By Paul Casey Gotham
Setting: It’s a “White-Out” at the Cintas Center as Brad Stevens and his Butler Bulldogs (4-3, 1-0) renew their rivalry with Chris Mack and his Xavier Musketeers (5-2). Fans will be clad in white tee shirts for the evening.
Plot: Horizon League meets Atlantic 10 in this battle of NCAA contenders. The Bulldogs reached last year’s finals. The Musketeers are one of only two schools to reach the Sweet Sixteen each of the last three seasons.
Sub-plot: Butler is coming off a loss to national champion Duke over the weekend. Xavier lost at Miami of Ohio in their most recent contest. Butler point guard, Ronald Nored, suffered a concussion on November 27th vs. Evansville. The point guard played against the Blue Devils but looked less than 100 percent. Xavier’s Jamel McLean continues to play while recovering from a broken bone in his eye socket.
Flashback: The Muskies rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit but lost a wild one at Hinkle Fieldhouse last year, 69-68. Xavier took a late lead only to come up short when Gordon Hayward hit a chip shot. The final play involved an incorrect stoppage of time and a possible blown over and back call.
Xavier holds a 28-16 edge in the all-time series.
Seven different coaches have led the Musketeers to a total of 21 NCAA tournament appearances including Eight Eight showings in ’04 and ’08. Xavier and Michigan State are the only schools in men’s division one basketball to reach at least the Sweet Sixteen each of the last three seasons.
Butler has made 10 trips to the dance including Sweet Sixteen showings in ’62, ’03, and ’07 to go with last year’s finish in the finals.
Foreshadowing: Seventeen Musketeers have suited up in the National Basketball Association including current stars Derrick Brown, Jordan Crawford, James Posey and David West.
Four Butler Bulldogs have graduated to the National Basketball Association including Gordon Hayward who currently plays with the Utah Jazz.
Conflict: Both squads face the struggles of re-incarnation. Butler needs to redefine themselves after Gordon Hayward. Xavier is struggling with their offensive identity minus Jordan Crawford and Jason Love.
Tu Holloway can create offense for the Musketeers, but it didn’t take long for opposing defense to figure out a scheme. Seton Hall went zone in the second half to turn a double-digit lead into a single-possession game at the Paradise Jam. One night later, Old Dominion played 40 minutes of 2-3 match-up, and the X-Men ran out of answers.
Holloway’s teammates looked more intent on watching their point guard play instead of making plays.
Mark Lyons (14.1), Jamel McLean (11.0), and Kenny Frease (10.4) have added to the Musketeers’ output. The trio needs to dictate the flow of the game.
Senior, Dante Jackson adds 7.6 a game.
Jeff Robinson scored 15 off the bench against Iowa, but has been quiet since then.
Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack are scoring 15 apiece for the Bulldogs. Shawn Vanzant adds eight with Zach Hahn and Andrew Smith add seven each.
Howard’s biggest challenge is staying on the floor. The senior forward routinely gets in foul trouble in Butler’s biggest contests.
The Bulldogs have a rebound margin just under five entering play tonight. That mark will be put to the challenge against Xavier’s front line. McLean is just the type of player who causes trouble for Howard. McLean moves quickly around the paint and will force Howard into foul situations.
Butler will not play zone. Rather, the Bulldogs will play man to man inside the three-point arc taking away Holloway’s opportunities for dribble penetration. Lyons and Jackson will need to extend Butler’s defense with shots from behind the arc.
Vanzant showed his ability to slash versus the Blue Devils. Xavier will need to keep the shooting guard out of the paint. If Mack can avoid persistent leg cramps, his inside-outside game will be the focus for Butler’s offense.
Resolution: Jackson will slow Mack enough to make a difference. Xavier’s interior will create too many problems for Howard and Smith. Xavier has the second-longest home winning streak at 27. That number will increase by one tonight.
Wish I could be watching the game! Since when do we not have ESPN2 here at Canisius???
DOH!!!!!!!!!!!!
XU 32-24 at half. McLean playing solid in the post – 6 boards/7 points. His best half of play yet this season. Butler hit their first five shots – went 2-17 after that.
Watching it online now!
I really thought you were giving Xavier too much credit saying they would win this one….apparently not!
Pope…I mean Ab (hahahaha),
That was a big win especially considering the upcoming gauntlet: Wake, Gonzaga, Florida, and Cincy before getting into conference.
I know you have criticized Frease in the past ( and rightly so), but what he did in the first 10:00 of the second half might have been the difference. Of course, then he was a liability in the last four minutes because he is OUT OF SHAPE. Geez…spend more time on the elliptical and less time fraternizing on campus.
Both teams went a long way toward establishing offense in the half court. XU’s ball screen and fade stuff is effective. Butler getting Howard on the perimeter and making him a creator while facing the basket was effective. I never liked his back to the basket game.
I know people are going to scoff at the score, but that is how Butler plays. Actually both teams can play that way. There were ZERO easy shots last night. XU scored just 6 points in transition. They usually score double-digits in that category. That is a testament to Butler’s defensive transition.
Big upcoming games for the entire conference – Temple has Villanova at the end of the month. Richmond has VCU, GTech, Seton Hall, and Wake. UMass has Seton Hall and UCF. Rhode Island has BC and Florida. The Bonnies have Siena and Va Tech IN ROCHESTER – ALL ABOARD!