Walker Carey is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report after Wednesday night’s game between Charlotte and Butler. You can follow him at @walkerRcarey.

Butler entered Wednesday night’s game a perfect 12-0 at Hinkle Fieldhouse this season, thus earning it the deserved reputation of being one of the toughest teams to beat in their building. The Bulldogs figured to be healthy favorites over Charlotte entering the contest, but that changed when Butler center Andrew Smith was injured in Saturday’s victory over George Washington and it was apparent that he would miss at least the team’s next two games with the abdominal injury. Charlotte entered the game as a bit of an unknown, at least nationally. The 49ers sported a 17-6 record, but they had not earned many victories over quality competition and had gone 1-3 in Atlantic 10 road games. As it turned out, Charlotte was able to take full advantage of Smith’s absence inside by dominating the Bulldogs in the paint en route to an important 71-67 road victory. The following are three thoughts from Wednesday night’s game in Indy.

Charlotte Shows Just How Wacky the Atlantic 10 Is This Season (AP)

1. This Was Charlotte’s Biggest Win Of The Season. While Charlotte did enter the game with a 17-6 record, the 49ers were not really on anyone’s radar as a potential NCAA Tournament team due to the fact that they don’t have any quality wins. Prior to Wednesday, La Salle was the only team in the RPI Top 50 that the 49ers had defeated. In dire need of a signature win to keep alive any chance to be a part of the field of 68, Charlotte dictated the pace for much of the game en route to earning the terrific victory. Sophomore guard Pierra Henry, who entered the game averaging just nine points per game, finished with 17 points to lead the way for the 49ers. Senior forward Chris Braswell and freshman forward Willie Clayton each contributed 11 points and six rebounds to the victory. Charlotte still has a good amount of work to do to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament, but Wednesday’s victory at Butler was certainly a step in the right direction. Read the rest of this entry »

Walker Carey is an RTC correspondent. He was situated courtside for Saturday night’s five-overtime classic between Louisville and Notre Dame. You can follow him at @walkerRcarey.

Notre Dame 104, Louisville 101, in five overtimes. The events of Saturday night and early Sunday morning at the Purcell Pavilion on the campus of Notre Dame will not soon be forgotten — in fact, Notre Dame’s win over 11th-ranked Louisville in five overtimes will likely have a permanent place in Irish lore. The arena was electric all night as the Irish student section, known as the Leprechaun Legion, arrived early and brought noise and energy to the equation from before the game all the way up to when it rushed the court following the final buzzer of the fifth overtime. Even when it looked like all was lost for the Irish near the end of the second half, the building was still buzzing. For a university that has quite the reputation as a “football school,” Notre Dame showed it was plenty capable of providing an outstanding atmosphere for a major college basketball game.

While the atmosphere itself was incredible, the way the Irish topped the Cardinals was perhaps more unbelievable. Notre Dame senior forward Jack Cooley, arguably the team’s most productive player, fouled out with 6:54 to play in regulation, thus leaving the Irish with a gaping hole in the interior. Moreover, Louisville led by eight points, 56-48, with just 51 seconds to play. That was when the madness began. Notre Dame junior guard Jerian Grant, who had not made a shot from the field all evening, converted on three consecutive three-pointers and then followed that up by tying the game with an old-fashioned three-point play. When Grant’s free throw made its way through the nylon with 16 seconds on the clock, the game was tied at 60 and the Irish had erased what appeared to be an insurmountable deficit in just 35 seconds.

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Walker Carey is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report after Saturday night’s game between Louisville and Notre Dame. You can follow him at @walkerRcarey.

Three Key Takeaways.

