"Coach [Brad Stevens] actually called the play by the wrong name," said Graves, who still finished well below his season average. "It's a play we run a lot. What we're supposed to do is get the best shot we can."

"But you're not supposed to bank it in," interjected Stevens.

That the Bulldogs were even close enough to win it was a testament to grit and Mike Green. Green led the way with 19 points, including a jumper with 30 seconds left that pulled Butler within one.

With the chance to bombproof its lead, SIU missed the front end of two one-and-ones in the final 23 seconds. All of which set up Graves' winning missile.

"I couldn't see it," after it left his hand, Graves said. "I had two guys jump in my way."

The Salukis' Wesley Clemons, guarding the post on the play, got a bird's-eye view. "It was something I can't believe he made."

Butler won despite being outscored by 16 from the field. The Bulldogs knocked down 12-of-30 free throws to make up the difference.

For SIU coach Chris Lowery, it wasn't the number of attempts that Butler got from the line but the number of misses SIU had there.

"Three of 12 -- that's the key," Lowery said of his team's free throw struggles. "That's awful. We have got to make those free throws. Those are free."

Perhaps it was contagious. Even Green, who went 10-for-14 over the first 18 minutes, missed two tries with the game on the line.

"Me and [SIU's Brian] Mullins, we had a free-throw missing contest out there," he said.

Green, who led the Bulldogs with 19 points, was able to laugh after a win.

Lowery, who saw his team shrink to 5-6 after starting the year ranked in the AP Top 25, could only hope for smiles in the future.

"This is another one that got away from us," he said. "Another one where we're going to look back and say if we did this or we did that."

All Butler cared about was what Graves was able to do in that instant.