Butler Basketball: Takeaways from statement win over Florida

NEW ORLEANS, LA - MARCH 26: Shelvin Mack #1 of the Butler Bulldogs holds a stuffed animal bulldog eating a gator as he celebrates after they defeated the Florida Gators 74 to 71 during the Southeast regional final of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at New Orleans Arena on March 26, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

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NEW ORLEANS, LA – MARCH 26: Shelvin Mack #1 of the Bulldogs celebrates. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Butler basketball once again proved itself worthy of a top-25 ranking with a double-digit victory over Florida. What were the biggest takeaways?

Butler basketball just keeps impressing with every single performance. During the opening month of the season, the Dawgs began to shatter preseason expectations while launching out to an 8-0 record and snagging the No. 24 spot in the AP poll (before beating Ole Miss). In the team’s first contest of December, they continued that hot start with a dominant home performance against the Florida Gators. Even though the Dawgs allowed their opposition to jump out to a 5-0 lead in the opening minutes, they then settled in with strong defense before starting to bury a few shots of their own.

And once the shots starting finding the bottom of the net, the Hinkle Fieldhouse faithful erupted in response. To put it simply, the home energy in this contest was electric and helped to spur the Dawgs to what turned out to ba 76-62 victory at home. Looking back, Butler’s unconscious play heading into halftime was the defining stretch of this game. Over the final eight minutes of the first half, the Dawgs found a rhythm on both ends of the floor while going on a 22-6 run to head into the break leading by nine.

They never looked back from there as the Dawgs played with incredible discipline over the final 20 minutes. They not only kept the Gators from making a comeback but put the hammer down by extending their lead throughout the half. Aaron Thompson was the clear MVP of the game for Butler as he was a steady terrorizing force on both ends of the floor. He locked down defensively as per usual, but also dictated Butler’s offense as both a playmaker and scorer. The junior point was incredible in the win but he was far from the only major contributor.

On the whole, eight players scored for the Dawgs (four in double-figures) as they displayed a balanced scoring attack. The Dawgs shot .521/.450/.773 as a team for the contest while picking apart Florida’s defense, which is well-known as one of the better units in the country. This was an incredibly impressive performance on the whole for a team that continues to show more promise for the future.

Without any further ado, though, let’s dive into my biggest takeaways from the Butler victory over Florida.