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Butler Basketball: Takeaways from home win over Wofford

By Lukas Harkins

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 16: Kamar Baldwin #3 of the Butler Bulldogs dribbles the ball around Terence Davis #3 of the Mississippi Rebels at Hinkle Fieldhouse on November 16, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 16: Kamar Baldwin #3 of the Butler Bulldogs dribbles the ball around Terence Davis #3 of the Mississippi Rebels at Hinkle Fieldhouse on November 16, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – FEBRUARY 20: Baldwin of the Bulldogs dribbles. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – FEBRUARY 20: Baldwin of the Bulldogs dribbles. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

1. All good teams finish strong. Butler did that.

Butler controlled this game from start to finish – there is no doubt about that. The Dawgs led for over 34 minutes in the contest and seemingly took command of the pace from the opening tip. Even though Wofford hung around for a few minutes, Butler simply outclassed them in the paint and operated at a higher level on both ends of the floor.

Still, there was one moment of worry for Butler fans in this game as Wofford cut their deficit to just 10 points with 7:22 left to play. The Terriers’ star player, Nathan Hoover, had hit his prior two shots and it appeared as though he could be entering a hot streak to carry their team into a comeback. In order to counteract this, Kamar Baldwin went coast-to-coast for a layup on the ensuing possession and then the Dawgs forced a shot-clock violation defensively.

Over the final seven minutes of the game, Butler held Wofford to just four total points on 1-for-9 shooting with their suffocating defense. Coach Jordan discussed this portion of the win in postgame: “There was a stretch where our seniors [Baddley, McDermott, Kamar] and juniors [Aaron and Bryce Nze] got five straight stops and gave us a little more of a cushion to seal the deal.”

It was clear that Coach Jordan wanted to rely on his experienced veterans down the stretch of this game and they all showed up in big ways. Henry Baddley, who struggled on both ends earlier in the contest, really displayed his defensive abilities while forcing multiple stops in the latter portion of the second half. It is impossible to ignore the leadership that each of these upperclassmen exudes while on the court, especially defensively.

Butler is a more vocal unit on both ends of the floor this season and a lot of that needs to be attributed to the efforts of Baldwin, McDermott, Baddley, Thompson, and Nze. They are all experienced pieces with the ability to make impacts in a variety of ways.