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
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