First Thoughts: Saint Louis 65, Butler 61
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
Let’s take a quick look at how the Saint Louis Billikens earned a 65-61 win over the Butler Bulldogs on Friday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
WHY IT HAPPENED: Saint Louis was clearly the better team in the second half, unleashing a 10-2 run out of the locker room that turned the game on its head and gave the Billikens a lead they would never relinquish. Butler led 29-20, but the offense went away for about 13 minutes of game time after that, and the Bulldogs eventually fell behind 53-44. Mike McCall Jr. scored 18 points, including 13 after halftime, and Dwayne Evans added 17 for Saint Louis (21-5, 10-2 Atlantic 10). Kellen Dunham led Butler (22-6, 9-4) with 14 points but didn’t score in the second half.
WHAT WE LEARNED: Butler lost both games this season against Saint Louis, virtually assuring that the Bulldogs will not finish first in the conference. The Bulldogs only committed 14 turnovers after scuffling into 23 in the first meeting, but Jim Crews’ team is just a bad matchup for Butler. Brad Stevens has to hope the two schools don’t meet again in the A-10 tournament or March Madness. Free-throw shooting cropped up once more as a problem, with Butler making 15-of-26 (57.7 percent). Saint Louis won its first game in 17 tries on the road against ranked opponents and improved to 4-1 this season against the AP Top 25.
KEY NUMBER: Saint Louis made 18 of its final 35 field goals after starting 6-of-21 from the field.
TURNING POINT: Kameron Woods was fouled trying to catch a long inbounds pass with 2:48 left in the game and Butler down 59-58. Woods missed both free throws. After McCall Jr. missed a shot in the lane, Butler came back down but lost possession when Rotnei Clarke was called for an offensive foul. Those two wasted trips represented Butler’s last chance to take control of the proceedings.
NEXT: Butler has a week off before traveling to Virginia Commonwealth next Saturday for a noon tip.
