It’s time: Butler vs. Gonzaga, with GameDay at Hinkle
By COLLIN O’CONNOR
ISL Correspondent
Gonzaga at Butler couldn’t help but be big.
When ESPN’s College Gameday crew of Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps and Jalen Rose are in town, the buildup elevates to a national level.
Two teams outside of the power six conferences that consistently garner national attention will be pitted against each other Saturday night in a game that will provide for a great atmosphere inside Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Coming into the game, Butler and Gonzaga, both nicknamed the Bulldogs, have already added several good wins to their resumes. Butler has already knocked off North Carolina and Indiana at neutral sites and is 3-0 in conference play up to this point.
Gonzaga has defeated West Virginia, Kansas State, Clemson and Baylor, who are all part of BCS conferences. However, without leading scorer Rotnei Clarke, Butler’s margin for error against No. 8 Gonzaga becomes even slimmer than it would be with its senior star. Clarke is recovering from a neck injury he suffered a week ago at Dayton.
Gonzaga has already proven it can win tough games on the road in defeated Oklahoma State, Washington State and Santa Clara at their places, and its size and strength could cause Butler problems.
Gonzaga comes in with a 42.8% rebounding percentage, which is a solid mark, meaning they have rebounded nearly half of their misses on offense so far this season. When looking at their 6-8, 6-9, 7-foot front line, however, it is easy to understand. Elias Harris and Kelly Olynyk can be very aggressive going to the boards, and that can definitely impact a game like this.
That aspect of their game means that Butler’s Andrew Smith, Khyle Marshall and Kameron Woods when he is on the floor really need to step up to get them out of the rebounding picture.
The value of guards in rebounding though is also very important, and they will be pivotal in limiting Gonzaga to one shot on offense.
Butler will also have to find ways to score against their opposition’s size, described by Jay Bilas today on College Gameday as an NBA front line, and shooting the three well may play a pivotal role in this. Coming off of a game in which they struggled, shooting 26% from beyond the arc,
it will be important for Butler to get those shots to fall. And, without Clarke on the floor, that will just be one less shooter creating space in the middle.
Because of this, and Phelps of ESPN pointed this out this morning, Alex Barlow could be a very crucial part of Butler’s offense today. Without the ability of Clarke to create shots on the floor, someone will have to get into the lane to open up the shooters on the outside. It will be key for this team to make things happen off the dribble.
Gonzaga brings the eighth most efficient offense in the country, according to their 1.4 points per possession mark per game. Stopping the penetration of guards Kevin Pangos and David Stockton is a key to slowing Gonzaga’s offense.
Overall, outside of then-No. 1 Indiana, this will be Butler’s stiffest test this season, and the margin for error will be very slim. With the potency of Gonzaga on both ends of the floor, Butler will have to play very fundamentally sound basketball, create and hit open shots and control the glass. A win is possible because those are all things Butler has accomplished on a pretty consistent basis this season, and the team has its fanbase behind it.
