Butler flips switch against St. Joe’s in A-10 opener
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
The Butler Bulldogs, they of the Top 25 ranking and Final Four fame, slow-danced through the final stretch of nonconference play and were counted out by odds makers heading into Philadelphia Wednesday night.
They turned it on at just the right time.
Butler (13-2) won its Atlantic 10 debut 72-66 on the road at Saint Joseph’s. Andrew Smith and Rotnei Clarke, who coach Brad Stevens touts as the team’s true leaders, bore nearly all of the scoring burden. Smith and Clarke had 52. The rest of the Bulldogs cobbled together the other 20 points needed for victory.
Butler continued its stunning 10-game win streak by never allowing St. Joe’s to get on track in the second half. The Hawks led 40-35 at halftime but often looked flustered and rushed on offense after that.
Phil Martelli, the longest-tenured coach in the A-10, saw his team picked to finish first in a preseason vote of coaches and media. At 8-5, St. Joe’s is a disappointment, and No. 14 Butler dealt another blow.
It should surprise no one if the Bulldogs go 11-5 or 12-4 in league play and earn the top seed in the A-10 tournament.
Butler adjusted to everything St. Joe’s did. The Hawks blocked nine shots? Fine, Butler grabbed some of those among its 10 offensive rebounds. The Hawks made eight 3-pointers in the first 17 minutes? Butler hit six of its own and then three more in the second half. Martelli has the big man show on pick-and-rolls? The Bulldogs simply limited themselves to five turnovers.
All 10 players on the floor, at any point, had all the energy and intensity one would expect of March Madness. Except it was January. And the pace was so quick at times that either team, with less willpower, could have been lured into a shootout.
A shootout? No. A game of wild bursts? You bet.
Butler had a 10-0 run midway through the first half. St. Joe’s took the punch, jumped off the mat and threw a 13-2 haymaker of its own. Unfazed, Clarke found Kellen Dunham for a 3. Then Dunham returned the favor as Clarke’s 3 capped a 6-1 run for Butler to keep it close at halftime.
The Bulldogs opened the second half on a 9-0 run. The lead didn’t last long. Langston Galloway made it 48-46, and St. Joe’s was ahead for nearly eight minutes in the heart of the half. Things didn’t go as planned, though. Over the final 6 ½ minutes of that stretch, St. Joe’s posted just three points. The Hawks didn’t immediately go for the kill, and it haunted them the rest of the way.
Clarke swished a 3 from the right wing to make it 57-56 Butler with 7:42 remaining. The Bulldogs never trailed again. Clarke finished off a brilliant performance (28 points, six rebounds, four assists, did not let Chris Wilson score after halftime) by making two free throws for the final margin.
Let’s examine the subplots:
WINGS CLIPPED: Galloway and Carl Jones, the Hawks’ starting wings, had produced an average of 31 points each night. On Wednesday, the high-scoring duo was held to 18 and endured nightmarish 6-of-19 shooting. St. Joe’s shot 3-pointers well (10-for-25), but inside the arc, the Hawks were a horrific 11-of-34. Martelli’s crew shot 36 percent overall.
AWARENESS: St. Joe’s is no stranger to blocking shots. Only three teams in the country swatted more attempts last season. Against Butler, Ronald Roberts Jr. blocked four and C.J. Aiken had three to match his season average. The Bulldogs helped at times by turning into aggressive defenders. After an offensive rebound, Jones had a taller player behind him but tried a lay-in anyway and had it sent back. Smith had his back to the basket and turned for a hook but never saw a help defender moving in for the rejection. Butler is a bigger team that will grow from the experience of playing an opponent with length and the ability to challenge shots at the rim.
THAT’S MR. SMITH TO YOU: At the risk of hyperbole, Smith played like an All-American. He had 24 points and 10 rebounds. He made 8 of 15 shots and all seven free throw attempts. He had six offensive rebounds. When Smith is that sharp, Butler has the talent of a Final Four team. He didn’t have miscues. He staved off any and all mental lapses. He took a couple 3s (making one), which he ought to do every game simply to give defenses even more to think about. Smith proved that when he puts the ball on the floor, he’s not just looking to score; he’s alert enough to dish to a teammate. Smith might be Butler’s best player. If not, and if Clarke’s 17-point scoring is assumed, Smith is certainly the most important variable.
LAST WORD: If not for Wilson’s 15-point, out-of-nowhere first-half explosion, Butler might have pulled off a one-sided road win against a good team in front of a roaring crowd. Jones and Alex Barlow did all the little things: 10 assists, eight rebounds and three Barlow thefts. Khyle Marshall made lemons out of lemonade with eight points and eight rebounds after a slow start. Butler might always be better than the sum of its parts, but holy Toledo – there are some darn good parts.
NEXT: The Bulldogs face Dayton (10-5) in Ohio Saturday at 2 p.m. The game is televised on NBC Sports Network.
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