Some notes from Butler

*** Watched Brad Stevens find McKillop in a Hinkle hallway after the game and extend his hand. “Big fan,” the young Butler coach said. “You guys are great.”

*** First time in Hinkle. The place is a treat. It’s not in a parking lot, it’s in a neighborhood, and it comes out of nowhere almost Fenway-style. Inside, the big windows up top let the natural light in, and the sounds of the bounce of the ball and the squeaks of the shoes sound the way they’re supposed to sound. And what happened after Davidson and Butler finished their game? Little kids. Rec league.

*** Tripp’s trip: He left his house in Charlotte at 2:50 a.m. and drove the 600 or so miles to Indianapolis, making only one stop, somewhere in Tennessee, he said, where he bought six Cracker Barrel biscuits and ate them all.

*** Radio man Ken Hall after the game: “I think this year’s team can be better than last year’s team.”

*** Enjoyed some postgame pizza and Blue Moons at Binkley’s with Waitress from Cats.com and his road-tripping daughter.