(Let me preface by saying that I don't use the term "mid-major" as a slight.  I've never felt that Xavier, Butler, Gonzaga, or Memphis were somehow lesser programs because they weren't in a BCS-league.  I merely am using the term “mid-major” for the sake of categorizing the two programs, which is what this post is based on.)

Butler beat Gonzaga in possibly the game of the year so far in the 2012-13 season, and they did so without leading scorer Rotnei Clarke.  The two teams split the two meetings the last two years, with Gonzaga winning in Spokane last December, and Brad Stevens said he’s hopeful that the series continues.   Aren't we all?

The “Butler or Gonzaga?” question is somewhat silly.  Both programs have become players on the national stage, and both have had sustained success for the better part of the last decade.  But, for comparison’s sake, I decided to take a closer look at how Butler has climbed their way past the Zags to take a seat on the mythical King of the Mid-Majors throne.  While Gonzaga held a strangehold on that title since they burst onto the scene with a Regional Final run in 1999, they've lost considerable grip over the past six seasons.

TOURNAMENT SUCCESS

Tournament apperances (since 2003)

Gonzaga: 10

Butler: 6

Tournament results

Gonzaga -

2003 (#9): Beat #8 Cincinnati, Lost to #1 Arizona by 1 in 2 OT (Second Round)

2004 (#2): Beat #15 Valpo, Lost to #10 Nevada by 19 (Second Round)

2005 (#3): Beat #14 Winthrop, Lost to #6 Texas Tech by 2 (Second Round)

2006 (#3): Beat #14 Xavier, Beat #6 Indiana, Lost to #2 UCLA by 2 (Sweet 16)

2007 (#10): Lost to #7 Indiana by 13 (First Round)

2008 (#7): Lost to #10 Davidson by 6 (First Round)

2009 (#4): Beat #13 Akron, Beat #12 Western Kentucky, Lost to #1 North Carolina by 21 (Sweet 16)

2010 (#8): Beat #9 Florida State, Lost to #1 Syracuse by 22 (Second Round)

2011 (#11): Beat #6 Florida State, Lost to #3 BYU by 22 (Second Round)

2012 (#7): Beat #10 West Virginia, Lost to #2 Ohio State by 7 (Second Round)

Tournament record: 10-10

In the last decade, Gonzaga has beaten just two single-digit seeds - #6 Indiana (2006) and #6 Florida State (2011) - while only defeating two teams that were seeded higher than they were.  They're 2-7 against higher seeded teams since 2003, and several of those losses (notably 2009, 2010, and 2011) came in blowout fashion.  Obviously, their success if far greater when you take into account the 1999-2002 Tournaments in which Gonzaga made the Elite 8 (1999) and two Sweet 16s (2000-01), despite not being seeded higher than 10th. 

Gonzaga's best Final Four chance went up in smoke with a late collapse vs. UCLA in 2006

Butler -

2003 (#12): Beat #5 Mississippi State, #4 Louisville, Lost to #1 Oklahoma by 11 (Sweet 16).

2007 (#5): Beat #12 Old Dominion, Beat #4 Maryland, Lost to #1 Florida by 8 (Sweet 16)

2008 (#7): Beat #10 South Alabama, Lost to #2 Tennessee by 5 in OT (Second Round)

2009 (#9): Lost to #8 LSU by 4 (First Round)

2010 (#5): Beat #12 UTEP, Beat #13 Murray State, Beat #1 Syracuse, Beat #2 Kansas State, Beat #5 Michigan State, Lost to #1 Duke by 1 (NCAA Title)

2011 (#8): Beat #9 Old Dominion, Beat #1 Pittsburgh, Beat #4 Wisconsin, Beat #2 Florida, Beat #11 VCU, Lost to #3 Connecticut by 12 (NCAA Title)

Tournament record: 15-6

Butler's Tournament hit list is quite an impressive one.  They knocked off the #1 and #2 seeds in their Region in each of their National Championship Game runs, and beat higher seeds in more than half (eight) of their fifteen wins in that span.  They only went one-and-done once (2009), and were defeated by top-three seeds in all but one of their eliminations (also in 2009).  Although they missed the Tournament in 2004-06 and 2012, Butler has done enough when they’ve gotten to the dance to make that point moot.

REGULAR SEASON SUCCESS

Gonzaga -

Consistency has been a staple for the Zags over the past decade.  They haven't lost more than three WCC games in any of the last ten seasons, while eclipsing the 25-win mark all but twice.  Gonzaga's best run was from 2004-06, where they went 83-12, including a ridiculous 40-2 in conference play.  However, they've cooled off a bit since, as reflected by their lower NCAA Tournament seeds: #8 (2010), #11 (2011), #7 (2012).

Butler -

Much like Gonzaga's 2004-06 run, Butler went 89-15 in Brad Stevens's first three seasons.  Butler's down period between their Sweet 16 runs in 2003 and 2007 is what poisons this comparison.  If you look at the last six years, that's when Butler has really closed the gap.  Even after a 15-loss campaign in 2011-12, Butler’s winning percentage of .781 (168-47) narrowly edges Gonzaga’s .758 (154-49) mark since the start of the 2007-08 season.

SI’s Andy Glockner said on Saturday night that he believed Butler has finally passed Gonzaga.  Some believe that the passing of the torch had happened several years before with Butler’s back-to-back National Title Game appearances.  Given how they've performed not only in the NCAA Tournament, but in the preseason NIT (2006 Champs), Maui (2012 Runner-up), and with other big non-conference wins, Butler has done more than enough to warrant the praise and hype that seems to consistently be heaped upon Gonzaga - not that Brad Stevens cares about that.