HOUSTON -- Shelvin Mack scored 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting and knocked down five 3-pointers as No. 8 seed Butler advanced to its second consecutive national championship game with a 70-62 victory over Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday in the national semifinals.

Matt Howard added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs (28-9), who controlled the glass, 44-30, and will face either Connecticut or Kentucky in the championship game Monday.

Jamie Skeen scored 27 points for the 11th-seeded Rams (28-12), who ended their remarkable run as the first team to win five games in the NCAA tournament and not reach the championship game after having to play their way into the round of 64.

Butler was up, 34-28, at the half but watched that advantage disappear when the Rams emerged from the locker room with a 7-0 burst. It went back-and-forth seven more times in the next four minutes before Mack scored 10 straight Butler points during a 12-4 burst, putting the Bulldogs up 54-47 with 8:54 remaining. The senior buried a pair of 3-pointers, a transition layup and a jumper during the game-changing run.

VCU crawled back to within 61-57 when Skeen buried a 3-pointer with 2:34 on the clock, but Howard, who went to the bench for five minutes after picking up his fourth foul with 9:22 remaining, scored on a follow and four free throws in the final minute to put it away.