Sophomore forward Augusto Cassia led the Bulldogs with 11 points and three rebounds. Photo courtesy of Butler Athletics.
SARAH HOHMAN | MANAGING EDITOR | shohman@butler.edu
Butler traveled to No. 17 Houston and put on a pitiful performance, falling to the Cougars 79-51.
The Dawgs started slow and could never get things going on offense. Sophomore forward Augusto Cassia and graduate forward Patrick McCaffery were the only Bulldogs in double-figures with 11 points each.
In a blowout loss for Butler, let’s go beyond the box score.
Lack of offensive efficiency
Houston’s suffocating defense held Butler to a season-low 51 points.
The Bulldogs simply lacked the ability to score in the paint against Houston’s tough defense. Butler had zero points in the paint in the first half and ended the game shooting 28% from the field.
Fifth-year forward Jahmyl Telfort, who averaged 17.9 points prior to the game, scored his first point with 6:59 remaining in the game. Telfort has been the go-to guy this season; with his rare absence in the scoring column, the Dawgs looked like they never had a chance.
Houston held Butler’s best players, senior guard Pierre Brooks and Telfort, to a combined 3-15 shooting and six turnovers. Brooks went 0-8 from the three-point line contributing to Butler’s poor 32% from beyond the arc.
Butler even shot 16 more free throws than the Cougars, but even that could not help the embarrassing offensive performance by the Dawgs.
Lack of physicality
The Dawgs were almost doubled on the boards, as Houston outrebounded Butler 41-22 and the Bulldogs only grabbed seven offensive rebounds. Junior guard Kolby King was the leading rebounder for the Bulldogs with six on the night.
Butler was outplayed for the entire 40 minutes and failed to show a physical presence. This allowed the Cougars to outscore the Dawgs 51-33 in the second half.
If Butler wants to play with the big dogs, especially with Big East play approaching, they are going to have to show more fight than they did today. The Dawgs have the chance to recover from this loss as they return to home to play North Dakota State on Dec. 10.
