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.