Tournament Tracker: March 17

INDIANAPOLIS -- And then there were two.  As Kyle Whellitson of MidMajority.com fame is fond of saying, "It always ends in a loss."  While Butler and Cleveland State remain alive in the NCAA and NIT, for Milwaukee and Valparaiso, their respective seasons came to an end on Wednesday night.  Meanwhile, the Bulldogs' NCAA journey begins at 12:40 p.m. ET (TruTV) this afternoon.  

The end to the season is a stunning blow, after months of preparation, practice and games being continually recycled on the schedule.  Now, both Milwaukee and Valparaiso head into the offseason with talent stockpiled for the 2011-12 campaign, but replacing players the caliber of Tone Boyle, Anthony Hill (Milwaukee), Cory Johnson, Michael Rogers and Howard Little (Valparaiso) is never easy.

Butler will be looking to improve to 6-1 in Second Round (formerly first round) games in its last seven trips to the NCAA Tournament.  The Bulldogs are one of the main reasons the Horizon League is the only non-BCS conference to have reached the Third Round (formerly second round) in each of the last six years. Still, as Ronald Nored tells David Woods of the Indianapolis Star, "The first game of the NCAA Tournament is the hardest to win."

Horizon League Senior Associate Commissioner Bill Benner dispatches from Washginton, D.C., where he says while the attendance numbers for Butler's open practice may have been down, the Butler Way and its story, remain the same.

Woods speculates on what Shelvin Mack's professional options will be after the year if he carries over his form from the past month of play, where he averaged 17.4 points and 3.3 assists per game.  The Butler beat writer for the Indianapolis Star also breaks down what the Bulldogs expect to see defensively out of Old Dominion.

It comes down to rebounding, the Bulldogs tell WISH-TV's Ashley Adamson.  Notable - Butler is 11th nationally in defensive rebounding.

There will be no sneaking up on opponents this year for Butler, writes David Steele of AOL Fanhouse.  Despite last year's run to the NCAA championship game, Shawn Vanzant says he still feels like an underdog.  The 2010 run continues to raise Butler's profile.  The St. Louis Post-Dispatch weighs in on this theme, as well.

John Feinstein says that in order for Old Dominion to become Butler, they must first go through the Dawgs.

In case you missed it, Butler Blue II was on ESPN First Take Wednesday morning.

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Milwaukee
Northwestern used an 18-0 run in the first half and held off Milwaukee in the second half in a 70-61 Panther loss at Welsh-Ryan Arena in the opening round of the NIT.  Tony Meier led the way with 19 for the Panthers.

Milwaukee (19-14) shot 45 percent from the floor and limited Northwestern (19-13) to 37.9-percent shooting, but 16 Panther turnovers and 16 Wildcat offensive rebounds helped make up the difference in the game.  Hitting 11 three-pointers, the Panthers were able to trim a 15-point deficit to six, but could get no closer in the second half.

After the game, Rob Jeter told Tom Enlud that the team talked about lessons learned and what could be applied to next season, saying, "The biggest thing is that we came together.  Through some of the more difficult times, we became tough, and we really cared about each other.  It was great lessons to carry on and build on."

Anthony Hill had 11 points in his final game for the Panthers, while Kaylon Williams, who was such a huge part of the team's surge to the top of the Horizon League, chipped in 11 as well.

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Valparaiso
The Crusaders had overcome a double-digit defcit to win on six occasions, but could not do it a seventh time in an 85-77 loss to Iona in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.  Still, after freshman Jay Harris led several comeback efforts in the second half en route to a career-high 20 points, Valparaiso (23-12) heads into the offseason having found another scoring option in the backcourt.

Every time Valpo got close, it seemed like Iona responded, Paul Jankowski writes.  At least four times, the Crusaders were able to trim a double-digit deficit down to six, but the Gaels went out and rebuilt the 10-point cushion each time.

The 10-day break was not enough time for the Crusaders, as Ryan Broekhoff lost 11 pounds due to illness and Brandon Wood's problematic back issues flared up, limiting both players.  Cory Johnson, in his final collegiate game, scored 14 points, while fellow senior Michael Rogers had 6.  Howard Little added 15 and leaves as the program's all-time leader in games played with 133.

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Cleveland State
Judging from the NIT bracket, the Vikings will host College of Charleston on Saturday, March 19, at 2 p.m. ET on ESPNU, in the second round of the NIT.  Two of the nation's top guards will have star billing, as Norris Cole welcomes Andrew Goudelock to the Wolstein Center.