• We're Gonna Gitcha



    We’re gonna gitcha.

    Matt Graves' words as Butler prepared for the Horizon League Tournament in 2011 rang true. They came. They got us.

    We reciprocate.

    Every time a member of the Black and Gold jacked up a three-pointer during the 34-6 rout to open the first round game of the Horizon League Tournament against UIC, words kept flashing in front of my eyes.

    Tony Meier for three. Title.

    Kyle Kelm from the elbow. Butler.

    Paris Gulley from the corner. Revenge.

    Milwaukee’s goals are the same as every other team that will play this weekend in the Horizon League Tournament. Win the darn thing. Go to the NCAA Tournament. Dance, mother----er, dance.

    But to go dancing, you need to win the title. To win the title, you have to win. For Milwaukee to win, they have to beat Butler.

    It’s the same story, just different characters. Anthony Hill and Tone Boyle have made room for Paris Gulley and James Haarsma. Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard have been replaced by Roosevelt Jones and Kameron Woods.

    And so the beat goes on. The ghosts of this rivalry loom large over the day. Some Panthers got through it. Clay Tucker and Ronnie Jones got through Avery Sheets. Joah Tucker and Adrian Tigert got through Brandon Polk. Some didn’t. I still remember Ricky Franklin’s face after the Panthers lost by nine at Hinkle two years ago. Franklin missed a three-pointer that would have tied the game with under a minute remaining.

    Last year, it seemed like we had a group that would finally get through the line. Anthony Hill owned Matt Howard. Tone Boyle made the big shots.

    But it wasn’t to be. Of all those ghosts, the biggest one is the most recent, the deep scar of the 2011 Horizon League Championship still a vivid memory for everyone who saw it.

    A victory tonight doesn’t guarantee a championship. Neither did the game at Hinkle in 2010. But in a season where the Milwaukee Panthers have been running around exorcising demons, there are none greater than this.

    Butler. The Horizon League Tournament.

    We’re Gonna Gitcha.