Vander Blue Leads Marquette into Sweet 16 with Win over Butler

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 23, 2013

After surviving a near-tournament-death experience in their opening game against Davidson with a down-to-the-wire victory, the Golden Eagles knew they couldn't make mistakes against their next opponent, the Butler Bulldogs, because Butler had defeated them back in November, when the Bulldogs' Rotnei Clarke beat them at the buzzer in a 72-71 win at the Maui Invitational.

When they met Butler in the third round with the chance to reach the Sweet 16, Marquette players rose to the occasion and delivered a 74-72 victory, determined not to lose another close contest.

Vander Blue, the junior guard who led the Eagles in scoring during the regular season, played one of his best games, pouring in 29 points on 9-for-15 shooting with four three-pointers and a perfect 8-for-8 mark at the foul line.

Blue made the big baskets at critical times, helping the Golden Eagles come back from an eight-point half time deficit, scoring 19 points in the second half, including a clutch trey that tied the game at 69.

With the win, Marquette advanced to the Sweet 16, along with fellow Big East squads Syracuse and Louisville, where they will meet the winner of Sunday's Miami-Illinois contest. Blue and his teammates figure to be well-prepared.

Tournament Conference Scoreboard
Through games of 3/23

Conference (# of teams)	W-L	Winners (wins)
ACC (4)	3-1	Duke (1) Miami (1) North Carolina (1)
Atlantic 10 (5)	6-3	LaSalle (2) Butler (1) St. Louis (1) VCU (1) Temple (1)
Big 12 (6)	2-3	Iowa St. (1) Kansas
Big East (8)	6-5	Marquette(2) Louisville (2) Syracuse (2)
Big Ten (7)	8-1	Mich. St. (2) Michigan (2) Indiana (1) Illinois (1) Ohio St. (1) Minnesota (1)
PAC-12 (5)	5-3	Oregon (2) Arizona (2) Cal (1)
SEC (4)	2-1	Mississippi (1) Florida (1)
Missouri Valley (2)	3-0	Wichita St. (2) Creighton (1)
Mountain West (5)	2-4	Colorado St. (1) San Diego St. (1)
WCC (2)	2-2	St. Mary's (1) Gonzaga (1)
Sun Belt (2)	0-2	--
All Others (19)	5-20	NC A&T (1) James Madison (1) Memphis (1) Harvard (1) Florida Gulf Coast (1)