Jeff Haynes/ReutersButler Coach Brad Stevens.
In 2010 and 2011, the Butler Bulldogs were college basketball’s favorite Cinderella story. But this season has been a struggle. Matt Rhinesmith, a sports reporter for The Butler Collegian, will file occasional posts for The Quad about the team’s efforts to return to the N.C.A.A. tournament.
The Butler men’s basketball team started off its longest road trip of the season with wins over Illinois-Chicago and Loyola this past weekend. Playing at Loyola’s newly renovated Gentile Center on Saturday, the Bulldogs were able to cope with a hostile environment and earn a 63-57 victory.
Senior guard Ronald Nored and junior center Andrew Smith helped lead an effective defensive attack that allowed the Bulldogs to tally nine blocks.
Nored was the team’s leading scorer with 16 points. He added six rebounds, nine assists and three steals in his most complete effort of the season. Smith also was a valuable contributor with 12 points and 13 rebounds-his third double-double of the season.
Perhaps overshadowing Smith’s offensive production was his outstanding defense. He helped hold Loyola’s two best players, senior forward Walt Gibler and junior forward Ben Averkamp, to 14 points and eight points, respectively. Sophomore forward Khyle Marshall, who has been in and out of the starting lineup as coach Brad Stevens continues to experiment with different combinations of players, started against Loyola and scored 14 points.
Marshall was also a defensive force in the paint, blocking a team-high three shots and drawing two charging calls.
As has been the story all season for the Bulldogs, points were hard to come by for both teams during a Jan. 19 match up against UIC in a 57-49 victory against the Flames.
“Defensively, we were very good,†Stevens said. “We just kept fighting and fighting and getting stops.†Junior guard and three point specialist Chase Stigall, one of Butler’s lone bright spots in last season’s national championship game loss to Connecticut, connected from behind the arc at the start of the game to give the Bulldogs a five-point advantage. However, Stigall has been inconsistent throughout the season.
He has played significant minutes, but has not started every game this season. He is shooting just 30 percent from three-point territory, down from last season’s 32 percent mark. Freshman forward Roosevelt Jones started the game and led all Bulldog scorers with 16 points. Jones broke into the starting lineup on Nov. 29 for Butler’s game against Oakland City. Since then, he has been a consistent player on both the offensive and defensive end.
Listed at 6 foot 4 and 222 pounds, Jones and his unique skills have been a match-up nightmare for other Horizon League teams. He has shown his ability to run the offensive as a point guard but also throw his weight around in the paint. And he is second on the team in rebounding with 5.5 per game. Despite his poor free throw shooting, Jones averages 6.7 points per game-sixth on the team.
Butler will finish off its four-game road trip in Wisconsin to face Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Thursday and Wisconsin-Green Bay on Saturday. They return home to Hinkle Fieldhouse for games against Wright State on Feb. 2 and pre-season Horizon League favorite Detroit on Feb. 4.
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