1. This Game Was Completely And Totally Insane. When it appeared that all hope was lost for Notre Dame and Louisville was going to leave South Bend with the victory, Notre Dame junior guard Jerian Grant stepped to the forefront and nailed three consecutive three-pointers and converted on an old-fashioned three-point play to tie the game and send it to overtime. Grant’s heroics were only possible because while he was scoring 12 points in just 42 seconds, Louisville only converted on 6-of-8 free throws, thus making a tie game possible. When overtime began, chaos overtook the Purcell Pavilion. In the first four overtime periods, there were 10 ties and 10 lead changes. When Notre Dame needed a basket, Notre Dame got a basket. When Louisville needed a basket, Louisville got a basket. This is how completely insane this game was: Notre Dame forward Garrick Sherman did not play in regulation and still managed to finish the game with 17 points. Saturday night’s tilt in South Bend is a game that will not be forgotten any time soon.
2. Russ Smith Does Not Belong In The National Player Of The Year Discussion. Throughout the game, Louisville guard Russ Smith made baffling decision after baffling decision. He also took bad shot after bad shot. For the game, Smith finished with 21 points, but he reached that figure on just a 4-of-18 performance from the field. It is impossible to deny that Smith is a very talented player, but his decision-making really prevents him from being the player he could be. A big deal is made about his nickname, “Russdiculous,” but it might be time to look at just how much his play hurts Louisville at times.
3. Notre Dame’s Resiliency Was Unbelievable. Forward Jack Cooley is arguably Notre Dame’s best player, but the Irish were without the services of the senior big man after he fouled out with 6:54 to play. Forward Tom Knight soon joined him as a foul casualty and the two big men were joined on the bench by Grant, who fouled out towards the end of the first overtime period. With three starters disqualified, Notre Dame relied on reserves Cam Biedscheid, Zach Auguste, and Sherman to play big minutes and all three came through for the Irish giving them quality performances on both ends of the court. The Irish believed in themselves all night and received contributions from everyone. It was a total team effort and Mike Brey has to be thrilled with how well everyone fulfilled their roles and contributed to the cause.
   

Stars of the Game. Jerian Grant, Eric Atkins, and Pat Connaughton, Notre Dame. Grant’s 12 points in 42 seconds are what made the five overtime madness possible. When it looked like all hope was lost for the Irish, Grant put the team on his back and took it to the extra periods. Atkins did not have the best game statistically (14 points on just 5-of-19 shooting), but the decision-making of the junior guard was tremendous for all 60 minutes he was on the court. Without the leadership of Atkins, there is little chance Notre Dame could have been victorious. Connaughton filled out the stat sheet for the Irish, finishing with 16 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists. While his statistics were fantastic, the sophomore’s toughness was what made him so valuable to his team in the victory.

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Walker Carey is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report after Wednesday night’s game between Creighton and Indiana State. You can follow him at @walkerRcarey.

Entering Wednesday night’s game, Indiana State was a definitely a bubble team. The Sycamores entered the contest with #16 Creighton at 14-8 overall with a 7-4 record in Missouri Valley play. While Greg Lansing’s squad has some excellent wins – neutral site victories over Ole Miss and Miami and a road victory over Wichita State – it has also suffered some poor losses – most notably road setbacks to Morehead State and Southern Illinois. The same pundits who put the Sycamores on the bubble noted the team had a solid opportunity to find itself on the right side of the bubble come Selection Sunday due to the opportunity to boost its RPI with home contests against Creighton and Wichita State. The Blue Jays, a team that beat the Sycamores 79-66 in Omaha on January 5, came first and the Sycamores took advantage of a poor game from Creighton star Doug McDermott and their home court advantage to notch a dominating 76-56 victory. The following are three thoughts from Wednesday night’s game.

