In one electrifying perimeter shooting display, the Butler Bulldogs blew open a close game, erased a Great Alaska Shootout record and shrugged off 42 years of frustration.
The 22nd-ranked Bulldogs drained a tournament-record 17 three-pointers to defeat Michigan 79-65 Wednesday night in the men's Shootout opener in front of an announced crowd of 7,265 at Sullivan Arena.
It's Butler's first win over the Wolverines since December of 1965.
Pete Campbell and A.J. Graves led the long-distance barrage, nailing six and five treys, respectively. Point guard Mike Green had 14 points and eight assists.
"We shot the ball well," Butler coach Brad Stevens said. "Moreso, we handled the pressure well."
The Bulldogs opened the game up in the first half thanks to a 23-6 run over 10 minutes. Campbell, who finished with a game-high 18 points before fouling out, hit three of his triples over that span.
And if he wasn't raining jumpers from outside, Green was dishing out no-look assists to freshman post Matt Howard, who turned in an impressive double-double with 12 points and 12 boards.
"We've got a bunch of shooters," said Green who canned both of his three-point attempts. "You want to join in the party. You've got to shoot with confidence.
Michigan trailed by as many as 17 in the first half, but gradually whittled that deficit to eight. Then the Wolverines opened the second half on a 7-0 run to get within 40-39.
"I knew everybody was going to hang in there," Michigan guard Ron Coleman said. Coleman had 12 points as did Manny Harris. DeShawn Sims led Michigan with 14.
Butler led 51-48 when Graves, Campbell and Green put a swift end to any thoughts of a Wolverine upset.
"We didn't do a good job defensively," Stevens said. "They were rolling. Once (we) got a couple of stops, (we) started making shots."
The Bulldogs hit an astounding seven three-pointers over their next eight possessions for a 21-2 run that put them up by 22.
"You just saw a great basketball team in Butler," Wolverines coach John Beilein said. "They're just good. They made the extra pass a lot tonight. We don't have an answer for some of the stuff they were doing."
After a fairly quiet first half, Graves -- the Horizon League preseason player of the year -- seemed automatic from outside, finishing with 17 points.
Butler shot an insane 17 of 32 (53 percent) from three-point range.
"Three is more than two," Beilein quipped, noting that his Wolverines shot a respectable 44.7 percent from the field. "Five guys coming back (from last year's Sweet 16 team) -- you can see why they did what they did."
Butler advances to the Shootout semifinals to play either Eastern Washington or Virginia Tech on Friday at 5:30 p.m. The Wolverines will play the EWU-Virginia Tech loser at noon on Friday.
Find Andrew Hinkelman online at adn.com/contact/ahinkelman or call 257-4335.
MICHIGAN (65) -- Coleman 4-6 1-2 12; Gibson 1-1 0-0 2; Sims 5-7 2-3 14; Harris 3-10 5-6 12; Grady 1-6 2-2 5; Smith 2-3 2-2 6; Lee 1-2 0-0 3; Morris 0-1 2-2 2; Wright 0-1 1-2 1; Shepherd 1-3 0-0 2; Udoh 3-7 0-0 6. Totals: 21-47 15-19 65.
BUTLER (79) -- Betko 2-7 2-2 8; Streicher 1-5 2-2 5; Campbell 6-11 0-0 18; Graves 5-10 2-2 17; Green 5-11 2-3 14; Vanzant 1-1 0-0 3; Hahn 1-1 0-0 2; Engelmann 0-0 0-0 0; Howard 4-9 4-6 12. Totals: 25-55 12-15 79.
Three-point goals -- Michigan 8-20 (Coleman 3-4, Sims 2-4, Harris 1-4, Grady 1-4, Lee 1-2, Morris 0-1, Wright 0-1); Butler 17-32 (Betko 2-4, Streicher 1-4, Campbell 6-11, Graves 5-10, Green 2-2, Vanzant 1-1). Fouled Out -- Michigan (none); Butler (Campbell). Rebounds -- Michigan 30 (Coleman); Butler 29 (Howard 12). Assists -- Michigan 10 (Harris 5); Butler 19 (Green 8). Total fouls -- Michigan 14; Butler 20. Officials -- Eric Curry, Tim Gabutero, Gabby Lujan. A -- 7,265.
Michigan 32 33 -- 65
Butler 40 39 -- 79
By ANDREW HINKELMAN
ahinkelman@adn.com