Butler’s Shelvin Mack is well aware of the chatter. His teammate, Ronald Nored, is a highly intelligent kid, a 4.0 student and valedictorian, who also pays careful attention.
"It’s pretty obvious," Butler’s senior said prior to Thursday’s matchup against Old Dominion. "When you hear everyone talking about a Pittsburgh-Old Dominion matchup."
No one is giving Butler a chance.
Last year’s Cinderella story has misplaced both of its slippers.
"It’s my eighth tournament game," Nored added. "And every one we’ve played in, we’ve been picked to lose."
No shock. Just about everyone is picking Old Dominion in Friday afternoon’s game against the Bulldogs.
"The same people that picked us to lose last year," Mack said.
This year has been different, though. Coach Brad Stevens and everyone have come clean with that. The Bulldogs have had difficulty adjusting – especially on the defensive end – to the departures of lottery pick Gordon Hayward and veteran Willie Veasley.
"It’s a new team this year," Mack said.
"We’ve had to change the way we play," Stevens admitted.
Senior Matt Howard has gone from being exclusively a low-post guy to one who spends significant time on the perimeter. No longer can Butler switch everything defensively with the departure of Hayward and Veasley.
Sophomore big man Andrew Smith has become a key cog and starter in the middle, and Chase Stigall has also moved his way into the starting lineup.
The adjustments resulted in the Bulldogs struggling early.
They whiffed on three key non-conference opportunities in November and early December and then dropped five games in league play to fall to third place in the Horizon League.
They lost to Milwaukee twice, Wright State, Valparaiso and finally Youngstown State on Feb. 3.
It sure appeared as though the team that nearly won it all last season would be heading to the NIT.
"I wasn’t sure we’d be here," Nored admitted.
"I was worried," Mack added.
Everyone was.
However, the Bulldogs have found a way to come together the last month or so, winning nine straight games – including a pair over Cleveland State and Milwaukee to earn the automatic berth via the Horizon League tournament title.
Most teams would have been rattled trying to get out of the hole that Butler dug for itself early this season.
Not a team led by the baby-faced, even-keeled Stevens — who might be the most mature 34-year-old on the planet.
"Nobody panicked," Butler associate head coach Matthew Graves said. "Everybody stayed the course. There’s a blueprint of how it works – and we know what it looks like."
"Each year is different," he added. "And this year took a little longer to get there."
But the Bulldogs are here with an opportunity to, yet again, prove the critics wrong.
A year ago, they won five games and came within a basket of Duke and pulling the ultimate Cinderella story by winning the national championship.
Right now this team is just focused on winning a single game in the NCAA tournament. The old "taking it one game at a time" mantra.
"We’re just worried about Old Dominion for now," Mack said.
It’s an Old Dominion team loaded with experience and one that dominates on the glass, a Monarchs team that is favored.
Butler will have its hands full, but Mack said that the new guys have adjusted to their roles, their focus has improved, and that the defense has also made significant strides.
"We’re not the same team we were earlier in the year," Mack said.
While all of the above have been checked off the list, this team just doesn’t have the look and feel of one that’s headed back to the national championship game.
Maybe it’s the absence of Hayward – or even Veasley.
Then again, no one expected it last year, either.
