# 2000–01 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2000–01 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Butler University in the 2000–01 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Thad Matta, serving in his 1st season as head coach at the school. The Bulldogs played their home games at Hinkle Fieldhouse as members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. Butler finished first in the MCC season standings and won the MCC tournament to receive the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament – the school’s fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in five years. As No. 10 seed in the Midwest region, the Bulldogs took down No. 7 seed Wake Forest, 79–63, in the opening round, before falling to No. 2 seed Arizona in the second round. For the second straight season, Butler lost to the eventual National runner-up. Butler finished the season with a record of 24–8 (11–3 MCC).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 18, 2000* | | Eastern Illinois | W 90–73 | 1–0 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (3,598) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Nov 20, 2000* | | at Birmingham-Southern | W 71–62 | 2–0 | Bill Battle Coliseum (1,250) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Nov 27, 2000* | | Ball State | W 71–48 | 3–0 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (7,105) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Dec 2, 2000* | | at Evansville | L 73–74 | 3–1 | Roberts Stadium (6,661) Evansville, Indiana |
| Dec 6, 2000* | | at Indiana State | L 88–90 $^{OT}$ | 3–2 | Hulman Center (5,533) Terre Haute, Indiana |
| Dec 16, 2000* | | UNC Wilmington | L 48–53 | 3–3 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (4,021) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Dec 18, 2000* | | Tennessee-Martin | W 77–48 | 4–3 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (2,785) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Dec 20, 2000* | | Santa Clara | W 84–60 | 5–3 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (3,531) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Dec 23, 2000* | | TCU | W 86–73 | 6–3 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (4,038) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Dec 28, 2000* | | at No. 12 Arizona | L 60–72 | 6–4 | McKale Center (14,565) Tucson, Arizona |
| Dec 30, 2000* | | vs. Louisiana-Lafayette | W 74–63 | 7–4 | McKale Center (14,565) Tucson, Arizona |
| Jan 3, 2001* | | Lipscomb | W 72–56 | 8–4 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (3,317) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Jan 6, 2001 | | at Wright State | L 61–62 | 8–5 (0–1) | Ervin J. Nutter Center (5,005) Fairborn, Ohio |
| Jan 11, 2001 | | Cleveland State | W 65–52 | 9–5 (1–1) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (3,582) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Jan 13, 2001 | | Detroit | W 74–59 | 10–5 (2–1) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (5,612) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Jan 20, 2001 | | at Milwaukee | W 60–51 | 11–5 (3–1) | Klotsche Center (4,234) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Jan 22, 2001 | | at Green Bay | L 68–69 | 11–6 (3–2) | Brown County Arena (3,609) Green Bay, Wisconsin |
| Jan 25, 2001 | | UIC | W 76–69 | 12–6 (4–2) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (3,653) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Jan 27, 2001 | | Loyola (IL) | W 71–57 | 13–6 (5–2) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (5,018) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Jan 30, 2001* | | at No. 10 Wisconsin | W 58–44 | 14–6 | Kohl Center (16,233) Madison, Wisconsin |
| Feb 3, 2001 | | Wright State | W 59–48 | 15–6 (6–2) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (8,277) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Feb 8, 2001 | | at Detroit | L 63–68 | 15–7 (6–3) | Calihan Hall (3,502) Detroit, Michigan |
| Feb 10, 2001 | | at Cleveland State | W 59–56 | 16–7 (7–3) | CSU Convocation Center (7,333) Cleveland, Ohio |
| Feb 15, 2001 | | Milwaukee | W 80–75 $^{OT}$ | 17–7 (8–3) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (4,234) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Feb 17, 2001 | | Green Bay | W 78–52 | 18–7 (9–3) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (7,566) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Feb 22, 2001 | | at Loyola (IL) | W 66–62 | 19–7 (10–3) | Joseph J. Gentile Center (1,511) Chicago, Illinois |
| Feb 24, 2001 | | at UIC | W 68–66 | 20–7 (11–3) | UIC Pavilion (5,042) Chicago, Illinois |
| MCC tournament ||||||
| Mar 3, 2001* | | vs. Loyola (IL) Quarterfinals | W 78–52 | 21–7 | Ervin J. Nutter Center (5,115) Fairborn, Ohio |
| Mar 4, 2001* | | at Wright State Semifinals | W 66–58 | 22–7 | Ervin J. Nutter Center (6,181) Fairborn, Ohio |
| Mar 6, 2001* | | vs. Detroit Championship game | W 53–38 | 23–7 | Ervin J. Nutter Center (6,102) Fairborn, Ohio |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 16, 2001* | (10 MW) | vs. (7 MW) No. 23 Wake Forest First Round | W 79–63 | 24–7 | Kemper Arena (13,550) Kansas City, Missouri |
| Mar 18, 2001* | (10 MW) | vs. (2 MW) No. 5 Arizona Second Round | L 52–73 | 24–8 | Kemper Arena (14,450) Kansas City, Missouri |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||