Postgame Analysis: Butler @ Xavier

I really don't need to watch this game to realize that this Butler team has not changed as much from last season as I had hoped.  I have not gotten a chance to watch this game, and after hearing about, I probably will not watch it at all.  Nonetheless, here is my analysis of the Butler vs. Xavier Game.

Is it 2008 again?
Kellen Dunham is having success that no Butler freshman has had since Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack in 2008-09.  Dunham is averaging 14.5 points through two games, and played a significant 32 minutes against Xavier.  He has the potential to be a Hayward/Mack player, and if he does, the Bulldogs will be quite successful for years to come.

Smith on Track; Stigall on Downfall
While he still has not reached double figures in scoring, Smith's nine point effort was a good sign that he is heading in the right direction offensively.  Still, he got outplayed by Xavier's Jeff Robinson, also and Indianapolis native.  On the other hand, Chase Stigall is slowly falling out of the rotation, losing minutes to Kellen Dunham.  This is a guy who played 33 minutes in an NCAA tournament game in 2011, but has only averaged 15.6 minutes per game over his last 17 regular season games dating back to last season.

Inconsistent Rotnei
Let's face it.  The Bulldogs aren't going to win many games where Rotnei Clarke scores seven points on 1/7 three point shooting.  He needs to score for the Bulldogs to well.  Yes, I know the Bulldogs were an NCAA Tournament team three consecutive years with a point guard who didn't score much (Ron Nored), but those teams had other consistent perimeter scoring.  As of now, this years team does not, maybe outside of Dunham.

Bad Loss is an Understatement
Considering Xavier lost all five starters from last year's team and was picked in the bottom half of the A-10, this is one of the worst losses Butler has had in many years, and 47 points as a team is unacceptable.  This about as bad a loss as the Bulldogs have had since the game at Youngstown State in February 2011, a team that went 2-16 in the Horizon League.