Tyler Wideman dribbles the ball down the court. Wideman had a career-high 23 points against the Golden Eagles. Collegian file photo.
JOSHUA DOERING | ASST. SPORTS EDITOR | jdoering@butler.edu
The Butler men’s basketball team picked up their third straight win at the expense of Marquette. Butler has won their last two games by an astonishing 45 points. It’s really hard to argue with anything LaVall Jordan is doing right now. This team is playing outstanding basketball. Here are three takeaways from another impressive performance.
1. Butler exposed Marquette’s weakness again.
Tyler Wideman’s best two games in the Big East this season have both come against the Golden Eagles. In the first matchup at Hinkle, Wideman posted 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Five minutes into this game, Wideman already had seven points. By halftime, the senior was up to 14 points and six rebounds. He finished with a career-high 23 points and nine rebounds in arguably the best performance of his career.
Wideman absolutely dominated this game and made his last trip to the BMO Harris Bradley Center a memorable one. Getting into a 3-point shooting contest with Marquette is a very dangerous idea, so the Bulldogs were smart to feed Wideman early and often. The Golden Eagles smaller lineup leave the interior to be exposed by their opponent. Give full credit to Butler and specifically Wideman for taking full advantage of Marquette’s weakness in both contests.
2. The Bulldogs are turning into a great defensive team.
Marquette is incredibly reliant on their explosive backcourt of Markus Howard and Andrew Rowsey. In both games this season, Butler did a great job on them. Howard didn’t register a point in the first half of the Jan. 12 game and Rowsey was scoreless in this one. That is a truly incredible accomplishment. So is holding a team averaging 82 points per game to 28 points and 36 percent shooting in the first half.
In their last four games, Butler hasn’t given up more than 72 points. Kamar Baldwin and Aaron Thompson are both lockdown defenders and very well might be the best defensive backcourt in the country. The Bulldogs have found a way to take the defensive potential that’s always been there and apply it on a consistent basis. Things are finally falling into place. That should scare every team left on their schedule.
3. Butler finally has a solid road win.
As the Bulldogs have climbed up the Big East standings and piled up quality wins, they were still without a significant road win of any sort. Now, they have one. Marquette is by no means an elite team. That being said, they figure to be in the NCAA tournament discussion on selection Sunday. Adding this win to Butler’s resume is absolutely crucial.
Road wins are a big, big deal to the NCAA tournament selection committee. Going to an opponent’s arena and emerging victorious is no easy task. If there was one area where the Bulldogs were lacking, that was it. They could absolutely use another one, but this win rounds out their body of work really nicely. Proving you can win away from home makes a real statement about a team. Butler certainly did that in this game.