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Butler's Rotnei Clarke never figured it would be this hard to get to the postseason.

After three disappointing finishes at Arkansas and sitting out last season after transferring to Butler, the star shooter will get his first and only chance to play in the NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs (26-8), who missed the tourney last year after reaching back-to-back championship games, made it back this year with Clarke leading the way. They will open tourney play Thursday against Bucknell in Lexington, Ky.

For Clarke, this is the culmination of a career that didn't go as planned after setting the Oklahoma high school scoring record with nearly 3,800 points.