum going before taking other jobs, and Brad Stevens perfected the script as the Bulldogs posted consecutive national runner-up finishes.

Things didn't always go smoothly. Fans still remember watching the Bulldogs blow an upset bid against Florida in the 2000 tourney and the inexplicable 2002 tourney snub.

Eventually, though, those painful moments gave way to a litany of program-defining memories.

Against Louisville in the 2003 tourney, a teammate handed his dry shoes to the late Joel Cornette so Cornette could help close out an upset against Louisville in 2003. In the 2010 title game, junior center Matt Howard had the foresight to set a pick and give Gordon Hayward a clean look on his half-court heave that just missed.

The next year, Howard managed to draw a foul in the waning seconds against Pittsburgh to keep Butler's postseason run alive.

"The stories are unbelievable," point guard Tyler Lewis said. "That was a special group because they really made the community believe Butler was not just some small school. Butler was a school you didn't mess around with."

Stevens and his predecessors moved the school up the pecking order by recruiting late-bloomers or players who were often overlooked by bigger schools. They asked them to play selflessly, a style that defines The Butler Way.

While that philosophy worked well in the Horizon League and the Atlantic 10, Chris Holtmann needed to make some adjustments to thrive in the stronger Big East. Holtmann has recruited better athletes and is looking for more physical players, but the same basic philosophy hasn't changed.

"I think it (toughness) has been valued here at a really high level, from those who came before me," Holtmann said. "I just hope I'm doing my job to carry it on."

The good news is he hasn't had do too much.

Here, players like leading scorer Kelan Martin don't complain about coming off the bench if asked. Grad transfers like Avery Woodson and Kethan Savage are both happy to help any way they can in their first and only NCAA appearance.

And it will be that way again when fourth-seeded Butler (25-8) tries to upset top-seeded North Carolina (29-7) in the South Region on Friday night.

"What makes us so tough is that we believe in each other," said Lewis, who started his career at North Carolina State. "It's an honor putting on this Butler uniform because it reminds us of what the guys did that came before us."