First Thoughts: Butler 59, George Washington 56
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
Let’s take a quick look at how the Butler Bulldogs survived in a 59-56 victory over the George Washington Colonials on Saturday afternoon at the Charles E. Smith Center.
WHY IT HAPPENED: No. 14 Butler withstood an offensive drought of epic proportions down the stretch, scoring just four points in the final 5 ½ minutes and missing all four of its field-goal attempts in the final 7 ½ minutes. Seven of the Bulldogs’ 19 turnovers occurred in the final 8:23 as George Washington cut a 17-point deficit to three in the final moments. But Joe McDonald and Nemanja Mikic missed 3-pointers that would have tied the game, and Butler breathed a sigh of relief.
WHAT WE LEARNED: The Bulldogs rewrote the dictionary under the winning ugly entry. And yet coach Brad Stevens always contends that no matter what is happening, a team that rebounds and defends gives itself a chance. On a day the offense mostly stunk, and egregious mistakes were plentiful, Butler did both of those things. By no means was the victory impressive. But George Washington is a team with good size, and Butler held on after centers Erik Fromm and Andrew Smith were both gone with fouls at the 4:52 mark of the second half. The Bulldogs won the rebounding battle 46-41. Rotnei Clarke, Roosevelt Jones and Kellen Dunham all scored in double figures.
Come March, this game will be forgotten. The Colonials are 5-4 in the league standings, while Butler improves to 7-2. Still it will definitely make the Bulldogs, and Stevens, feel a need to reassess the difficulties caring for the basketball. There won’t be many days when Smith and Clarke combine on 7-for-24 shooting from the field. Butler has a culture in which it expects to win every game, but after taking a 48-31 lead, that feeling stunningly vanished for the final 12:02.
KEY NUMBER: The Bulldogs held George Washington to 28 percent shooting (17 of 61). The Colonials missed 11 of 12 3-point tries.
TURNING POINT: Butler was collapsing and it didn’t matter. Dunham, a freshman reserve, took matters into his own hands. Dunham drove to the rim and tried to score but was fouled by Lasan Kromah. That play resulted in the latitude the Bulldogs needed, as Dunham knocked down two free throws to close the scoring with 23 seconds left. Those huge points forced George Washington to turn to its 3-point shooting, which is a major weakness.
NEXT: The Bulldogs return to Hinkle Fieldhouse to face Charlotte Wednesday.
