Butler 83 - Bradley 64 -- postgame thread

[jasonpeoria911]

My thoughts on the game, the Refs sucked big time. Something like a 14 FT advantage for Butler at the half and an overall -10 on team fouls for Bradley. Many had mentioned Bradleys good D the first 10 minutes of the game, well guess why it sucked after that, the Refs got whistle happy on us. Can't play tough man to man when your in foul trouble. However, no excuse for our eye popping 16% three point shooting. Some of it could of been good Butler D but a lot of them were normal open shots. Highly doubt that will happen again this season. Lets get back home, schools out for a month and the team can concentrate solely on basketball.

Jason

[BradleyBrave]

I just got back from Butler, and here's my take (a lot of repeat, but humor me)...

First, if you get a chance, go see a game at Hinkle. It's got such a pure basketball feel to it, it's eerie in a good way. It is a true gem and Butler is lucky to have such a great place to play.

Anyways, onto the game.

-I will very rarely, if ever blame officials for a loss. I won't tonight either. But, with about 5 minutes left in the 1st half, the game was 15-15. After that point, I don't think I have never seen such bad officiating. When it was all said and done, it was a 19-4 run that included 2 charges, Ruffin's 3rd foul, and a technical foul. BU didn't do as much as they could to stop the bleeding, but keep in mind that they had 2 baskets taken away on phantom charges, and had over twice as many fouls called against them as the home team. Those fouls equated to 14 points on FT's. Add that to the 4 points we lost on charges, and you've all of the 15 point halftime bulge and then some. Against one of the nation's top teams, the game is as good as over. We certainly didn't capitalize on some 1st half opportunities, but nothing burns me more than the officials taking over the game. It was absolutely awful.

-I am glad someone mentioned the lack of a post presence. Not having anyone that commands any inkling of interior defense is really making life tough on guys like Ruffin, Warren, and especially JC. Even as limited as Zach Andrews was offensively, he at least was capable enough to get respect that opened up things for DR, WF, JC, DA, and even JJ. Salley is worthless offensively, Sam fouls too much and can't seem to finish anymore, Collins doesn't get enough time, and Austin is nowhere to be found. Egolf is 6'9" but we use him like he's 6'4", and he plays like it. I like the run-and-gun 4 guard attack as much as anyone, but one of the keys to the 4 guard attack is post player that can score. The only guy who's remotely close to being that guy is Collins, and he doesn't play (I would add that I didn't have that much of a problem with DC's lack of minutes tonight, as Butler's style is just not conducive to him logging major time).

-Tyrone Cole-Scott by far played his best game of the season. I still don't like his perimeter shot (way too much motion, way too mechanical, not fluid enough), but he is our quickest player by far and can get to the rim. Hopefully this will be the confidence builder he needs. He's a talented player.

-Butler is every bit as good as Vanderbilt and Michigan St. They are better than any team in the Valley, and I think they could beat any team in America in their building. I don't see them losing more than 2-3 more games all year. IMO they're a top 4 seed in the NCAA's. AJ Graves is an all-american, and would be the best player in the MVC if they played there.

-Call me crazy, but I feel a lot better about our chances of winning the league and making the NCAA's this year than I did 2 weeks ago. As bad as things are going at times, this team never, ever quits. I wish the defense was a little more consistent because quite frankly - when we defend, we win. That's all there is to it. IMO, we shouldn't lose another home game this year, and should be able to win 4 or 5 league road games if we defend like we're capable of. That puts us at about 22 regular season wins heading to St. Louis. With 1 win there, and our phenomenal non-conference SOS, I think we're dancing.

-All that being said, I personally think that this mix of guys is 1 year away from being all that it could. Unfortunately we will never see what it 'could' be, because DR and JC will be gone. If we could ever put 2 halves together we'd be a top 25 team, but with the large amount of youth and inexperience we have, we're probably going to be a fringe NCAA team all season. It is what it is. I think the talk of this being the most talented team during this regime was a bit premature. It perhaps has the chance to be that, but at the present time it's not.

I've rambled enough. Saturday is a must. Let's get it done.

[ph]

BB. Good comments.

Refs - this game got me wondering how much have the MVC's refs actually hurt the league? It seems that the Refs usually dictate a slower game, plus keep taking teams out of games...

Talent - It certainly does not feel like the most talented class. and we have certainly had more first year players with better contributions. I am still holding hope for the SM, WE and AT combo in 2-3 years. If WE develops into a 6-9 slasher and AT develops into a regular post player we have the missing pieces from this year's team.

[ButlerFan]

The officiating was horrible, but it was horrible for both teams.

[BradleyBrave]

The officiating was horrible, but it was horrible for both teams.

Agreed. It seemed like at the onset of the 2nd half, one of the officials made it a point to try and 'even things up' foul-wise, especially with the quick T on Roberts. But, the official who was whistle-happy in the 1st half stepped in with a couple of offensive foul calls on BU that took care of whatever 'evening' was going on. Butler was the better team, no doubt. I just would have liked to taken the officials out of the equation and see if we could have given the Bulldogs a better game.

[dogsrus]

The officiating was horrible, but it was horrible for both teams.

Yeah but we lost so it HAD to be more horrible for us.....

[OrangeandBlack74]

First, if you get a chance, go see a game at Hinkle. It's got such a pure basketball feel to it, it's eerie in a good way. It is a true gem and Butler is lucky to have such a great place to play.

Couldn't agree more.....very reminiscent of the FieldHouse, with the majority of seats parallel to the court. In fact, the Butler campus and surrounding area of homes looked very much like the hilltop. And Butler fans really get into the game.....they were all over the refs (they also thought they were getting some bad calls) and JL.

Anyways, onto the game.

-Butler is every bit as good as Vanderbilt and Michigan St. They are better than any team in the Valley, and I think they could beat any team in America in their building. I don't see them losing more than 2-3 more games all year. IMO they're a top 4 seed in the NCAA's. AJ Graves is an all-american, and would be the best player in the MVC if they played there.

They're not flashy, but Butler is very fundamentally sound and they play solid defense. They were the best team on the floor last night, with or without any help from the officials.

Of the three games BB mentions, this one was the toughest by far.....on the opponent's home court. When we couldn't get either Vandy on a neutral floor or MSU at home, it made this game all the more critical to win. But, it would have taken an even better effort than what we saw in those two previous games, and it simply didn't happen last night.

Let's not get too down on this team just yet.....lots of important MVC games to be played!

[thefish7]

I agree with pretty much everything BradleyBrave had to say about this one. I'll make a couple of additional comments of my own...

The small ball is really getting to me... Even against Butler who's game may not be good for a guy like Collins, we just got owned in the paint on offense. Salley has convinced me that I was in the wrong in supporting him, even at the 4 at times. He had some nice moments last night, but for the most part, kinda killed us. We need someone who can score inside, and Collins is our best bet, even though it's an adventure sometimes.

I think Les is a bit over-enamored of the four and five guard sets. I like Theron Wilson a ton, and think he should start... I just don't think he's a forward. Anywhere near the paint and he can do nothing defensively to stop a shot.

Butler proved, especially in the second half, that they are a helluva team, and AJ Graves is a stud. I thought he was going to be Blake Ahearn-y, but he's a lot better than Blake was, and much much quicker.

I do blame the refs for the half-time differential in the score... we were getting bulldogged, and if there's any avenue for complaint by a head coach it should absolutely be travelled down by Les, in this case. On the other hand, I think had we gone into the half tied, Butler would have beat us in the second half. They played a great game. I can't wait to play them in our house next season.