The Butler men’s basketball team suffered its first home loss of the season Wednesday night, losing 71-67 to Charlotte at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Junior forward Erik Fromm started in place of senior center Andrew Smith who suffered an abdominal injury during last Saturday’s game against George Washington.

The Bulldogs’ (20-5, 7-3) shooters struggled in the first half, shooting only 18.2 percent from behind the three-point line and 33.3 percent from the field.

Sophomore forward Roosevelt Jones was the first half’s leading scorer and rebounder with nine points and five rebounds.

Senior guard Rotnei Clarke scored only three points in the first half, going one-for-five from beyond the arc.

The 49ers (18-6, 6-4) took a 29-27 lead to halftime after a layup at the buzzer by Charlotte guard Pierria Henry was waived off by officials, then ruled good, then waived off again.

Butler struggled inside in the second half as they missed several scoring opportunities close to the basket.

The Bulldogs were outscored in the paint 38-24.

Charlotte was ahead by as many as 10 points, with 4:26 to play in regulation.

However, Clarke would finally find his rhythm in the final minutes of the game, scoring 15 of his 18 points in the final 3:21.

A Clarke 3-pointer with 6.7 seconds remaining brought the score to 68-67 and the Bulldogs found themselves within a point of the 49ers for the first time since the 16:23 mark in the second half.

Jones then fouled Henry who went to the line and made his first free throw. Senior guard Chase Stigall grabbed the rebound after Henry missed his second attempt and coach Brad Stevens called timeout with three seconds remaining.

Following the timeout, Charlotte senior forward E. Victor Nickerson stole Stigall’s inbounds pass to end Butler’s chance for a victory.

“It would have been, probably, a disservice for Butler to win that game,” Stevens said. “I thought Charlotte was great. I knew Charlotte coming in was going to be really hard for us to matchup with, in large part because their strengths are certainly something that we counter better with Andrew (Smith) than without.”

Stevens said he will not know what adjustments he will make going into this Saturday’s contest at Fordham until he watches film of the Charlotte game.

“We started Fromm and (freshman guard) Kellen (Dunham), obviously, and we thought that, everything we had suggested that with Andrew out, Fromm and Kellen are a good combination, and so we went with that,” Stevens said. “I felt relatively good about the way our starters played, for the most part. Not everybody but most of the starting lineup. And I think that’ll probably be similar Saturday, I don’t know that we’ll start exactly the same.”

The Bulldogs’ bench was held scoreless against the 49ers’ defense.

Fromm said he knew he had to rise to the challenge of starting in place of Smith.

“In terms of defense, I feel like we have guys that are capable and guys that are willing and able to step in, especially in big games, in a home game when you have someone who’s not there,” Fromm said. “You can’t think of excuses for a guy being gone. You have to take it to the chest and say this is my duty now, this is my game, I need to fill in where Andrew’s going to be gone and we’re just going to play the way we always play and that’s the way we need to think about it until Andrew comes back.

The Bulldogs will still be without Smith for this Saturday’s game in New York.

The game at Fordham tips off at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

Two simple words. “Stay Positive.”

Butler University junior Eric Day takes them to heart. So much so that he has started a campaign with wristbands featuring those words.

Day learned he had brain cancer in December 2010, and during treatment at Jill’s House in 2011, a little girl named Allison helped him go through radiation. Everyday she told him to “stay positive.”

Day said he followed her instructions through the end of his treatment last March and beyond. Upon leaving Jill’s, Allison sent him a card. At the bottom she signed it, “Stay positive.”

Last fall he began a campaign with rubber wristbands bearing those words. He also took advice from Butler senior basketball player Rotnei Clarke and added his “G3” motto, standing for “give God glory.”

The wristbands circulated a little bit on campus all year but really began to gain attention recently when junior basketball player Erik Fromm was wearing one during an interview regarding the recent loss of his father.

Leonard Fromm died of cancer the morning of Feb. 2, hours before Butler’s game against Rhode Island.

Fromm, a friend of Day, said he has supported the cause since he first heard about it.

“There’s always a lot of people that are worse off than you,” Fromm said. “Like I said on the news, there’s a lot of silver linings. With my dad, I got to spend an extra seven months with him.”

Fromm said he knows he could have spent more time with his father, but it would have been very difficult for him and his family to watch him continue to suffer.

There is a Facebook group called “Stay Positive Wristbands” that is helping the cause in its early stages. The group has reached more than 400 “likes” as of press time.

