I understand can understand it when Roosevelt Jones goes 7-11 from the free throw line. However, Erik Fromm cannot badly miss a one-and-one, and Kam Woods cannot go 0-4 from the free throw line. I will not emphasize free throw shooting too much, since Saint Louis was worse than Butler, but it is very hard to make a comeback when you are missing crucial free throws. It would also have been nice to see Butler's bigs, mainly Fromm and Smith, to hit a couple of threes, which they have struggled to do lately. Last year, they were around 35% from three, and this year it is down to about 30%. Chase Stigall and Kellen Dunham took some questionable three point shots early in the shot clock, and I do not feel Butler fed Andrew Smith in the post as much as they should (although some credit goes to the defense of Saint Louis' Cody Ellis and Rob Loe). One or two more threes is the difference between winning and losing this game, and Butler came out on the wrong end.
With as much that went wrong on offense, defense, especially, in the second half was the true problem. It was Jordair Jett and Dwayne Evans in the first half, and Mike McCall and Kwamain Mitchell in the second half. Butler consistently allowed guards Jett, McCall, and Mitchell to penetrate the lane at will with little resistance or weak side help from Butler's bigs. While Roosevelt Jones was often guarding Evans on the post, his size disadvantage showed, as Evans was able to turn over his shoulder for a mid range jump shot that he either made or got fouled on.
With three difficult games remaining, the Bulldogs will have to play well to get a single digit seed in the NCAA tournament, to increase their chances of advancing. This difficult road continues as Butler faces #24 VCU next Saturday. The Bulldogs have eight days to improve their defense, shot selection, and free throw shooting, the three things I believe were the most troublesome in this tough loss to Saint Louis.
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