Mack leads Butler back to national title game

HOUSTON (AP) — The lovable underdog label is long gone. Now Butler is determined to drop that “first loser” tag, too.

Shelvin Mack scored 24 points and Zach Hahn came up big off the bench, ending the warm-and-fuzzy story of this year’s tournament with a 70-62 victory over VCU in the Final Four on Saturday night. The victory sends Butler to the national title game for a second straight year and marks the first time since Duke in 1991 that the runner-up has returned to play for the championship.

“We’ve just got to be one shot better than last year,” coach Brad Stevens said.

The eighth-seeded Bulldogs (28-9) will face the winner of Kentucky-Connecticut on Monday night.