On February 26, 2010, Butler traveled to Valparaiso for their regular season finale. Leading scorer Gordon Hayward was sidelined with lower back pain, but the team still won 74–69. In so doing, Stevens broke the coaching record he had tied the prior week and Butler completed an 18–0 undefeated conference schedule. It was Butler's first undefeated conference record since joining the Horizon League, and first since Joe Sexson led the 1978 team to a 6–0 record in the now defunct Indiana Collegiate Conference. Stevens earned his third straight regular-season conference championship.
On March 25, 2010, Butler faced top-seeded Syracuse. The Bulldogs got off to a good start, jumping out to a 12–1 lead and a 35–25 halftime advantage. Syracuse rallied in the second half, taking its first lead of the game, 40–39, off a Wes Johnson three-pointer. Stevens called timeout and Butler regained the lead on its next possession, stopping the run. At the 5:32 mark, Syracuse got a rare fast break opportunity that ended with a dunk and 54–50 lead. Stevens again called time out and re-focused the team. Butler responded by holding Syracuse scoreless for the next 5 minutes, taking a 60–54 lead with 0:59 to go. Butler held on to win 63–59, advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history.
On April 5, 2010, Butler and Duke faced off in what The New York Times called "the most eagerly awaited championship game in years". Late in the first half, Duke went on an 8–0 run to take a 26–20 lead. Stevens called a timeout. With starters Matt Howard and Ronald Nored on the bench in foul trouble, Stevens was forced to call on backup center Avery Jukes who came up big for Butler. Jukes scored 10 first half points, tying his season high. At half time, Duke's lead stood at 33–32.
On April 8, 2010, Stevens signed a long-term deal with Butler, extending his contract through the 2021–22 season. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed; however, Butler president Bobby Fong had publicly stated that the university could afford to increase Stevens' base salary to approximately US $1,000,000 a few days prior. Stevens had previously made US$395,000 plus benefits in base salary, a relatively low figure for a successful Division I head basketball coach. His total compensation for 2009–10 was estimated at US$750,000. Stevens had received a raise after each of his three seasons at Butler and his contract contains a buyout clause estimated in the high six or low seven figures.
Stevens is a proponent of statistical analysis to enhance his coaching decisions, spending almost as much time looking at statistics as watching game film. "I think it's a unique way of looking at the game that may be able to help best communicate to your players", he explains. For example, when Butler was slumping in late 2010, Stevens challenged his team: "this [46% defensive field goal percentage] is where we are. This isn't acceptable to get to where we want to go. But what does that really mean? It's not just get better defensively, it is, if we give up 3 less baskets a game, then we will be at 40 percent field goal percentage defense which will be top 20 in the country". The team got the message, improved throughout the season, and ultimately went on a March run fueled by defense. In 2012, Stevens became the first college coach to hire someone solely for statistical research when he added Drew Cannon to the staff. If he had the resources, Stevens says he would hire a team of statisticians to analyze the team's play.