Day said the main goal of the organization is to help give people a positive outlook on daily life.

“We just help every person we can, and give them a positive outlook and remind them of the daily reminders that there’s somebody worse off,” Day said.

Fromm said he is currently going through a process to become a part of the organization due to NCAA policies.

If he is cleared to do so, the two hope to eventually make it a national organization and become recognized as their own foundation.

All proceeds will be donated to cancer research, Day said.

Day already has plans reaching far outside Indianapolis.

“We have a story a newspaper in Chicago wants to do,” Day said. “One lady from Texas has ordered 100 bands. In St. Louis, some lady wanted 50.”

Despite going through a long process, Fromm remains optimistic on becoming involved.

“If I’m cleared, then I’ll be a part of it too,” Fromm said. “Eric’s still going to do it, and all the money will go to cancer research.”

Day said he can foresee his project reaching stages as prominent as the NBA and NFL.

“We’re hoping to hook up with Shelvin Mack and (Gordon) Hayward, and I’m also close with the Harbaugh brothers,” Day said.

“ESPN loves peoples’ stories, so when we get to the tournament, they’ll hear my story, and then they’ll talk about the bands, and it could be a countrywide thing,” Fromm said.

Day said they cannot currently sell the wristbands on campus because they are not a recognized student organization.

Clarke spoke at a student-led church service last Sunday and mentioned the wristbands.

Austin Weaver, Converge president, said the wristbands will likely be available at this week’s service Sunday at 4 p.m. in the Johnson Room at Robertson Hall.

The Butler men’s basketball team hosts Charlotte tonight at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The game will tip off at 7 p.m.

Senior center Andrew Smith will miss tonight’s and Saturday’s game at Fordham after sustaining an abdominal injury in Saturday’s win against George Washington.

He  alerted the team’s training staff of discomfort and received medical treatment after the game.

Smith will be re-evaluated next week.

The 49ers are 17-6 overall and are tied for seventh in the Atlantic 10 Conference standings with a record of 5-4.

Charlotte lost to A-10 co-leader Virginia Commonwealth at home last Saturday 68-61.

The team has not qualified for the NCAA tournament since the 2004-05 season, the season before it entered the A-10.

Charlotte finished 11th in the A-10 last season, going 13-17 overall and 5-11 in conference play.

The program has experienced a resurgence this year after going 12-2 in nonconference play to begin the season.

Three of the 49ers’ best wins have come at home, picking up victories against La Salle, Xavier and Massachusetts.

Butler is coming off a 59-56 win at George Washington last Saturday.

Senior guard Rotnei Clarke led the Bulldogs with 14 points, while junior forward Khyle Marshall grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

After tonight’s men’s basketball game against St. Bonaventure, Butler will officially be halfway through its inaugural season in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

The Bulldogs currently sit in second place in the A-10 standings, with an overall record of 18-4 and a conference record of 5-2.

The two conference losses have come against La Salle on a last-second shot at the end of regulation on Jan. 23 and against Saint Louis on Jan. 31.

Virginia Commonwealth sits at the top of the conference standings with a conference record of 6-2.

Just one game in the loss column separates the top nine teams in the A-10 standings. Only the top 12 go on to the A-10 tournament in March.

The A-10 currently has 10 teams in the top 100 of the RPI, according to RPIRatings.com, second most of any league behind the Big East (13).

Butler is ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25. That marks the eighth consecutive week for Butler in the Top 25.

The A-10 has six other teams that have received votes in the AP, ESPN and USA Today Coaches Polls.

Saint Joseph’s, Saint Louis, Temple and Xavier have all gotten votes in both polls. La Salle and VCU both received votes in last week’s polls.

Butler’s current seniors are 51-8 in Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs have five of their final nine contests on their home court.

BUTLER PLAYERS TO WATCH

Rotnei Clarke­—The senior guard leads his team in scoring, averaging 17.1 points per game.

He has scored in double figures 15 times this season.

Clarke is one of 50 players named in the Atlanta Tipoff Club 2012-13 Naismith Early Season Watch List.

Khyle Marshall—The junior forward averages 10.2 points per game, one of five Butler players averaging double figures in scoring.

Marshall also averages five rebounds per game, third best on the team.

Butler is 12-0 this season when Marshall scores in double-figures.