Creighton is Really Reaching For Answers Right Now

1. Indiana State Played Its Best Game of the Season. Whenever a team commits zero first half turnovers and limits a national player of the year candidate to just eight points, you know that team put forth a tremendous effort. The zero first half turnovers by the Sycamores allowed the team to build an 11-point halftime lead and remaining crisp and efficient on offense allowed the team to increase the lead by as much as 28 in the second half before earning the 19-point victory. The Sycamores’ offensive attack was led by junior guard Jake Odum, who finished with 22 points on a solid 7-of-10 performance from the field. Doug McDermott, who entered the game averaging 24 points per game, was stymied by the defensive efforts of Indiana State forwards R.J. Mahurin and Justin Gant all night and finished with just eight points (zero points in the second half) on a 3-of-10 effort from the field. The exceptionally strong defensive performance prevented the entire Blue Jays team from ever getting into any sort of offensive rhythm. Read the rest of this entry »

Walker Carey is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report after Wednesday night’s game between Detroit and Wright State. You can follow him at @walkerRcarey.

While Detroit represented the Horizon League in the NCAA Tournament last season, prior to this season Butler had long maintained a virtual stronghold on the top position in the conference. Luckily for the current members of the Horizon League, Butler is no longer around as the Bulldogs bolted after the 2011-12 season to join the Atlantic 10. With the Bulldogs’ departure, teams who had long played second fiddle to Brad Stevens’ program were now given the opportunity to make themselves known as serious contenders. The following is a breakdown of the four teams who currently possess the best chance of taking home the conference crown this year and represent the Horizon League in the NCAA Tournament.

Broekhoff Leads A Dangerous Valparaiso Team

1. Valparaiso – 16-6 overall (6-2 in Horizon League) – Bryce Drew’s Crusaders are not only in first place in the conference, but they are also one of the hottest teams in the league. After dropping their conference opener, a home match-up with Loyola, the Crusaders have notched wins in six of their last seven games. Valpo is led by a duo of foreign-born front line standouts. Australian senior forward Ryan Broekhoff – last season’s Horizon League Player of the Year – leads the team in scoring (17.2 PPG) and rebounding (8.5 RPG), while fellow senior forward Kevin Van Wijk, a native of the Netherlands, trails only Broekhoff for the team lead in scoring (13.5 PPG) and rebounding (5.2 RPG). While the Crusaders dropped their most recent contest – a road setback to Youngstown State on Wednesday – the remainder of their schedule is manageable enough for the team to remain the favorite to earn the regular season crown and the top seed in the league tournament.

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Walker Carey is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report after Saturday night’s game between Temple and Butler. You can follow him at @walkerRcarey.

Butler suffered its first Atlantic 10 loss and its first loss of any kind since November 21 on Wednesday when the Bulldogs were upended by La Salle on the road. The defense of the Explorers frustrated Butler all night en route to a 54-53 victory. Needing a shot in the arm offensively, Butler received one Friday afternoon when the school announced that leading-scorer Rotnei Clarke had been cleared to play in Saturday evening’s tilt with Temple. Clarke, a senior, had missed the team’s last three games after suffering a sprained neck against Dayton on January 12. With Clarke back in the fold, Butler had a bit of an offensive explosion as the Bulldogs scored their most points in over a month in a 12-point victory over a solid Temple squad. The following are three thoughts from Saturday night’s game.

Rotnei Clarke’s Return Fueled the Butler Offense

1. Butler’s Complementary Players Keep Improving.  While it was Clarke who led the way for the Bulldogs with 24 points today, the contributions of freshman guard Kellen Dunham and junior forward Khyle Marshall were just as significant. Dunham, who returned to a reserve role due to Clarke’s return, was hot from behind the three-point line all game. He finished with 17 points and shot a blistering 5-of-6 from behind the arc. Marshall, who had scored a total of just 15 points over the last three games, broke out in a major way, scoring 19 points on a very efficient 9-of-11 from the field. While Clarke is still clearly the leading scorer and go-to guy, contributions from Dunham, Marshall, senior big man Andrew Smith, and sophomore swingman Roosevelt Jones are going to be major factors as the Bulldogs face stiff competition every night in Atlantic 10 play. The aforementioned players have all shown they are capable of making an impact, and if they continue to do consistently, Butler will remain a tough opponent on a nightly basis. Read the rest of this entry »

Walker Carey is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report after Monday night’s game between Georgetown and Notre Dame. You can follow him at @walkerRcarey.

