Butler Notebook: Looking back at Marquette loss
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
Because I was covering the Indiana High School Athletic Association boys basketball state finals on Saturday for IndySportsLegends and the Associated Press, I was not with the Bulldogs in Lexington, Ky., for their round of 32 game against Marquette.
Though a prior obligation pulled me off the Butler beat for a day, and that day happened to mark an end to the season, I naturally caught up thanks to the wonders of DVR. Here are some thoughts on Butler’s 74-72 defeat:
— The easy way to digest the result is to believe that Butler lost because of the brilliance of one player, Vander Blue, who tormented the Bulldogs for 29 points, hitting big shots all night to keep the Golden Eagles’ season alive. It was indeed Blue who hit a clutch 3-pointer with 1:25 to go in a three-point game and produced four steals, three in the second half, to make the game easier for Marquette. The trouble is that the performance stands out more than it should because it is an outlier. Blue – a 29 percent 3-point shooter – somehow made 3 of 4 from beyond the arc and scored twice as many points as he usually does. What the distinctiveness masks is that the Golden Eagles had multiple productive players, more than Butler, even. Outside of Rotnei Clarke and Andrew Smith, no Bulldog played well, unless you reach for Emerson Kampen, who batted 1.000 by virtue of his seeing-eye home-run inbounds pass to Smith. But for Marquette, forwards Trent Lockett and Jamil Wilson were rock-solid, backup center Davante Gardner made the most of his minutes, and point guard Junior Cadougan went off for nine points in the final 20 minutes.
— Butler built a 35-27 halftime lead on the back of a simple formula: suffocating defense and Rotnei Clarke. The degree to which the second half did not resemble the first was striking.
— Marquette coach Buzz Williams made masterful in-game adjustments. Credit Williams – who has Marquette in the NCAA tournament for a fifth straight season – for managing the challenge of a sluggish start. Clarke was held scoreless in the final 15 minutes, and the Golden Eagles had a different energy after Williams had the chance to speak with them for an extended time in the locker room. He also changed the defense, extending it to 35 feet in the half-court and using four defenders to pressure the inbounds play after made baskets and free throws.
— Alex Barlow was guarding Blue on Blue’s tying 3. Barlow conceded proper position when he over-helped on Cadougan’s drive against Clarke, who really didn’t need the assistance. Blue took a deep 3 from the right corner, and the ball was released before Barlow could recover to stick a hand in Blue’s line of sight.
— If you’re looking for questionable foul calls, look no further than the loose ball whistle on Butler’s Kameron Woods in the final minute. Woods did not appear on replay to contact Wilson as the two pursued an offensive rebound. Wilson fell backward, which perhaps triggered the call, but balance was lost when Wilson had to reach behind his body for the ball, not because of any action on the part of Woods. Woods was in better position for the board.
— As responsible for the loss as anything else was Butler’s bungled possession with around 30 seconds left, when Smith tried to make a pass on the move and feed Kellen Dunham in the lane. The ball was easily tipped and stolen. Down 71-69, the play should have been going to Smith or Clarke. Certainly, Smith and Dunham were not playing to their strengths. It resulted in the last of Butler’s 15 turnovers.
— Some have questioned Clarke’s decision to fire a long 3 that barely grazed the net with 5.5 seconds left and Butler down 72-70, but I think I concur with Stevens, who had no issue with the shot. Not only has Clarke demonstrated the range to hit from that distance, but he was unobstructed, and attempting the shot when he did allowed Butler a second chance. Instead of putting all the Bulldogs’ eggs in one basket, Clarke left time on the clock, and Butler wound up with two chances to win the game, instead of just one, had Clarke tried to work the ball into the lane or passed it off.
— On the ill-fated final play, Clarke and Dunham ran in motion on opposite wings as Roosevelt Jones was set to inbound. Marquette had two defenders shaded toward Clarke, and Dunham was not open. Neither Smith nor Khyle Marshall, the big men stationed near the top of the key, set screens to free the shooters, a tell-tale sign of how doomed the play was from the beginning. Whatever Butler ran was designed to beat some scheme, but not a straight man-to-man. And the result was predictable. It’s rare, but Williams got the better of Stevens on that X’s-and-O’s match.
— Marquette tied for first place in the Big East. The Golden Eagles have won nine of their last 12. A year ago they went 27-8 and were in the Sweet 16. Was this contest winnable for Butler? Definitely. Was it a bad loss? By no stretch of the imagination. The Bulldogs had another pretty good season, and they aren’t the only pretty good team sent home early from the tournament.
