Jamie Kaiser Jr. converted on three of four attempts from long range against Notre Dame. Photo by Darcy Leber.
SAWYER GOLDWEIN | SPORTS EDITOR | sgoldwein@butler.edu
With Butler legends in attendance, the home team could not come away with a win in its first exhibition game of the year, falling to Notre Dame 77-76.
Former head coach Brad Stevens and newly anointed Executive Basketball Advisor Gordon Hayward were both in attendance, but were not treated to crisp offense by either team. The Bulldogs looked particularly disjointed in the first half, struggling mightily to handle a slew of double-teams from the Irish.
Despite the loss, Finley Bizjack starred for the Dawgs, putting up a game-high 16 points. That is a great sign for the junior guard, who will be leaned on for a higher scoring output as Butler’s best returning player.
Redshirt sophomore guard Jamie Kaiser Jr. put up a strong performance as well, adding 12 points to five rebounds despite fouling out of the game with three minutes to go.
For Kaiser Jr, it was the culmination of a long-awaited Butler debut after missing all of last season with an ankle impingement.
“I had been thinking about this game for a long time,” Kaiser said. “Going to bed, rehearsing it in my head before I go to sleep.”
Meanwhile, head coach Thad Matta is trying not to let the exhibition loss keep him up at night. He stressed the importance of treating the game as an opportunity for growth, as difficult as that may be for a locker room full of players and coaches who hate to lose.
“When [bad] things were happening, I told the guys, ‘I’m gonna live with it,’” Matta said. “Now our biggest job is to teach and grow and get these guys better because that was a great experience for them.”
Matta practiced what he preached, prioritizing growth by using a highly inexperienced lineup in crunch time. Three first-years accompanied sophomore guard Evan Haywood and graduate forward Michael Ajayi for the final push, which came up just short.
While it did not result in a win, Kaiser noticed positive things from the young group.
“The intensity picked up a lot,” Kaiser Jr. said. “We had a group [with] three freshmen out there, and they were playing as hard as they could. They brought the energy, and then we slowly trickled back. That’s how everyone should play every time they’re out there.”
The Bulldogs will keep their sights set on improvement in their next exhibition game against Indiana State; however, they may have to do so without senior forward Yohan Traore. The SMU transfer fell hard on his back after leaping for a rebound and stayed down in significant pain. He was transported to the hospital for testing on what is likely a neck injury. There is no official word on his status.
Butler will host Indiana State on Oct. 29 before its season opener against Southern Indiana on Nov. 5.
