Live Blog: Butler vs. Bucknell
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
1:25: Butler leads 21-14 at halftime in a game that only Bo Ryan could love. The storyline so far is the immense struggles of Bucknell star Mike Muscala, who is 1-for-9 and has just two points. Muscala has scored at least 25 points in 10 of Bucknell’s 33 games. He has at least 10 points in 32 of 33. Butler center Andrew Smith has 10 rebounds to Muscala’s four and the Bulldogs have switched coverages on Muscala. Occasionally, Butler doubled Muscala in the post, forcing a pass out, and at others the Bulldogs used Khyle Marshall’s quickness to inhibit Muscala’s movement. All strategies have been wildly effective. Meanwhile, Rotnei Clarke has four points on 2-for-8 shooting at halftime, and the Bulldogs still have a pretty nice advantage. Brad Stevens will say, “Hey, you held ’em to 26 percent shooting. You had just one turnover, a 50-50 charge called on Smith. We’ll take it.”
1:14: Mike Muscala is now 1-for-7 from the field. Bucknell has not attempted a single free throw, and the Bison are often left scrambling late in the shot clock to try to find something of quality against Butler’s tremendous defense. If Rotnei Clarke makes a few 3s — he’s 0-for-4 from distance — this game could be put out of reach, given the dearth of offense. Hard to imagine either side overcoming a big deficit today.
1:03: With 7:12 remaining in the first half, Butler leads 13-10. Leading men Rotnei Clarke and Mike Muscala have two points each. The Bison are throwing rocks, but Butler has forced the ball away from primary scorers, and played in-your-face defense. Steven Kaspar, the seldom-shot-happy point guard, is the only Bison to have found his way to the rim. Roosevelt Jones is a real matchup problem for Bucknell. Jones has seven early to lead all scorers.
12:49: Bucknell is 2-for-7 from the floor at the start. Star Mike Muscala has taken three shots, two from beyond 15 feet. Butler’s defense always retains the ability to reach another level in the Big Dance.
12:28: Inside a sporadically populated Rupp Arena, No. 6 seed Butler (26-8) prepares to take on No. 11 seed Bucknell (28-5) in a key matchup in the East region. As expected, blue and white fans outnumber those in orange T-shirts by quite a bit. Bucknell is located in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Outside snow flurries are falling, but March Madness is in the air.
