[dropcap]It’s[/dropcap] a quick turnaround for both teams as #18 Butler travels to Omaha to take on Creighton tonight just 48 hours since their last games. On Saturday, Creighton picked up their third win in their last five games and gave themselves some company in the previously lonely confines of the Big East cellar, while Butler lost in the final minute to sixth-ranked Villanova.
That game, pitting the top two teams in the Big East standings, was a back-and-forth contest with seven ties and eight lead changes. After Butler’s Roosevelt Jones connected on a layup with 18 seconds left to tie the game at 65, Villanova’s Darrun Hilliard found an opening and drained a three-pointer in the closing seconds to give them the 68-65 win.
It was a costly loss in more ways than one. Sophomore Andrew Chrabascz suffered a broken bone in his right hand during a loose ball scramble in the second half, and he’s out of action for 2-4 weeks. The 6’7″ forward is Butler’s third-leading scorer on the season, and averaged 17.8 points during the Bulldogs’ recent five-game winning streak, including a career-high 30 points in a victory at Marquette. He scored 13 in the first meeting with Creighton last month, including the basket that put them ahead with less than a minute to play.
Leading scorer Kellen Dunham is in the midst of a great season, scoring in double figures in 24 of 25 games this season. The one game he didn’t score 10 or more? Against Creighton last month, when the Jays held him to a season-low seven points on 2-12 shooting overall and 1-8 from three-point range. They played a series of “junk” zones and switches defensively to keep Dunham off-rhythm, and it worked spectacularly. It will be interesting to see if the Bluejays employ a similar strategy tonight, or if Coach Mac has something else up his sleeve.
Roosevelt Jones was a nightmare matchup for the Jays that night, and will be a nightmare tonight, too. The 6’4″, 227 pound guard is ginormous and plays basketball like a linebacker in sneakers. There’s no one on Creighton’s team that matches up well with him, as his 18 point, 10 rebound, 6 assist, 3 block game last month in Indy can attest. He was a one-man wrecking ball, literally and figuratively, fouling out in the final minute after playing every second of the game before that. I’m not sure how Creighton schemes to stop him tonight. Maybe the better tactic is to focus again on shutting Dunham down and taking their chances that Jones can’t score enough to tip the scales — especially with Chrabascz out?
Of course, he doesn’t have to do it all himself, even if Dunham is shut down again. Kameron Woods averages 7.2 points a game, but also averages 9.6 rebounds a game, good for second-best in the Big East. Woods had 12 rebounds against Villanova on Saturday, and had 18 rebounds against Marquette on January 31 — the most by a Butler player in 25 years! Woods scored 12 points against Creighton in the first game this year, and had four blocks and five rebounds.
Alex Barlow, their 5’11” point guard, contributes 9.2 points and is ranks second in the Big East in steals with 2.3 per game. He had four steals in the game against Creighton last month, and also contributed seven points and eight rebounds while harassing Austin Chatman defensively.
Losing Chrabascz is a blow, but Butler is ranked 18th for a reason and they have enough other players to still be favored against a team like Creighton. Still, the Jays were able to frustrate them defensively in Indianapolis, and shoot well enough to be in the game late. If they can duplicate those two feats tonight, I think they’d welcome the opportunity for a second chance to finish off the Bulldogs.
Quick Notes on the Bulldogs:
- Butler averages 71.6 points per game and allows 61.3 per contest, holding foes to 40.9 percent shooting from the floor. The Bulldogs are 10-1 when holding foes to 60 points or less, but 8-6 when allowing 60 or more points.
- Guards Alex Barlow and Kellen Dunham shared Butler’s scoring lead with 19 points apiece against Villanova on Saturday. Barlow hit six of 14 shots, including four from beyond the three-point arc to match his career scoring-high. Dunham knocked down six of 12 shots for the third straight game and five of five free throws en route to his share of the scoring lead. The two Butler guards combined for 25 of Butler’s 43 points in the second half.
- Barlow continued to add to his career total for steals with a game-high three thefts against Villanova. The 5’11” point-guard, who stands fifth on Butler’s all-time list for steals, boosted his career total to 171 steals, five shy of Darren Fowlkes (1985-89) in fourth place on the all-time Butler list. Barlow had a game-high four steals in Butler’s first meeting with Creighton this season.
Bluejay Bytes:
- Creighton is 8-0 this season when scoring 70 points or more, and has won 26 straight games when reaching that milestone. All three Big East wins have come when reaching 70 points or more, as the Jays average 77.7 points per game in conference wins compared to 57.5 per contest in league losses.
- Creighton looks to win back-to-back games on Monday for the first time since defeating Nebraska on Dec. 7 and South Dakota two days later. After each of its previous two Big East wins this season, Creighton fell behind 12-2 in the opening moments and would lose by double-figures.
- Monday’s contest will mark the first time that Creighton has hosted four games against Top-25 teams in the same season, and the second time that Creighton has played six games against Top 25 competition, having first done it in 1971-72. Butler will be the fifth different ranked team that Creighton has played in the 2015 calendar year alone, and third in CU’s last six home games.
The Series:
Creighton is 6-4 all-time vs. Butler, with the first four games coming in 1933 and 1934. CU has won all but one of the six meetings since then, falling last month in the final minute at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
McDermott is 2-3 in his career vs. Butler, including a 2-1 mark on the Creighton sideline. He is 0-1 against Chris Holtmann.
The Last Time They Played:
January 21 in Indianapolis, Creighton lost their seventh straight Big East game and third in the last four in the final minute, falling 64-61 to the Bulldogs. Creighton fell behind 10-4 early and trailed for the entire first half despite three instances where they had possession with a chance to tie the game or take the lead. In each instance, they either missed a shot or turned it over. The second half was more of the same until a 9-0 Creighton run that evened the score with 3:18 to play. They took the lead on two free throws from James Milliken, but a series of mistakes, bad breaks, and brain cramps in the final minute cost them the game.
Gratuitous Linkage:
CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish writes about Butler’s unlikely season and the job Chris Holtmann has done after being handed the job unexpectedly in October.
What the Other Side is Saying:
“Without Chrabascz’s presence in the middle of the lane to provide some efficient scoring in the paint, Butler is going to have to be even better on the offensive and defensive glass than they’ve been before. In order to do that, they’ll have to play Tyler Wideman and Jackson Davis more than normal. The challenge will be for these freshmen to perform like upperclassmen in the face of great adversity. Creighton is a squad that does very well on the glass in conference play, but Butler must be significantly better tomorrow night.”
Keys to Victory, ButlerHoops.com
This Date in Creighton Hoops History:
On February 16, 2005, Creighton defeated Wichita State 82-68 at Koch Arena behind 35 points from Nate Funk. After trailing 38-31 at the half, the Bluejays set an MVC record by making 16-of-19 shots (84.2 percent) in the second half. Even more impressive, they grabbed an offensive rebound on all three of their missed shots in the second half.
Johnny Mathies scored the first eight points of the second half to quickly erased the Shocker lead. Then Dane Watts drained a trey from the corner and Jeffrey Day followed with a turnaround jumper to cap CU’s 13-0 run that allowed them to take the lead for good.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day:
The Bottom Line:
Creighton can pull the upset tonight — they were one possession away from winning at Hinkle Fieldhouse against a Bulldog team playing at full strength, after all. In this one, the Bulldogs are without one of their best scorers, and they’re travelling on short rest, so who knows? One thing is for sure, if the Bluejays turn it over 18 times like they did in that game, or if they fall behind big early, their chances to pull the upset go down considerably.
I think Butler wins it, but it’ll be decided late.
#18 Butler 67, Creighton 64