The Dawgs drop to 7-2 this season with the loss to the Broncos. Photo by Alyson Swearingen.
SAWYER GOLDWEIN | SPORTS EDITOR | sgoldwein@butler.edu
The men’s basketball team suffered a backbreaking 77-68 home loss to Boise State on Dec. 6.
Even after a slow start in the first half, Butler injected some hope into Hinkle Fieldhouse with an 8-0 run to start the second period, punctuated by an emphatic dunk by junior center Drayton Jones. However, the Broncos answered back with a 15-2 spurt of their own, and from there the Bulldogs could never close the gap.
In an uncharacteristic showing, Butler struggled from the three-point arc and got dominated on the glass. Boise State enjoyed a 45-31 rebounding advantage against a Bulldog squad that came into the game ranked No. 6 in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage.
“I thought that was the difference in the game for us,” Broncos’ head coach Leon Rice said. “A big part of our culture is the way we rebound.”
Failure to crash the glass combined with strong defense from Boise State caused major problems for Butler. Junior guard Finley Bizjack was held to 10 points and an 0-5 showing from deep. Rice’s team was focused on stopping the breakout star.
“We committed two defenders every time he got a ball screen [or] a pin down,” Rice said.
Redshirt-sophomore forward Jamie Kaiser Jr believes the Dawgs’ struggles on offense turned into negative energy in all aspects of the game.
“We can’t let our offense affect our defense,” Kaiser said. “That’s our calling card, being able to defend, get [into] transition, be fast, rebound the ball and get easy baskets. But I think once our shots weren’t really falling, the defense slowly just trickled and got a little bit worse as the game went on.”
For a team that has looked so dynamic for most of the season, a sobering home loss reminded head coach Thad Matta that the Bulldogs still have strides to make.
“We’ve got so much room to grow and I’ve been saying that,” Matta said. “I think that you saw signs today where we played pretty well, but it’s just the consistency that I’m looking for.”
Matta has six days off to iron things out with his team before the games kick up a notch in importance. Butler’s Big East schedule starts with a home tussle against Providence on Dec. 6.
