Butler Notebook: Quick thoughts on win vs. St. Bonaventure
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
INDIANAPOLIS – Butler had little trouble with mediocre St. Bonaventure, winning 77-58 on Wednesday.
Sure, the game was at Hinkle Fieldhouse, where the Bulldogs are now 12-0. Yes, the Bonnies played without starting guard Matthew Wright, who has a torn plantar fascia in his left foot and ordinarily accounts for nine points a game.
But any blowout in an Atlantic 10 game is noteworthy.
Butler is tied atop the league. Virginia Commonwealth and Saint Louis are also 6-2.
The Bulldogs are 19-4 overall and project to finish with about 28 wins before the NCAA tournament.
One down note was the injury to Roosevelt Jones, who appeared to be in a good deal of pain as he grasped his left shoulder and departed with not even two minutes gone by in the second half.
Butler coach Brad Stevens said Jones could miss Saturday’s game at George Washington. The Colonials are a surprising 5-3 in A-10 play. They are a big team against whom Butler could really use Jones’ services.
Let’s explore some quick thoughts on Butler’s victory here Wednesday night:
— Khyle Marshall lent Butler a helping hand – two of them, in fact. On the first score of the game after halftime, Jones stood far out on the left side and tried a crosscourt lob to Marshall. The pass had a lot of zip, but Marshall – who is nearly impossible to overthrow, even at an undersized 6-foot-6 – reached behind his body, snared the ball with his left hand and stuffed it all in one motion.
I didn’t mean to do that, Marshall said with a smile. I helped him out. It wasn’t that great of a pass.
Seconds later, with his right hand, Marshall sent a layup try by Chris Johnson sailing into the first row of fans in the northwest corner.
Marshall finished with 12 points after scoring 13 Saturday against Rhode Island. Those efforts helped Marshall get past his Missouri dud, which was probably the worst game I’ve ever seen Marshall play. Butler is 13-0 when Marshall scores at least 10 points. He is an extremely valuable offensive weapon because his production comes at almost no cost in turnovers (the aberration at Saint Louis notwithstanding, of course.)
— I’ve covered No. 1 Indiana all season, and no Hoosier can go more than a few minutes without insisting, Defense fuels our offense. On Wednesday, those words belonged to Chase Stigall. Butler is as good an offense as there is in the A-10 and actually one of the best in the country. But strides remain to be taken on defense, and the players know that. Guarding well for 40 minutes consistently is the next step.
— Stigall scored his most points since also having 12 in a loss to Cleveland State on Jan. 13, 2012. Kudos to the much-maligned senior, who has bobbed in and out of a meaningful role this season. While Stigall could just as easily shoot 2 for 8 next time out, the guard is correct when he says his main strengths are defense and leadership. If he didn’t let it fly from the arc quite as often, fans would view his game through a different, more flattering prism.
— Andrew Smith badly outplayed 7-foot sophomore Youssou Ndoye, who had as many turnovers (three) as points and rebounds combined. Ndoye picked up four fouls in 17 minutes. Useless is an understatement. At one point, Ndoye tried a semi-no-look pass across the court that was easily intercepted, causing Bona coach Mark Schmidt to place his hands on the back of his head in befuddled frustration and amazement. The Bonnies needed Ndoye to play really well, because without him they had no size to speak of. In fairness to Ndoye, this is his first season playing a significant role.
— After committing 38 turnovers in the previous two games, Butler only had 13. Smith and Rotnei Clarke had four each. Clarke sometimes is too quick with his passes, assuming teammates are ready when they are not. His turnover percentage entering Wednesday (16.2) is higher than it should be for a point guard, but it’s not as bad as his recent performances would indicate and, in all honesty, it’s something Butler can live with.
— Erik Fromm made a 3 in eight minutes of playing time. The coaches and players will attend memorial services tomorrow in Bloomington for Fromm’s father, Len, who died Saturday after a struggle with cancer.
Erik’s a brother, Marshall said. He showed a lot of courage to even go out and play.
— Butler assisted 14 times on 26 shots, causing Stevens to praise the sharing and ball movement. The Bulldogs shot at least 49 percent from the field for the ninth time in 23 games, which really is an amazing total when you think back to the constant iron-bashing of last season. Butler has four additional games of either 47 percent or 48 percent, which means more often than not this team is really humming.
NEXT: Butler’s game at George Washington (11-10) is interesting because the Colonials are finally playing some strong offense themselves. Smith will face a very tough foe inside in Isaiah Armwood, who scores, rebounds and blocks shots.