Roosevelt Jones—The sophomore forward has averaged 10.6 points per game on the season, including 13.3 points over the last 10 games.

Jones leads the Bulldogs in rebounds with 5.5 per game.

He also leads the team in assists with 3.6 per game.

Andrew Smith—The senior center is the only active collegiate player to have played in two national championship games.

He is the second-leading scorer for Butler, averaging 11.5 points per game.

Smith became the 34th Butler player to score 1,000 career points during the recent win against Rhode Island.

Kellen Dunham—The freshman guard is averaging 10.6 points per game and 12.4 in Hinkle.

He leads the A-10 and ranks fourth in the NCAA Division I in free throws, shooting at 92.1 percent.

Alex Barlow—The sophomore guard  has started in 15 games for the Bulldogs this season.

He is leading his team with more than one steal per game.

Erik Fromm—The junior guard is averaging 3.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

Former Butler guard Ron Nored shared his testimony of faith to roughly 100 attendees at a Converge church service last year.

This year, it’s Rotnei Clarke’s turn — with the possibility of an audience more than double the size of Nored’s.

On Feb. 10, Clarke will give his testimonial in the Johnson Room of Robertson Hall at an event Converge has been working on since last October.

Austin Weaver, Converge president, said in an email the idea is to give as many students as possible the chance to hear Clarke speak.

The event will also provide refreshments, including a meet-and-greet session with Clarke and a photographer to take pictures of attendees.

“The point of having Rotnei Clarke come share his testimony is to possibly reach students that are looking for something more,” Weaver said. “Rotnei Clarke is a professed Christian, and he wants to share his story of what God means to him in his everyday life.”

Weaver said Clarke “instantly agreed” to speak at the service.

“Anytime I have the chance to speak about the Good News and the Gospel and what I’m about, I take it,” Clarke said. “A lot of people just see what we’re doing on the court. They don’t get to see the heart of the athletes, how they are off the court or field.

“I think it’s important for us to be good examples. So there wasn’t any hesitation for me.”

Converge arrived on Butler’s campus just last year.

Clarke will be attending for the first time this Sunday. But Weaver said he hopes after this event, more students will realize this is an on-campus option for church.

Converge is a non-denominational Christian church service held in the Johnson Room every Sunday at 4pm. There is a worship leader, as well as a pastor who delivers the day’s message.

The invitation list has grown from 200 to over 1,000 since the event was created last week. At press time, the event’s Facebook page had 1,073 invited, with 226 people confirmed and 76 undecided.

Butler junior Ari Kasle is one of those confirmed to attend the event. Kasle said he’s never been to any of the Converge events — he’s just going to support Clarke, whom he met during Clarke’s first semester at Butler. The two have become friends, with Kasle even helping Clarke around after his ankle surgery last year.

Kasle is Jewish, so he doesn’t believe the same things Clarke does.

“Rotnei’s a devout Christian,” Kasle said, “but at the same time, he’s really open to other religions too. He’s never tried to convert me or anything like that.

“Faith is a huge part of his life, but he’s not the kind of guy that’s going to force his beliefs on you, preaching all the time.”

Clarke said his message is meant to make an impact on peoples’ lives, particularly by using basketball as a podium.

“I’m just trying to use the opportunities I get with the platform I have,” he said. “I don’t want to pressure anyone to go, but if they want to go, great. If not, that’s also their decision.

“But reaching out to people and giving people hope — that’s why I play.”

From blisters and concussions to full-blown bone snaps and neurological injuries, there’s a lot that can go wrong with the human body that might stop an athlete from competing.

Luckily, Butler athletes have a top-notch prevention and recovery system if anything happens to go south.

Butler sports medicine, which has a little training room lodged between the men’s and women’s basketball locker rooms in Hinkle Fieldhouse, provides illness and injury

Collegian file photo

prevention, assessment, treatment and rehab to every student-athlete on campus.

Its headquarters—while appearing relatively average as a 20 by 20 room—is actually the home base for every Butler athlete who has ever had any sort of ache or pain.

The staff consists of head athletic trainer Ryan Galloy, associate trainers Missy Schultz and Chris Tinkey, and assistant trainers Tiffany Franklin, Allegra Lucia and Mike Howell.

Team physicians provided by St. Vincent Sports Performance also assist.

Becca Bornhorst, a senior basketball player, is just one example of someone who is no stranger to the training room crew.

Bornhorst said athletic training doesn’t get much better than Butler sports medicine.

