Six of Butler’s nine losses occurred when opponents forced them to play at a faster pace than coach Brad Stevens prefers.

The Bulldogs average a pedestrian 64.6 possessions per game, so they were particularly ill-equipped when Louisville (84 possessions), Duke (72 possessions), Milwaukee (76, second meeting) and Valparaiso (73, second meeting) upped the tempo against them.

During their current winning streak, only two games -- a routine home victory over Illinois-Chicago (67) and the dramatic overtime win over Florida (67) in the Elite Eight -- have exceeded 65 possessions.

Butler has won their four tournament games by a total of 13 points, tying the record set last year by Michigan State for the smallest winning margin recorded by a Final Four team since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

The Bulldogs are now 9-1 over the past two tournaments. Eight of those wins have come by single-digit margins, and six have been decided by four points or less.

Butler used a sound defensive game plan to build a 33-24 lead at halftime, grew that lead to 20 with under 12 minutes to play and survived a frantic last-ditch comeback effort for a 61-54 victory over Wisconsin.

Butler forced eight first-half turnovers, leading to 15 points on the other end during the first 20 minutes of play.

Matt Howard led the way with 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulldogs, giving Wisconsin fits on the 3-point line in the first half by slipping away from a few high-ball screens and knocking down all three of his attempts beyond the arc.

Howard shot 9-of-10 from the free throw line, recorded two steals and stayed out of foul trouble against a Wisconsin offense that failed to attack the inside.

Eighth-seeded Butler returned three starters -- senior forward Matt Howard, senior guard Shawn Vanzant and junior guard Shelvin Mack -- from a team that took Duke to the final second in the national title game last season.

Howard (16.7 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game), Mack (15.6, 4.4) and Vanzant (8.9, 5.4) have played in 11 NCAA Tournament games to tie the program record set last season by then-senior guard Willie Veasley.

"They're not an underdog at all," said Wisconsin senior Jon Leuer, who played last summer with Mack on the USA Select Team that practiced against the U.S. team that competed in the World Championships. "They have talent all over their team. I played with Shelvin Mack and know what he is capable of.

"He is definitely one of the best guards, and Matt Howard is one of the best bigs that you're going to face. They have guys that can really fill it up and they're well-coached, too.

"So you mix that talent with good coaching and you're going to be in for a battle."

Jimmer Fredette of BYU, Jared Sullinger of Ohio State, and Kemba Walker of UConn are among 20 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award as men's college basketball player of the year.

The other finalists are Marshon Brooks (Providence), Alec Burks (Colorado), Norris Cole (Cleveland State), Kenneth Faried (Morehead State), Jordan Hamilton  (Texas), Ben Hansbrough (Notre Dame), Dwight Hardy  (St. John’s), JaJuan Johnson (Purdue), Kawhi Leonard (San Diego State), Jon Leuer (Wisconsin), E’Twaun Moore (Purdue), Marcus Morris (Kansas), Jacob Pullen (Kansas State), Kyle Singler (Duke), Nolan Smith (Duke), Jordan Taylor (Wisconsin), Derrick Williams (Arizona)

After playing for the 2010 National Championship, Butler clawed their way into simply qualifying for the 2011 NCAA Tournament by winning the Horizon League Tournament. By defeating Milwaukee by a 59-44 final, Butler has now reached the Big Dance for five consecutive seasons.

Matt Howard was named Tournament MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by teammates Shelvin Mack and Shawn Vanzant, along with Anthony Hill (Milwaukee) and Brandon Wood (Valparaiso).

• Click here to view RealGM’s comprehensive list of 2011 Conference Tournaments.

Norris Cole of Cleveland State won the 2010-11 Horizon League Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards on Thursday.

Joining Cole on the the All-League First Team are Vaughn Duggins (Wright State), Anthony Hill (Milwaukee), Matt Howard (Butler) and Brandon Wood (Valpariaiso).

On the Second Team are N'Gai Evans (Wright State), Rahmon Fletcher (Green Bay), Eli Holman (Detroit), Shelvin Mack (Butler) and Ray McCallum (Detroit).

McCallum was also named Newcomer of the Year.

On the All-Defensive Team were Cole, teammate Trevon Harmon, Ronald Nored (Butler), and Howard and Holman.

• Click here for more information on the Horizon League awards.