The Bulldogs aren't that good. At least that's what Indiana State guard Gabe Moore said about his opponent after the game. Moore only scored 10 points in a 76-48 losing effort, a far cry short of his 24-point performance against the Dawgs last season. I think we have a case of the pot calling the kettle black here. But, I digress.
Bottom line, BU looked great last night. I was thoroughly impressed. And welcome home A.J. Graves. He scored 26 points on 6-of-9 three pointers in the Dawgs first home game of the season. He was lights out. I expected Pete Campbell to step up and score in the clutch, but A.J. had an answer every time ISU tried to spark a rally.
As for the Sycamore offense, they looked about as confused, in the first half, as their players on the bench, who couldn't figure out where their extra chairs went after timeouts. Moore was in foul trouble for the first 20 minutes, but still failed to lead his team offensively in the second half. The Butler defense deserves a lot of credit, although Moore said that his team's lack of communication really hurt them. The Dawgs hounded the Sycamores in every possession, sticking like glue to their assignments, and forced two shot clock violations in the first half.
The Bulldog offense was electrifying. A Matt Howard blocked shot followed by his dunk at the other end, a Campbell layup in transition and a Mike Green cut to the basketball for two points with a foul shot brought the crowd to its feet. Then, after ISU forced BU to take a timeout on an in-bounds play, Campbell threw a snowbird pass to freshman Shawn Vanzant who broke through the Sycamore defense across half court and caught the ball in stride for an easy layup, scoring the first points in his Butler career. He finished the night with six points, and freshman Zach Hahn also netted his first career points with a three pointer. The offense had some lapses, as usual, especially after halftime, but they fought through it and put a beat down on the Sycamores.
Indiana State should be a very competitive team this season, but the Bulldogs coasted to a victory. I'm starting to get very excited about the rest of this season.
Picture: A.J. Graves led the Bulldogs with 26 points in 6-of-9 three-point shooting. Photo by Liz Goerlitz
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