“The training room staff is awesome,” Bornhorst said. “They’re so supportive, and they actually help you. And they’re really good at communicating with the coaches.”

Bornhorst has had her fair share of injuries throughout her career, particularly at Butler. Women’s basketball coach Beth Couture has to know exactly what Bornhorst can and can’t do in practice.

But this season is a little different. Bornhorst made the decision to sit the bench, opting for what she hopes is a better situation for her body long-term.

Over winter break, she was meant to head to Chicago for surgery to have a brand new meniscus, articular cartilage and possibly a new ACL put in one of her knees. But a lack of eligible graft availability has left the process at a standstill.

Chicago Bulls’ head doctor Brian Cole—whom Bornhorst was referred to by SVSP physicians—will eventually lead the operation.

But when she’s in Indy, it’s Butler and St. Vincent’s who are in charge.

“I feel like all the athletes here (at Butler) get cared for really well,” she said. “I work a lot with Missy and Ryan and they’ve helped me through, gosh, so much.

“Sometimes you aren’t dealt the best cards, but sometimes you just have to deal with it.”

Some injuries are just a little too complicated for the training room staff, but most times, there are simply too many injured athletes for the staff to handle.

“We’re here to assist the Butler athletic trainers as needed,” said Jon Grant, outreach manager and certified athletic trainer at SVSP. “It’s one big, happy family.”

Grant says SVSP is really an add-on to what the trainers at Butler do and the athletes and coaches from the school have all been easy to work with.

“Because we see athletes from all over the world,” he said, “you might have athletes that seek (us) out on their own.”

And for good reason: SVSP serves 63 of the athletes who competed in the Olympics in London this summer, with 32 of them bringing home medals.

However, the main team healing Butler athletes is back in Hinkle.

From tapings to laser-light therapy to emergency care, the athletic trainers are able to provide the majority of the services needed from right here on campus.

Fortunately, they also travel to most sporting events.

Consider senior basketball player Rotnei Clarke’s close call with disaster: Both Butler trainers and SVSP staff were at his side, offering on-scene aid to the Bulldog star during what head coach Brad Stevens called “the worst eight minutes of (his) career.”

Schultz said all of the trainers travel and are involved with a large portion of the university teams, but each trainer has a focus team that he or she works with consistently.

She also said the main issue on the trainers’ end is communication.

“Every coach likes to have information presented to them differently,” Schultz said. “But so long as we’re communicating, and as long as we adapt, there really haven’t been any issues. As a whole, the athletics department works well together.”

Shultz said Butler likes what it provides to the school.

“They work with elite athletes —that’s what they’re known for,” she said. “So it’s a pretty good fit for a Division I program like Butler.”

Rotnei Clarke picked up right where he left off.

The senior guard led the Butler men’s basketball team with 24 points in its 83-71 win against Temple.

Clarke received a roaring welcome from the sellout crowd of 10,000 at Hinkle FIeldhouse during introductions of the starting lineups.

The Owls (13-6, 2-3) were led out of the gate by senior guard Khalif Wyatt who led the team with 22 points, 16 coming in the first half.

Temple held the led over the Bulldogs (17-3, 4-1) for much of the first half because of the Owls’ 63.6 percent three-point shooting.

The Temple lead was as high as seven when Butler freshman guard Kellen Dunham hit two successive three-pointers to cut the lead to 21-20.

Clarke hit a jumper on the next possession to put Butler in front for the first time with nine minutes remaining in the half.

The Bulldogs would lose the lead briefly but pushed the advantage to as much as eight points before the Owls pulled to within three points as the half ended.

After the break, Butler’s lead grew to 13 with more than 13 minutes remaining in the game.

However, Temple fought back with threes by senior guard Scootie Randall and senior forward Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson made a free throw after being fouled on a successful layup to tie the game at 56 with 8:12 remaining.

A dunk from junior forward Khyle Marshall off a pass from Clarke brought the lead back to the Bulldogs.

Dunham followed with a couple of timely three-pointers that were able to help Butler pull away for good.

Clarke did not appear to be held back by any aftereffects of the sprained neck he suffered in the Jan. 12 game at Dayton. The senior missed three games because of the injury.

“It was great, just kind of heartwarming to have him back on the court knowing what he went through and knowing how scary it was,” Butler coach Brad Stevens said.

