 On March 25 , 2010 , Butler faced top @-@ seeded Syracuse . The Bulldogs got off to a good start , jumping out to a 12 – 1 lead and a 35 – 25 halftime advantage . Syracuse rallied in the second half , taking its first lead of the game , 40 – 39 , off a Wes Johnson three @-@ pointer . Stevens called timeout and Butler regained the lead on its next possession , stopping the run . At the 5 : 32 mark , Syracuse got a rare fast break opportunity that ended with a dunk and 54 – 50 lead . Stevens again called time out and re @-@ focused the team . Butler responded by holding Syracuse scoreless for the next 5 minutes , taking a 60 – 54 lead with 0 : 59 to go . Butler held on to win 63 – 59 , advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history . 
