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.