“Knowing something like that happens puts a lot of things in perspective,” Clarke said. “I just wanted to be able to get back out there with these guys and our coaches and coming away with a win was even better.”

Clarke was knocked to the floor several times over the course of Saturday’s game but he said he was not affected.

“Honestly going into the game, I wasn’t worried about it,” Clarke said. “I was just going to go out and play the same way I’ve always played. It was a crazy incident what happened, so I was just going into it with a peace of mind knowing I was going to play the same way.”

Butler’s offense operates better with Clarke on the court, Stevens said.

“We’re a better transition team, obviously with Rotnei in the game because of the way Rotnei passes the ball,” Stevens said. “But also, the threat of him shooting when crosses 27 feet or so.”

Teammates were on the receiving end of Clarke’s team-high nine assists, many of them dunks.

“It’s easy to get assists when you can throw it up there and guys just grab it and dunk it in like this guy (Marshall),” Clarke said.

Marshall scored 19 points, 14 of which were scored off of dunks.

Dunham was almost perfect from behind the arc, shooting five-of-six on three-pointers. Dunham finished the game with 17 points.

Stevens said Clarke’s absence was beneficial for the young shooter.

“I really believe that that’s probably the thing that you can say with certainty that he’s rising,” Stevens said. “He’s really playing with a great deal of confidence but he’s playing well on both ends of the floor.”

Clarke’s return was great news for the team but Stevens said he was pleased with the way the team played in his absence.

“Knock on wood we don’t have to go through that again with any of our players where they have to sit out, but if it does happen, we’ll just sub the next guy in and find a way,” Stevens said. “I was really proud of our guys. The way they played over those 150 minutes—that was big time the way they stepped up.”

Sports injuries can be a scary thing for athletes, family and fans.

The Butler community realized this when standout senior transfer Rotnei Clarke flew headfirst into the base of a hoop in a win against Dayton on Jan. 12.

Clarke was fouled hard by Flyers defender Matt Derenbecker and hit the basket, suffering a neck sprain. He was taken off  the court on a stretcher after nearly eight minutes in front of a packed arena and a national TV audience on the NBC Sports Network.

The entire country heard him  tell trainer Ryan Galloy and team doctor, Tom Fisher, “I can’t move.”

Doctors told Clarke not to move after he said he felt numb.

This was all heard on national television, and this didn’t sit well with Butler officials.

The university filed a complaint with the Atlantic 10  conference and the NBC Sports Network because fans watching the broadcast knew more about his status than his family and team did.

Galloy said he wasn’t paying attention to the cameras at the time but later learned about the situation.

“I thought it was rather unorthodox that they recorded everything,” Galloy said.

Jim McGrath, Butler sports information director, learned about the situation when Fisher contacted him after returning to Indianapolis. McGrath forwarded Fisher’s concerns to A-10 officials, who, in turn, contacted the NBC Sports Network.

Drew Dickerson, A-10 director of communications and media relations, said they contacted the network, as well as every institution in the conference.

“We contacted the NBC Sports Network, and they apologized,” Dickerson said. “They assured to contact production teams.”

Dickerson said each institution’s game management personnel was instructed on the importance of managing TV crew during games.

Normally during an injury in any sort of game, cameras will focus on an injured player but not record sound.

McGrath said NBC was in agreement that the coverage went too far and it should have backed down on the audio coverage.

Fisher’s main goal was to make sure something like this never happens again, McGrath said.

Analyst Jay Bilas said it’s a “hard sell” to convince him that television shouldn’t cover an event as it’s happening live.

“(This is) something that everybody should talk about and decide what’s the right thing to do because those are important issues that need to be discussed in a serious manner,” Bilas said.

McGrath also said this is an important issue in the world of sports.

“It raises an interesting question,” McGrath said. “In a public place, where is the line drawn that the public is not allowed to find out what is going on?”

Clarke said he doesn’t think much of the controversy but understands the situation.

“I was just in the moment and worried about and thinking about my health at that point,” Clarke said. “It was a little bit of invasion of privacy, but it wasn’t that big of a deal.”

Clarke is ruled out for tonight’s game at La Salle but is expected to return Saturday night against Temple.

“I’ve progressed daily,” Clarke said. “I think I’m doing well and ahead of schedule.”

Clarke said he wasn’t feeling pain the day before the Gonzaga game, and he was able to get in the gym and take a few shots.

Tonight’s game is televised on WNDY, and Saturday night’s game will be on ESPN2. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

The phrase “signature victory” is thrown around quite a bit in college basketball.

