Rushed Reactions: #6 Butler 56, #11 Texas 48
Posted by Tommy Lemoine on March 19th, 2015
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Three Key Takeaways.
Kellen Dunham and the Bulldogs came up big when it mattered most. (Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports)
- Once again, Butler overcame adversity. After former head coach Brandon Miller left the team just before the season started, Butler responded by going 8-1 out of the gate, including wins over Georgetown and North Carolina. After Andrew Chrabascz went down for four games in mid-February, Butler responded by going 3-1 and maintaining its strong NCAA Tournament profile. And today, after the Bulldogs blew their early lead – and second-leading scorer Roosevelt Jones went down with a leg injury – the team fought back, regained the lead and held off Texas. This group takes hit after hit and continues to respond, time and time again.
- Chris Holtmann knows what he’s doing. The interim-turned-permanent head coach seemed hell-bent on maximizing Butler’s final few possessions, calling a series of timeouts around the final media break that seemed to pay off; Kellen Dunham and Kameron Woods knocked down a couple huge shots and put the Bulldogs up for good. Holtmann’s defensive game plan – backing off Texas’ shooters and committing extra help in the post – was similarly excellent. Forget about the fact that he wasn’t even supposed have this job – the 43-year old knows know what he’s doing on the sidelines.
- Maybe Texas was what its record reflected. “It is what it is. We are who we are,” Texas head coach Rick Barnes said after the game. That pretty much sums it up for the Longhorns, which lost yet another close game and again failed to live up to expectations (they were Vegas favorites today). Barnes’ club struggled to hit jump shots and was never really able to maximize its massive frontcourt advantage, especially on the offensive end. At some point, you just have to accept that if it looks like a rat and smells like a rat… well, you get the picture. At 20-14, Texas was not necessarily “better than its record shows.” It might have just been a middling team all along.
Star of the Game: Kellen Dunham (20 points, 8-of-11 FT). The sharp-shooting junior carried the Bulldogs when Jones went out and then carried them again when it mattered most, earning numerous trips to the free throw line – including a three-point foul midway through the second half – and hitting the dagger triple to give Butler its decisive final advantage.
Quotable: “I’m disappointed. I like to see us to obviously advance in this tournament. If you know anything about this tournament… there’s no one that’s entitled to any of this.” – Texas coach Rick Barnes on his team’s bitter end to the season.
Sights and Sounds: When Jones hobbled back out of the locker room late in the second half and checked in at the scorer’s table, Butler fans stood up and applauded the tough-as-nails junior. “A little Willis Reed moment,” Holtmann called it.
What’s next? Butler will take on #3 seed Notre Dame in an all-Indiana showdown on Saturday. The Bulldogs boast one of the best defenses in the country, while the Irish make their living on the offensive end. Should be fun.
