Box Score

For the third consecutive season, Butler advanced in the NCAA Tournament as the fourth-seeded Bulldogs knocked off Winthrop, 76-64, Thursday afternoon in Milwaukee. Butler advances to play the winner of the Minnesota-Middle Tennessee State that is currently in action.

The Bulldogs improve to 24-8 on the season and are now 9-0 in NCAA Tournament games when having a better seed than their opponent. Butler is 10-1 in their last 11 first-round NCAA Tournament contests.

Graduate student Avery Woodson paced the Bulldogs with 18 points on six three-pointers. Five of those came in the first half as Butler built a 39-20 lead with a 16-2 run that finished at the 2:38 mark of the first half. The Bulldogs took a 41-27 lead into the half, shooting 7-of-13 from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes.

Winthrop would not go quietly after the intermission, stringing together seven straight points from Keon Johnson to pull within seven at 48-41 with 13:28 to play. Butler responded with a 12-2 spurt to push the lead back to 17 less than five minutes later. Tyler Lewis had five points and an assist during that run. That run put the game out of reach.

Lewis had nine points and eight assists, controlling the tempo for much of his 23 minutes. Andrew Chrabascz had 12 points and four rebounds, while Kelan Martin added 10 points and eight boards.

Martin's eight rebounds contributed greatly to a 42-27 rebounding advantage. Tyler Wideman collected seven missed shots, while Kamar Baldwin and Kethan Savage each had six rebounds.

Woodson's 18 points were just off his season-best of 20. His six three-pointers tied a career-high.

The Bulldogs shot 20-of-30 from the free throw line and limited Winthrop to just 10 attempts. Johnson and Xavier Cooks combined for 40 points for Winthrop, but needed 41 shots to get there. Baldwin chased Johnson, the 5-7 Big South Conference Player of the Year, much of the afternoon.

Winthrop finishes its season at 26-7.

Butler's opponent will be known later Thursday afternoon. The NCAA will announce Saturday tip times and television assignments later tonight.