The Butler Bulldogs defeated the Elon Phoenix 74-59 on Saturday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Here is my game recap with major themes from the game:
Shooters Make all the Difference
Newcomers Rotnei Clarke and Kellen Dunham have really added three point shooting ability that the Bulldogs were severely lacking in 2011-12. They combined for eight threes and 39 of Butler's 74 points on Saturday. Butler will be very difficult to beat if those two are able to spread the floor so well.
Where has Smith been?
Andrew Smith fouled out in nine minutes against Elon, and has yet to score in double digits in three total games so far. While Khyle Marshall has been a pleasant surprise, it would be great if both Smith and Marshall could play well at the same time.
Barlow makes a move toward Streicher territory
Alex Barlow's career path from walk-on to getting major minutes is quite similar to that of former Butler forward Drew Streicher. Both are not in there to score the ball, but for defensive purposes. Against Elon, Barlow played 17 minutes, and had 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and just one turnover. If he keeps this up, he will eventually crack the starting lineup the same way the former walk-on Streicher did.
Roosevelt Jones is the Point Guard?
While Rotnei Clarke is technically the starting point guard for Butler, Roosevelt Jones could very well lead this team in assists since Clarke is more of a combo guard. Jones had six assists against Elon and seems very comfortable with the ball in his hands.
Butler will next play a non-conference game against at Xavier on Tuesday at 4:00 PM ET. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN. I am not available to watch the game live, so I will DVR it and watch it later. Expect a game recap of Butler vs. Xavier by Wednesday night.
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