It's March-where did you expect Butler to be?

First appeared on March 22, 2011
in The Lebanon Reporter

Four teams from the Hoosier state earned bids to this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. In the interest of becoming the first to truly present a “Fair and Balanced” point of view, I will now dissect the performances of all four teams to this point; impartially and equally.


For reasons best not mentioned here I’ve never cared for Indiana State, but they had a nice season that ended when Syracuse hammered them Friday. Now, on to Purdue. Just when everything in Boiler land appeared to be peaches and cream, they were apparently instead peaches and herb. The impact of losing a player is unpredictable. It can be what you expect as teams spiral into a self-destructive abyss (see Michigan State), but in other cases it can force those remaining to gel while propelling the level of play.

Playing shorthanded is nothing new to the Boilers of course, so it should come as no surprise they were stellar against St. Peter’s in the opening round. This being said, it was a great season. It was more than most predicted. Conference Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, a shot at the Big Ten title down the stretch. And while Ryne Smith’s 20 points Sunday may have temporarily silenced the voices chanting “find a third scorer” in Matt Painter’s head, it was the defense that let him down in the end.

Some experts said laterally Purdue was the best defensive team in the nation, but VCU carved the Boilers up vertically driving gaps to the basket. It was the closest thing to “running the ball downhill” you will see in a basketball game and the result was a 30-12 points in the paint differential.

At 27-6, Notre Dame was probably the best kept secret in the state this year. With four players averaging double figures, balance carried the Irish all season. After rocketing their way up the Top 20 and dispatching of Akron, Sunday night’s match up with Florida State proved two oft-used clichés in those “who live by the 3 die by the 3” and “offense sells tickets, defense wins games”. Florida State smothered the Irish and locked down Senior stand-out Ben Hansbrough before moving on.

Meanwhile, somebody needs to tell Butler it’s not 2010 anymore. Somebody needs to remind them Milwaukee swept them in Horizon League play this year. Somebody needs to You Tube Gordon Hayward so Brad Stevens can see his best player is dealing in Utah right now.

What Butler fans discovered over the weekend, aside from the fact that Alec Baldwin is apparently a shill for Capital One now, is that there is some fight left in their Dogs. Especially Senior forward Matt Howard. Howard is gangly. Howard is awkward. He has a crooked nose and a hairdo that looks like it just walked off the set of Starksy and Hutch, but he is the heart and soul of this team and he simply knows how to play. Howard’s effectiveness is rooted in great intelligence and an uncanny knack for anticipation.

Shelviin Mack was huge too. The Junior guard proved again he’s most comfortable on the biggest of stages by drilling an array of huge shots en route to 30 points Saturday. But it wasn’t Howard and Mack alone. Shawn Vanzant made some key plays while Freshman Khyle Marshall was solid defensively and rebounded well, despite giving up considerable size.

So here we are once again. A familiar place where Butler remains the only hope left for Hoosiers everywhere. So we stand shoulder to shoulder singing the Butler war song beneath the Hoosier sky.

© 2011 Eric Walker Williams