Brad Stevens, head coach: I remember in recruiting Gordon, (a potential Final Four) was a big part. I told him, 'I think we can do this, and I think you're the part that can help us do it.' Probably more of a sales job than a belief on any of our parts.

Jim McGrath, sports information director: We'd come a long way. I remember in 1981, when I started here, basketball was struggling. I saw seven wins my first year. At that point, I thought it'd be nice if we could just get into the tournament. We wouldn't even have to win a game, just get in.

Terry Johnson, assistant coach: We thought we'd sold the guys short the year before (Butler went 26-6 in 2008-09 and was bounced from the NCAA tournament in the first round). We had a lot of freshman and we told them, 'Let's just make the tournament.' After we lost, Brad was like, 'I sold the guys short.' So before the season, Brad said, 'I'm not going to sell you guys short anymore. Let's try and win it all.' That was our mindset: Win it all. Why not? Why not us?