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

By Lukas Harkins

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)
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) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – JANUARY 24: Baldwin of the Bulldogs shoots. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – JANUARY 24: Baldwin of the Bulldogs shoots. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

3. Butler (89) vs. Marquette (85) – Jan. 24th

Butler hosted Marquette on Jan. 24th in a pivotal seemingly must-win game at the time for a morale-booster. The Dawgs were fresh off dropping their last three games after starting the season at 15-1 and ranked at No. 5 in the nation.

The team also saw Aaron Thompson and Christian David both suffer injuries in their prior defeat (at Villanova) and were going to be playing without them for this contest. This left Butler’s rotation a bit short, but at least Kamar Baldwin was still on the court.

Baldwin really put the team on his back in the second half of this contest with an absolute barrage of jumpers and finishes that Marquette simply could not defend.

The master of the mid-range scored 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting (8-for-10 FT) over the last 11 minutes of the second half and overtime to carry the Dawgs to the finish line. He flat-out took over down the stretch while proving once again that he belonged in the discussion of the most clutch players in the nation.

In addition to Baldwin’s heroics, this was a strong night for Butler’s entire senior class. Sean McDermott finished with 16 points off several back-door cuts and a pair of trifectas while also leading the team on the glass with nine rebounds. Henry Baddley then lived up to the challenge of playing big minutes off the bench (31) in Thompson’s absence while harassing Markus Howard into just 8-for-27 shooting from the field. Derrik Smits also chipped in a 6-point, 2-rebound, 2-assist performance in just 11 minutes.

This was an all-around effort of Butler’s upperclassmen stepping up in the absence of two of their top six players. Baldwin was the headlining star, but he wasn’t alone.