In their final non-conference contest, Butler basketball had no trouble against Western Illinois, controlling the game on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes.
After falling to Purdue in the Crossroads Classic, Butler basketball has responded well in each of their last two non-conference games. First, they took care of Morehead State on Dec. 19 by a score of 85-69. This was another solid game for the Dawgs against a lesser opponent but their second win of the week was far more impressive.
As soon as the Bulldogs took the floor against the Western Illinois Leathernecks, they dominated from end to end. Even though the team was without their starting center in Tyler Wideman (wisdom teeth extraction) for the first time in his career, the team was active on the glass and finished with a +13 advantage in rebounding.
I do not think it is possible for me to pinpoint just one thing that was the key for Butler in this one. The rebounding advantage was certainly solid but this was directly caused by the elite defense played by the Dawgs. For the night, Western Illinois was held to just 32.8% shooting from the field and 6.7% from three. Yes, you read that correctly.
On the offensive end of the ball, Butler was just as good. They shot 56.1% from the field and made 18 of 31 3-point attempts (58.1%) The team was led by the usual suspects in Kelan Martin and Paul Jorgensen. Martin, the team’s leading scorer for the season, dropped in 18 points in the first half en route to a 20-point game in just 28 minutes. Jorgensen, on the other hand, continued his hot play as of late with 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting.
Every time Paul Jorgensen steps on the court, #Butler's energy immediately increases. Jorgensen's high-energy scoring and effort cannot be understated.
— Lukas Harkins (@hardwiredsports) December 22, 2017
He is averaging 16.0 points per game while shooting 16/30 (53.3%) from three over the past 5 games. pic.twitter.com/dYzOIFxikL
In addition to these two, sophomore Henry Baddley had a coming out party with 20 points of his own. In only 15 total minutes, Baddley went 7-for-8 from the field and hit all four of his 3-point attempts. Lastly, junior Nate Fowler picked up the slack inside with Wideman out. Fowler recorded a solid double-double in this one with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
On the opposite bench, this was a rough game for Western Illinois. They were never able to get anything going from the field nor could they slow down the offensive output of the Bulldogs. Jalen Morgan was the only player to reach double-figures in this game. To be quite honest, the best part of this game for the Leathernecks was when their live mascot, Rocky, met up with Butler’s Trip:
Rocky is here!!! pic.twitter.com/K9JzNMOJlX
— Butler Blue III (@ButlerBlue3) December 21, 2017
Next: Big East power rankings (version four)
Overall, this was a dominating performance by the Bulldogs. Unlike other games this season, the team got off to a hot start and they were able to ride that hot streak throughout the entire game. This win takes the team to 10-3 on the season and puts them in good shape to compete in the Big East.
They will start conference play in their next game when they travel to face new head coach Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas on the road on Dec. 27.