[2] In the 2nd round, Butler used late free throws from Ronald Nored and Matt Howard to beat Murray State 54–52 and advance to the Sweet 16.

[4] In the Elite Eight, Butler would upset Kansas State beating them 63–56 to advance to the Final Four, their 1st appearance in team history.

[5] In the Final Four, Butler beat Michigan State with a 52–50 win to advance to their 1st ever national championship game.

[9] In the Elite Eight, Nolan Smith scored 29 points to lead Duke to a 78–71 victory over Baylor to advance to the Final Four.

Then, Kyle Singler made a basket to give Duke a 58–55 lead and Butler would call a 30-second timeout.

Gordon Hayward narrowly missed a buzzer-beating half-court shot which would have won the game for Butler and it resulted in a 61–59 win for Duke and the national championship.