In NCAA Division I men’s basketball, a team generally needs at least one in a season to garner consideration for the 68-team championship tournament field.

The phrase basically refers to a win over an opponent that was either an upset or very difficult to attain. Such a win shows a team’s mettle and proves it belongs with the proverbial ‘big dogs’.

Unsurprisingly, the term has popped up quite a bit since the 2006-07 season when pundits mentioned the Butler men’s basketball team.

This season’s Bulldogs have seen the term applied to at least one of their victories so far.

As Butler coach Brad Stevens has done each season since becoming head coach, the Bulldogs were peppered with a tough non-conference schedule, one that could reward Butler with some

Collegian File Photo

signature wins in exchange for strong play.

Butler did not show up against Xavier in November in what was their only true bad loss so far.

Following that game, the Bulldogs slipped past now-No. 25 Marquette, suffocated then-No. 9 North Carolina and were clipped by current No. 23 Illinois.

Some might consider the contest against the Tar Heels a signature win, but UNC has shown that it really is not a great team, at least not yet.

I think Butler would beat Marquette more convincingly given another matchup, and Illinois has been inconsistent as of late, proving those aren’t really signature victories either.

Four games and four victories after the Illinois loss, Butler had a chance for its first true signature win this season.

The game against then-No. 1 Indiana on Dec. 15 screamed signature win if Butler could get it done.

And the Bulldogs did.

Butler was ranked No. 19 in the nation after the heartstopping overtime win. The Bulldogs were victorious in the remainder of their games heading into Atlantic 10 Conference play for the first time.

At this point, some may be asking: are these “signature victories” really that important in the grand scheme of a season?

If Butler loses to Indiana and everything else remains the same, you have a 14-3 team that still recorded strong victories against UNC, Marquette, Northwestern and three above-.500 teams in the A-10.

If the Bulldogs continue to be strong in A-10 action, finish with four, five or six losses, they’re still set up for a solid tournament seed, right?

Let’s take a look back at Stevens’ last year as a Butler assistant coach and first season as the man at the helm.

Butler was part of the Horizon League prior to this season. Not exactly a NCAA men’s basketball champion-producing league.

Signature victories were needed consistently by Butler’s squads in order to secure a stronger position in the NCAA championship tournament.

During the 2006-07 season, Butler defeated a 24-11 Tennessee team that made the Sweet 16 and was nationally ranked when it faced Butler, a 24-7 Notre Dame squad, a 22-11 Indiana squad and a 23-10 Gonzaga team.

The result: a No. 5 seed and a trip to the Sweet 16.

The 2007-08 season saw Butler face typically strong programs facing down seasons, including a four-game stretch against Michigan, Virginia Tech, Texas Tech and Ohio State.

The Bulldogs finished 29-3 in the regular season, better than the previous season’s 27-6 record.

The 2006-07 squad earned a No. 5 seed without winning the Horizon League tournament.

The 2007-08 team won that same tournament, won more games overall and garnered a No. 7 seed.

The message: signature wins matter.

Now let’s get back to this season’s team.

The A-10 is a solid conference overall. Seven of the 16 teams have no more than four losses against at least 12 victories. Xavier is not included in those seven but is one of four teams to start 3-0 in league play.

The other three are Butler, Virginia Commonwealth and Charlotte. VCU is No. 22 in the nation right now at 14-3, and Charlotte is 15-2 against a relatively unimpressive non-conference schedule and three A-10 foes.

Butler plays VCU once in the regular season, barring a conference tournament matchup. While a victory in that contest for Butler could be considered a signature win, it is now a game the Bulldogs will be part of each year for the foreseeable future.

In-conference victories don’t tend to be signature unless it’s the last-place team toppling the first-place one.

So it would seem Butler will have to make do with the signature win(s) it has, since A-10 play is well underway.

However, there is one not so small matter remaining:

No. 13 Butler still has a non-conference opponent to face this regular season. The game will take place tomorrow at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

It’s against No. 8 Gonzaga.

If it’s even possible, the stage might be set for an even more momentous Butler signature victory this weekend.

Let’s start with the uncontrollable factors.

Gonzaga, like Butler, has been a very strong mid-major program in recent years. These Bulldogs are rolling along much like Butler’s.

In fact, both teams’ last loss was to Illinois, although the Zags fell at home and Butler on a neutral court.

