INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Roosevelt Jones stole an inbound pass with 3.5 seconds left and hit a floater from just inside the foul line right before the buzzer to help No. 13 Butler upset No. 8 Gonzaga 64-63 on Saturday night.
Jones finished with 20 points and the Bulldogs have now won 13 in a row including two straight without their top scorer, Rotnei Clarke. It’s the first time Butler (16-2, 3-0 Atlantic 10) has ever beaten three top 10 teams in one season. They also defeated No. 9 North Carolina in November and No. 1 Indiana in December.
Gonzaga (17-2, 4-0 West Coast Conference) was led by Saw Dower and Elias Harris who each had 20 points. The loss ended the Zags eight-game winning streak.
The game was considered the biggest non-power conference matchup of the season, and it met the hype.
Trailing 33-32 at the half, Butler scored the first five points of the second half and never trailed again until Elias Harris scored with 1:24 to go the teams traded leads on the next four possessions before Jones won it.
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