February 24, 2012 was a night many Crusader fans will not forget. Having already clinched the regular season title outright, the Bulldogs were the final victory needed to secure the top seed in the standings. The game would turn out to be nothing short of a thriller as the Crusaders jumped out to an early 10 point lead and never looked back.
Going wire-to-wire, Valpo never let Butler get any closer than six points. This was also helped by a technical foul on the Butler bench and one of their better players fouling out. Two more of their players would also end up with four fouls as well.
After the game, the celebration began with Ryan “Rowdy” Broekhoff accepting the Regular Season Championship Trophy. The celebration continued in the locker room. Sophomore guard Jay Harris said that everyone was jumping around and having a good time.
When asked about what it was like to sweep Butler, senior Nick Shelton said, “Butler’s always the team you want to beat. It was exciting to finally be able to sweep them.”
Jay Harris echoed the same. “Butler’s always good, so it’s a great feeling to beat them.”
This is the first time since joining the Horizon League that the team has won the regular season outright. The Crusaders also have secured a double bye into Saturday’s semi-final against Milwaukee or Butler.
Will the magic of 1998 be repeated or will an NIT berth await them? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure though, and that this team is not who everyone thought they were.
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