AMHERST, Mass. – Butler was much more like themselves on Thursday night, a game after a decidedly un-Butler-like performance at VCU. In between, there was some reflection and focused practices, and the end result was a 73-62 win at UMass where the Bulldogs were solid all around and for most of the game.
The 84-52 loss at VCU caught everyone by surprise. Butler may lose games, and they have been blown out before, but it is very rare. Games like that just don’t happen. So it’s not surprising that after the game, it was a little unusual.
“You question yourself a little bit when you get beat in the way we got beat on Saturday, and these guys deserve to enjoy this one,” said head coach Brad Stevens.
One of the key players on Thursday night, Kameron Woods, felt like it was a crash after a couple of close calls. It came after a loss to Saint Louis that was there for the taking, and earlier in February they had close calls at George Washington and Fordham that they won but could have gone either way.
“I think we had to regroup,” said the sophomore forward, who showed some of the potential he has on Thursday with 17 points on 7-11 shooting. “We felt like the last couple of games before that, we weren’t playing as well as we probably should have. We had eked out a couple of close wins, and sometimes you can be satisfied with that. As a result of being satisfied, we got beat the way we did.”
The Bulldogs had a meeting where they talked about their roles going forward. They made sure they were all on the same page about what has to be done. There is enough talent and experience on this team to make a good run in the NCAA Tournament, and that’s the big focus. The Bulldogs could make a run next weekend in Brooklyn at the Atlantic 10 Tournament, but that’s not the big goal. In fact, they’re okay if they don’t get a bye in the conference tournament, which Thursday’s win keeps them in the running for.
“I’d like to play as well as we can on Saturday, and I don’t care about bye or no bye,” said Stevens. “Obviously, you want to finish as high as you can, I don’t want to diminish that, but I don’t care if we play on the following Thursday or Friday. It doesn’t matter.”
Butler started both halves of Thursday night’s game strong, but had some struggles later in the first half. UMass pressed them and finally got some turnovers, but the Bulldogs solved the press and later created turnovers of their own, which is something they don’t normally do. In the second half, they didn’t have the slowdown they had later in the first half and didn’t allow UMass a chance to get back into the game.
Woods overcame a fall where he hit the back of his head on the floor to tie Rotnei Clarke for team-high scoring honors, though Clarke had an off night as he was 2-12 from long range and had three turnovers with six assists. Andrew Smith was a steady inside presence with 13 points and 15 rebounds, while Khyle Marshall had a nice 14-point night on 6-7 turnovers. Roosevelt Jones had seven rebounds, eight assists and two turnovers, while Kellen Dunham had two points on 1-7 shooting but was worth a lot of points with his defense on UMass point guard Chaz Williams. The Bulldogs out-rebounded UMass 37-20, including 17 offensive rebounds.
In short, it looked like the Butler we’ve come to know, as they are generally well-balanced, defend and out-rebound opponents.
Finishing up a tough stretch to end the regular season, Butler has Xavier at home on Saturday. It’s a Xavier team that beat them in a non-conference game earlier in the year, one the schools had scheduled before the Bulldogs came to the Atlantic 10 a year early. The Bulldogs had a tough draw in Atlantic 10 play as road games went – they had to go to Saint Louis, VCU, La Salle and UMass – but finish at 5-3. If they do as Stevens hopes, which is to play well, they will enter the conference tournament and ultimately the NCAA Tournament looking once again like themselves.
