National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Marquette 74, Butler 72
When: 7:45 PM ET, Saturday, March 23, 2013
Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Officials: # Jeff Anderson, # Lamont Simpson, # Mike Stuart
Attendance: N/A
By SportsDirect Inc.
Marquette 74, Butler 72: Vander Blue scored 29 points as the third-seeded Golden Eagles came back to beat the sixth-seeded Bulldogs in an NCAA Tournament East Regional third-round game at Lexington, Ky.

Blue’s 3-pointer with 1:28 left tied the game at 69 before Jamil Wilson made two go-ahead free throws 40 seconds later for Marquette (25-8), which will play second-seeded Miami or seventh-seeded Illinois in its third consecutive Sweet 16. Wilson and Trent Lockett added 13 points each as the Golden Eagles shot 23-for-27 at the foul line.

Rotnei Clarke led Butler (27-9) with 24 points, but airballed a 3-pointer with five seconds remaining and the Bulldogs trailing 72-70. Andrew Smith, who finished with 17 points, scored on a full-court pass with three seconds to go to pull the Golden Eagles within 74-72, but after Blue threw away the ensuing inbounds pass, Smith stumbled and missed an awkward 3-pointer at the buzzer.

After a Blue layup gave Marquette a 17-16 lead 8:49 into the game, Clarke made a jumper 14 seconds later to give Butler a lead it would hold until late in the second half. The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 35-27 at halftime before the Golden Eagles finally pulled back ahead 60-58 on a Blue dunk with 7:14 to go.

Smith scored four points in a 7-0 spurt as Butler took a 69-66 lead before Blue tied it with a corner 3 and Davante Gardner split at the line with 22 seconds left to make it 72-69 Marquette. Roosevelt Jones split at the foul line with 15 seconds left and Clarke’s misaligned deep ball came off that offensive rebound.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Blue, who was 8-for-8 from the foul line, made game-winning baskets in Marquette’s 59-58 opening-round win over No. 14 Davidson and the Golden Eagles’ regular-season finale against St. John’s, which clinched a share of the Big East regular-season title. … Butler beat Marquette 72-71 on a Clarke 3-pointer on Nov. 19 at the Maui Invitational earlier this season. … A Jones jumper with 3:31 left was waved off for offensive interference when Smith touched the rim. Jones, who was fouled on the play, split at the stripe.
Top Game Performances
 
Butler   Marquette
Rotnei Clarke 24 Scoring Vander Blue 29
Rotnei Clarke 3 Assists Juan Anderson 2
Andrew Smith 8 Rebounds Trent Lockett 6
Andrew Smith 6 Free Throws Made Vander Blue 8
Andrew Smith 2 Steals Vander Blue 4
Alex Barlow 3 Blocks Trent Lockett 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Butler 72 42.9 11-24 13-19 13 28 8 7 15
Marquette 74 42.6 5-12 23-27 9 28 4 9 15