Brad Stevens was back. Back for his first game at Hinkle Fieldhouse since he was coaching Butler, leading the Bulldogs to consecutive appearances in the national championship game. The coach of the Boston Celtics dutifully put on one of the white Butler T-shirts waiting at every seat in the building – This Is Our House, it said – over the shirt he wore to the game. A Butler golf shirt.
“We’re emotionally invested in one program,” Stevens was saying after the game. “Where are the Bulldogs? That’s the first thing we ask when it’s the All-Star break.