Junior guard Finley Bizjack is averaging 14 points per game this season. Photo by Drew Kosmak.
SAWYER GOLDWEIN | SPORTS EDITOR | sgoldwein@butler.edu
The men’s basketball team used 17 three-pointers to cruise to a third-consecutive victory with a wire-to-wire 98-66 win against Chicago State.
For the Bulldogs, a big showing offensively was no surprise.
“[Head coach Thad Matta] actually said in shootaround, ‘The rim is looking a little big today,’” sophomore guard Evan Haywood said.
Along with strong shooting, rebounding and physicality were paramount for the Dawgs as they have been all season.
Graduate forward Michael Ajayi, fresh off an appearance on the first Big East Honor Roll, struggled in the scoring department but still tallied a third-straight double-double to start his Butler career, putting up 10 points, a game-high 11 rebounds and four assists.
Ajayi’s size and experience have provided a huge lift to the Bulldogs against the undersized opponents that have filled the early non-conference slate. The Gonzaga transfer will have to prove he can replicate that success against higher-level competition, but if he can, it will give the Dawgs a significant edge
Junior guard Finley Bizjack also excelled for Butler, racking up a team-high 22 points and six assists, fueled by a white-hot start with four three-pointers in less than four minutes to open the game.
The Dawgs’ sharing of the ball was impressive, accumulating 24 assists on 30 made field goals against the Cougars.
“We actually had an emphasis today on having a better assist-to-turnover ratio,” Bizjack said. “Then Chicago State kind of collapsed whenever we got the ball and allowed us to open it up for our shooters. We took advantage of that.”
Haywood also shone from beyond the arc, making four of his five three-point attempts. The sophomore has seen big improvement in all aspects of his game, including defense and leadership.
“Evan’s got [a] magnetic personality,” Matta said. “Guys love Evan. He’s really starting to understand the game more, and I love when guys are doing that. We need him to shoot the ball the way he shot it tonight, and hopefully we continue to build on that.”
Butler did get some bad news elsewhere in the backcourt, with graduate guard Jalen Jackson missing the second half after being kicked in the ankle. The Purdue Fort Wayne transfer battled an ankle ailment for most of the summer, getting healthy just in time for exhibition play. Now, more uncertainty looms for Jackson. Matta hopes to have him back at practice this week.
If Jackson misses time, expect first-year guard Azavier Robinson to see an uptick in minutes, as he did in the second half against Chicago State. The Lawrence North product has scored in double-digits in back-to-back games.
The Bulldogs will face off against SMU on Nov. 15. It will be Butler’s toughest test of the season, with or without its veteran point guard, and also the Dawgs’ first road game.
