No Game Recap for Saint Louis Game

As I am typing this, Butler is down by 18 at the under-8 media time out in the second half.  Words cannot describe how poorly Butler is playing on both offense (20 turnovers) and defense, with Saint Louis being the physical agressor.  There is nothing I can say that would explain this effort, so I will not say anything else.  Let's hope my next entry will be more positive.

Rotnei Clarke doesn't miss a beat as Butler defeats Temple

In Butler's 83-71 victory over Temple, Rotnei Clarke was back in action for the first time since his neck injury on January 12, and with 24 points, he seemed to be back on track.  While his shooting percentages weren't ideal (4-14 shooting, 3-10 from three)  he made a ton of late game free throws to seal the deal, and looked comfortable on both ends of the floor.  Clarke's poor shooting was compensated by Kellen Dunham's 5/6 from beyond the arc, and Khyle Marshall getting what seemed like dunk after dunk in the second half.  I know I've touched on this before, but Kam Woods has made a remarkable improvement in his shooting percentage by taking higher percentage shots (not jumpers).  After 2/2 on Saturday, he is up to 56% shooting from the field this year compared with 37% last year.  Both Andrew Smith and Roosevelt Jones were held in single figures for scoring, but the fact that Dunham and Marshall could not miss more than made up for that.

Butler will play at Saint Louis on Thursday night in the first of two match-ups between the two teams this season.  The Billikens are the only team that Butler will face twice during the conference season.

Rotnei Clarke could return Saturday following Butler's loss

It was inevitable.  Butler was going to lose a close game down the stretch.  However, it was the defense this time, as Butler had a one point lead after Andrew Smith scored with 8 seconds left against La Salle.  However, La Salle's Ramon Galloway scored with three seconds left, and Butler lost 54-53.  It was clear that the Bulldogs needed more offense on this night where they got very little from Khyle Marshall and the entire bench.  This problem could be solved, as there is a good chance that Rotnei Clarke will return to action this Saturday against Temple.  With Clarke, Butler will be clear favorites.  Without him, the game is a toss-up, like this last one.  While I hope Clarke plays, the Bulldogs will still be prepared to win a low scoring game without him.  But make no mistake, they cannot have sustained success in March without Clarke.

Jones' floater leads Butler over Gonzaga, 64-63

Alex Barlow owes Roosevelt Jones big time.  Barlow's turnover with 3.5 seconds was followed by a Jones steal and floater at the buzzer which gave Butler a win in a game in which they led nearly the entire second half.  Jones may not be able to shoot free throws, but he's got a floater.  Barlow's go ahead shot before Kelly Olynyk's free throws proved that Barlow is able to step up in the clutch as he did in the Indiana game.  While not getting much from Smith and Marshall, Butler was able to survive an early 13-4 start by Gonzaga with great three point shooting from Kellen Dunham and Chase Stigall.  Hopefully, Rotnei Clarke will be back soon, although it was great too see Nitler play so well without him.  This just further exemplifies Brad Stevens' ideal that the next guy has to be ready to step up, and that was most certainly the case today.

After beating Richmond, Bulldogs face tough test without Rotnei

Butler's 62-47 victory over Richmond without Rotnei Clarke looked a lot like a typical Butler game from last season.  Lack of scoring presence at the point guard spot, relying on Smith for points.  However, it will be tough to play that kind of game against Gonzaga, which averages over 80 points per game.  Andrew Smith gained confidence after holding Cody Zeller in check, and he must now do the same against redshirt turned standout center Kelly Olynyk.  The same goes for Khyle Marshall guarding Elias Harris, who could very easily have been a 3rd year NBA player at this point in time.  Kevin Pangos has been scoring well of late, and it will be Alex Barlow's job to stop him.  Since Butler lacks considerable firepower on offense without Clarke, defense will be even more important than ever.  However, any team coached by Brad Stevens, regardless who is on the floor, will be able to compete with a top 10 team.  The game is at 9:00 PM eastern time on ESPN.

Butler beats Dayton despite loss of Clarke

I wanted to save this recap until I knew more about Rotnei Clarke's injury, as the 5th year senior is the heart and soul of this Butler team and the main reason behind Butler's success.  I was worried Clarke was going to be the next C.J. McCollum, a star player out for the season, but based on this tweet from IndyStar's David Woods, that doesn't sound likely:
Butler trainer said Rotnei Clarke is OK. No spinal damage. Painful neck injury. No timetable on return, but Clarke will return.
Roosevelt Jones led a balance scoring attack with 16 points to go with 7 boards and 4 assists, while Andrew Smith scored 13 points and Marshall added 12. Butler also got key contributions from Erik Fromm and Chase Stigall, with Stigall scoring his first points since the Indiana game four weeks ago.  Kellen Dunham continues to quietly score 8-12 points per game, while Kam Woods' field goal percentage is up 18% from last season after going 2/3 from the field today.  It was good to see many different players step up after the Clarke injury, especially a clutch three late in the game from Andrew Smith.  

