Butler Basketball: 5 best games from the 2019-20 season

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 05: Kamar Baldwin #3 of the Butler Bulldogs celebrates with the fans after a win over the Villanova Wildcats at Hinkle Fieldhouse on February 05, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Bulldogs defeated the Wildcats 79-76. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

3 of 6

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – FEBRUARY 05: Golden of the Bulldogs drives. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

4. Butler (68) vs. Stanford (67) – Nov. 26th

Butler started exceeding expectations seemingly from the opening tip of the entire 2019-20 campaign. The Dawgs came out of the gates essentially hitting on all cylinders by emerging as one of the nation’s best defensive teams. They launched out to a 9-0 start that had them ranked in the nation’s Top 25, and possibly the biggest victory along the way came in the Hall of Fame Classic Championship Game over Stanford.

This event really seemed like a minor coming-out-party for big man Bryce Golden. After dropping 13 games on the opening night, a double-digit victory over Missouri, the 6-foot-9 sophomore once again put together a strong performance against the Cardinal. He put up an all-around strong stat line of 12 points, five rebounds, and three assists on five total field-goal attempts as one of Butler’s key contributors.

When it came down to crunch time, though, it was Kamar Baldwin with the ball in his hands. No surprise there. Trailing by one with under 10 seconds left to play, the senior sized up his man on the right-wing and went for his patented step-back jumper from just inside the arc. Nothing but net. The Cardinal turned it over on the ensuing final possession and the Dawgs walked away with a riveting 68-67 victory.

Baldwin finished the night with 22 points and five rebounds on 10-for-18 shooting as he propelled the team throughout the night.