Scheduling Gonzaga in the midst of conference play is a test for any team. For Butler, add on that this is its first season in the A-10, and the level of risk rises.

Also, being ranked eighth nationally is obviously a bit stronger than being ranked 13th.

Even with Gonzaga being the travelling squad, this is clearly a signature victory opportunity for Butler.

There is one more crucial detail to bring to light, however.

Butler senior guard Rotnei Clarke is not expected to play in the game with a neck injury.

Photo by Heather Iwinski

He is the team’s leading point scorer and one of its best—if not the best—offensive playmaker.

He’s mobile, agile and can free up space for a 3-point shot from out of nowhere.

His effect on any Butler game cannot and should not be understated.

In the 16 games that Clarke has played in this season, he has scored more than 10 points 12 times. He led or was tied for the team lead in scoring in 10 of those games.

Butler is shooting 47.4 percent from the field in the 12 games mentioned just before.

In the four games Clarke scored less than 10 points, including the five in his injury-shortened Dayton outing, that percentage drops to 44.8.

Against Richmond Wednesday, the Bulldog churned out a motley 37.5 percent performance from the field. Butler’s stingy defense more than made up for this.

That might not work so well against Gonzaga.

Butler rebounds slightly better than Gonzaga (94th nationally versus 109th), but the Zags are a far better shooting squad than Richmond.

They are eighth in the nation in points per contest and the second best shooting team, percentage-wise.

Making matters more difficult, Gonzaga has allowed more than 70 points in a game just four times this year.

Butler can continue to work the shutdown defensive strategy that led to a victory over Richmond, but the Bulldogs will need to play far better offensively than they did Wednesday to grab win number 16.

The addition of Clarke to Saturday’s lineup would go a long way toward that.

But that is not one of the cards Butler has been dealt.

So we come back to signature victories.

Many key statistics and facts suggest Gonzaga should pull this game out.

Of course, Stevens and his Bulldogs have never really cared about what the statistics and facts suggest.

And that’s how season-changing games—signature wins—are created.

This is a chance for Butler to show it has enough pieces to stop a Top 10 team despite its sidelined leading scorer.

This is a chance for Butler to prove to the nation—and specifically the A-10—that teams should be very afraid to come to Hinkle Fieldhouse.

This is a chance for Butler to display its mettle on an ESPN telecast and to give those who make the NCAA tournament bracket a heck of a lot to think about in March.

Clarke is expected to be back for the Bulldogs next week. For now, however, Butler has an opportunity to prove it can live—and even thrive—without him.

The Butler men’s basketball team extended its winning streak to 12 games after a 62-47 win over Richmond Wednesday night.

The Bulldogs (15-2, 3-0) were not hindered by the absence of senior guard Rotnei Clarke who sprained his neck in Saturday’s game against Dayton.

“We had to focus on the game, and I didn’t have any question that we would do that,” coach Brad Stevens said. “Sometimes when you lose a guy, it heightens your focus a little bit.”

Freshman guard Kellen Dunham started in Clarke’s place and scored 11 points in 31 minutes.

Without Clarke’s outside shooting, Butler was able to exploit the Spiders’ (11-7, 1-2) defenders inside and did so successfully.

Richmond was significantly out-rebounded by Butler, with the Bulldogs grabbing 53 rebounds to Richmond’s 20.

20 of Butler’s 53 rebounds were grabbed off the offensive glass.

Senior center Andrew Smith took advantage of the team’s inside presence and scored a game-high 15 points and added seven rebounds.

“Without Rotnei, we lose one of our shooters, so we focused on going inside a little bit more,” Smith said. “But it doesn’t really change what we did a whole lot.”

The Bulldogs held the Spiders to just 21 first half points and 28.6 percent shooting from the field as Butler pulled out to a 33-21 halftime lead.

Richmond was down by as many as 20 points in the second half before making a brief 9-0 run to cut the lead to nine with 8:23 remaining.

However, this offensive burst came too little too late for the Spiders as Butler’s defense held Richmond to a season-low 47 points and a season-low field goal percentage of 32.7 percent.

Sophomore forward Roosevelt Jones led the team with 12 rebounds and also scored 10 points on the way to recording a double double.

Sophomore forward Kameron Woods scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds in the win.

Sophomore guard Alex Barlow spent much of the game playing point guard in Clarke’s absence and finished the game with five points and five rebounds.