Entering Monday night’s game, Georgetown’s performance in conference play had been both subpar and offensively anemic. John Thompson III‘s squad sat at just 2-3 in Big East play and among its losses were a 25-point home loss to Pittsburgh and a defeat this past Saturday at South Florida to a team that had been previously winless in conference play. The Hoyas also had suffered a personnel loss when sophomore Greg Whittington was declared out indefinitely on January 16 due to academic issues. Losing Whittington was a huge hit to the Hoyas, as he had been both their second-leading scorer (12.1 PPG) and second-leading rebounder (7.0 RPG) at this point in the season. Regardless of all that recent history, the Hoyas put aside their issues and inconsistencies when they traveled to Notre Dame on Monday and dominated the Irish throughout in an impressive 63-47 victory. The following are three thoughts from Monday night’s game:

Georgetown Stifled the Notre Dame Offense on Monday Night

1. Otto Porter is one of the most complete players in the Big East. Porter entered Monday’s game as Georgetown’s leading scorer (14.3 PPG) and rebounder (7.6 RPG). The sophomore surpassed both of those averages in his team’s victory against the Irish by tallying 19 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Standing at 6’8″, Porter also exhibited how he can be a match-up nightmare as he stepped out and converted on three of his four three-point attempts. While his point and rebound totals were impressive, the most important part of Porter’s performance Monday may have been the fact that he played all 40 minutes for the Hoyas. With Porter on the court for the entire game, the Hoyas knew they had someone who they could count on for points, rebounds and important defensive stops. Through 17 games, Porter has proven himself as not only Georgetown’s most complete player, but also one of the best all-around performers in the entire Big East. Read the rest of this entry »

Walker Carey is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report after Saturday night’s game between Gonzaga and Butler. You can follow him at @walkerRcarey.

Three Key Takeaways.

1. The Atmosphere At Hinkle Fieldhouse Was Sublime. With ESPN’s College GameDay broadcasting live from Hinkle Fieldhouse, the Butler fans definitely brought it all night long. Not only did the place fill up long before the opening tip, the place was loud long before the opening tip. The noise level only rose as the night went on, seemingly reaching new heights at different points in the game. The Butler faithful were dead set on letting Gonzaga know just how devoted and faithful they are. Gonzaga did not shoot one free throw without being under a copious amount of verbal harassment from the Butler fans. When Roosevelt Jones nailed the game-winning buzzer-beater, the fans spilled out onto the court and joined the team in what was essentially a mob. As the team made its way to the locker room, the fans stayed on the court to celebrate the hard-fought victory.
2. Despite Defeat, Gonzaga Once Again Showed Its A Very Good Team. On a night where Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr. combined to score just five points, the strength of the Gonzaga frontline was on display all night. Elias Harris, Kelly Olynyk, and Sam Dower each turned in impressive performances going up against a player in Andrew Smith, who had essentially contained Cody Zeller earlier this season. Harris threw in 20 points and collected seven rebounds. Olynyk added 14 points and seven boards. Dower came off the bench and provided a great spark by scoring 20 points – 16 of which came in the first half. Not only did the Zags’ frontline perform well offensively, it also turned in a strong effort on the defensive side of the court. Smith, who entered the game averaging 12 points per game, was held to just seven points and was only able to get off five field goal attempts. While Gonzaga is surely not pleased in defeat, it should be pleased with the effort it got from its interior players.
3. Never Count Butler Out. Ever. Butler has been college basketball’s darling for quite a few years now and there has been no indication of that changing any time soon. Earlier this season it was sophomore former walk-on Alex Barlow who hit a shot with 2.1 seconds left in overtime to top then number one Indiana. Against Gonzaga, Butler looked to sophomore guard Roosevelt Jones for the late-game heroics. After Butler turned the ball over trailing by one with just 3.5 seconds seconds to play, Jones intercepted the Gonzaga inbounds pass and raced into the lane putting up the game-winning shot a fraction of a second before the final buzzer sounded. Considering Butler’s history in close games against strong opponents, no one should be surprised with how the Bulldogs topped Gonzaga. Butler is a team that has adopted the calm and collected demeanor of its coach Brad Stevens and uses this approach no matter the situation. With Stevens at the controls and Butler playing as a team, there really is no situation this team cannot handle or conquer.

