MILWAUKEE -- With its highest NCAA Tournament seed ever, Butler begins its hopeful march to the Final Four in Milwaukee, where the No. 4 seed Bulldogs will face 13th-seeded Winthrop on Thursday in a South Region first-round contest at the Bradley Center.
Butler (23-8) finished second in a deep Big East Conference this season. The Bulldogs had won four in a row and five of six before dropping their final two contests, including a 62-57 decision to Xavier in the Big East tournament quarterfinal.
But the committee was still impressed enough with Butler's resume -- which included three losses to teams outside the RPI Top 100 but a pair of victories over Big East champ and overall No.