News and Notes

- Here are highlights from the game with Brandon Gaudin on radio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKqWDSUD9uE

- Kudos to the Atlantic 10 for their TV contracts with NBC Sports and CBS College Sports, which allow me to watch many more Butler games on TV, including this one. (I was able to watch the second half of this game.)

- Butler hosts Richmond on Wednesday night, a game Butler could certainly win, even without Clarke.

- ESPN College GameDay is coming to Hinkle Fieldhouse next Saturday for the game against Gonzaga.  Gonzaga scores over 80 points per game, so the Bulldogs will need Clarke on offense, and Andrew Smith and Khyle Marshall to contain Kelly Olynyk and Elias Harris respectively.

Butler wins first ever Atlantic 10 contest at Saint Joseph's

It wasn't easy to overcome Hawks' three point shooting early, but Rotnei Clarke and Andrew Smith combined for 52 points in the Bulldogs' 72-66 A-10 opening victory against Saint Joseph's, who was first in the A-10 preseason poll.  This is Butler team is much different from last year's.  Last year, Butler would struggle to score down the stretch of a tight game, losing a lot of low scoring games.  But with Clarke's perimeter shooting and Smith's post play, the Bulldogs are a much more potent offense.  While the Bulldogs got little offensively out of Dunham, Marshall, Jones, Woods, and Stigall, it was not necessary when Rotnei Clarke and Andrew Smith were having career nights.  That is the difference a year makes.  Butler could only win last year if guys like Smith, Marshall, and Nored were all playing well at the same time.  This year, it is okay for a guy like Kellen Dunham to have an off-game because so many guys are ready to come in and pick up the scoring slack.  Butler's scoring potential gives them the luxury of being able to start offensive liability Alex Barlow, because with Smith and Clarke on the floor, Butler is okay with one non-scorer also on the floor.  This win really impressed me and I hope it is a sign of things to come for the Bulldogs in the Atlantic 10 conference.

Here is a well written article by ESPN's Dana O'Neil discussing this year's Butler team and the players and coaches that were the building blocks to this team: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/72139/new-league-same-butler

Postgame Analysis: Butler vs. New Orleans

Butler defeated New Orleans in an offensive struggle at Hinkle Fieldhouse by a score of 57-44.  Kellen Dunham led the Bulldogs with 15 points, and is becoming a guy who consistently scores in double figures.  Khyle Marshall had 13 points and 8 rebounds, while Roosevelt Jones filled the stat sheet once again with 11 points 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.  While Rotnei Clarke had his second straight bad shooting game, Butler fans should not be too concerned about Rotnei, one of the best shooters in America, who will find his groove again.  Even Brad Stevens knows that, evidenced by what he said at the post game press conference:"If anybody's worried about Rotnei's shooting, I suggest they find something else to worry about." The Bulldogs beat one of the worst teams in Division I, but this effort will not be good enough to be a top team in the Atlantic 10 such as VCU or Saint Louis.  Yet as Rotnei Clarke's shooting improves, so should the Bulldogs' offense, and I am looking forward to the start of conference play next week, where Butler plays at Saint Josephs on Wednesday.

Postgame Analysis: Butler vs. Penn

As Brad Stevens always says, the next guy has to be ready to step up.  Well, in Butler's 70-57 victory over Penn, that guy was Roosevelt Jones.  A career high 24 points from Roosevelt Jones propelled the Bulldogs to the victory.  Khyle Marshall had 14 points on 7-10 shooting, and Kellen Dunham continues to score double figures.  However, Rotnei Clarke scored a season low 6 points on 1/9 shooting from beyond the arc.  But with Jones picking up the scoring slack for Clarke, but was still able to secure a double digit victory in the second half.  It was good to see Jackson Aldridge get minutes, albeit at the expense of Chase Stigall's playing time.  (Stigall played 3 minutes, which is the fewest minutes he has played over the last three seasons.)  Andrew Smith did a great job getting to the free throw line and being agressive in the post, while Kam Woods continued to attack the glass with 8 rebounds.

Next up, Butler faces New Orleans at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday.  

Interesting Fact: Former Wright State forward Johan Mpondo (who Butler faced five times over the last two seasons in the Horizon League) played his first two years of college basketball at New Orleans.