Atlantis brings a ranking for Butler
By CHRIS DAVIS
ISL Correspondent
After two big wins in the Battle 4 Atlantis, the Butler Bulldogs are currently the Number 23 ranked team in this week’s AP Top 25. They defeated #5 ranked North Caroline and fellow Big East member Georgetown, and currently sit at 6-1 on the season. Could the Bulldogs be creeping back into the national spotlight?
How did they do it? Was it a matter of them catching a young Tar Heels team at the right time, or is Butler ready to really compete in year two in the Big East?
The answer to that second question may simply be yes. These Bulldogs, especially key players Alex Barlow, Kellen Dunham, and Roosevelt Jones, have played a lot of minutes together. This year’s North Carolina team, however, is getting big contributions from three freshmen and two sophomores.
Roy Williams will have his Tar Heels ready when it counts in March so they’re not losing much sleep over this loss, but the win looked like it could be the spark to key a special season for the Bulldogs.
They won with balance. Six Bulldogs scored six or more points, and four finished in double figures. They saw their leading scorer shoot just 3-for-17 from the field, and they prevailed by hitting more than 72% of their free throws and crashing the boards to the tune of 29 offensive rebounds.
Kelan Martin showed his ability to score prolifically, leading the Bulldogs in scoring for the second straight game with 17 points.
Unfortunately, 24 hours later, the letdown came. In a match-up against a very good Oklahoma team that had dispatched #22 UCLA the night before, the Bulldogs played a game that could not have been more opposite.
Against the Sooners, Butler saw only Dunham reach double figures, shot just about as poorly as you’ll ever see an NCAA Division I team shoot, and pulled down just 32 total rebounds.
Kelan Martin managed just three points in the game against the Sooners, and that will not cut it against top notch competition. Kellen Dunham will still be the guy to hit the big shots and the clutch free throws for this team, and no one around the program is expecting the freshman to be the next Carmelo Anthony or even Gordon Hayward, but he must be consistent for this team to keep knocking off teams like North Carolina and Georgetown. Overall, it was still a very successful trip.
Three key takeaways were Martin’s ability to score against some of the most athletic competition in the country, Dunham’s ability to shrug off a tough shooting night like he had against the Tar Heels, and the fine job Chris Holtmann did against some of the best coaches in all of college basketball.
After the bounce-back win over Indiana State, the Bulldogs will now host Northwestern at Hinkle Fieldhouse. They will continue to try and build on their big wins as they prepare for conference season.
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ISL_Bulldogs
