Hold on to the ball, hold on to hope 
During the 2006-07 season, Butler and Southern Illinois figured prominently in the national polls all season, and each ended up taking a trip to the Sweet 16.
Many were flummoxed as to how either could have succeeded. Butler was tragically undersized, often outrebounded by double digits, and was prone to horrible shooting nights. SIU built its reputation on defense, yet had trouble managing 40 percent shooting from the floor. The Salukis often played a high-stakes game of scrappy basketball, luring opponents into 47-45 games that always seemed to go down to the final possession.
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Kyle Whelliston
Senior Writer, ESPN.comABOUT THIS BLOG
College Basketball Experts
Fran Fraschilla is an analyst for ESPN and was previously the head coach at New Mexico, St. John's and Manhattan.
Joe Lunardi is the resident bracketologist for ESPN.
Seth Greenberg is an analyst for ESPN and was previously the head coach at Virginia Tech, South Florida and Long Beach State.