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Walker Carey is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report after Saturday afternoon’s game between West Virginia and Purdue. You can follow him at @walkerRcarey.

West Virginia entered the season as a team of great intrigue as the Mountaineers were beginning their first season in the Big 12. In the preseason, they were picked to finish sixth in the conference, but many thought Bob Huggins would be able to get his team to improve as the season progressed. As it turns out, if anything has happened to West Virginia over the course of the season, it is that the Mountaineers have gotten worse.

It’s Been That Kind of a Season For Huggins

When West Virginia lost by 34 points at Gonzaga in its season opener, some dismissed it as a result of a long road trip against a very good team. When the Mountaineers dropped games to Davidson and Oklahoma in the Old Spice Classic, some felt those losses were a result of growing pains and a squad of newcomers who had yet to gel. Serious concerns over this season’s West Virginia squad did not really begin until the Mountaineers dropped their December 11 game to a Duquesne squad, who opened their season by losing to Albany and currently sit at 7-10 overall. After getting thrashed by a clearly superior Michigan team at the Barclays Center on December 15, the Mountaineers closed out their non-conference schedule with three straight wins. In hindsight, those three wins may have been a bad thing as they once again raised some hopes about the Mountaineers as conference play drew near.

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Walker Carey is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report after Wednesday night’s game between Richmond and Butler. You can follow him at @walkerRcarey.

Butler has not lost a game since falling to Illinois in the championship game of the Maui Invitational on November 21, but the Bulldogs did suffer a loss this past Saturday when leading scorer Rotnei Clarke experienced a sprained neck in the team’s win at Dayton. It became known Monday night that Clarke would miss two games — Wednesday versus Richmond and Saturday night against #9 Gonzaga — as he recovers from the injury. In tonight’s game with Richmond, the Bulldogs proved there was a lot more to their team than just Clarke as they led the whole game on their way to a dominant 62-47 victory. The following are three thoughts from Wednesday’s game:

1. Butler completely outworked Richmond on the boards (and that might be an understatement) – Butler outrebounded Richmond by a 53-20 margin tonigh — think about that. Butler had as many offensive rebounds as Richmond had total rebounds. The Bulldogs effectively held the Spiders to just six offensive boards. Those 20 offensive rebounds by the Bulldogs led to 21 second-chance points. Butler’s inside presence, led by starters Andrew Smith and Roosevelt Jones along with reserve Kameron Woods, grabbed a total of 26 rebounds while also playing hard-nosed defense that prevented the Spiders from getting anything going in the post. On a night where the Bulldogs shot just 37.5% from the field, they used their dominant rebounding effort to pave the way to an important conference victory.
   

   Brad Stevens Knows How To Direct His Team

2. Andrew Smith’s production has been key to Butler’s success – In Butler’s December 15 win over Indiana, Smith went toe-to-toe with National Player of the Year candidate Cody Zeller and held his own – even outplaying him for stretches of the upset victory. Smith has proven that his performance was no fluke, as he has become a very important part of the team’s success on both ends of the court. Since Atlantic 10 play began, Smith has taken his game to an even higher level. In the conference opener at Saint Joseph’s, he tallied 24 points and collected 10 rebounds. In the Bulldogs’ win at Dayton, Smith’s senior leadership along with his 13 points helped lead the team through the adversity of Clarke’s injury to another important road win. Against Richmond, Smith turned in another quality performance by controlling the paint and tallying 15 points and seven rebounds. The Atlantic 10 is going to provide the Bulldogs with stiff competition each night, so they are going to need Smith to remain a strong inside presence in order to keep winning. Read the rest of this entry »