Sophomore guard Evan Haywood went 3-for-6 from three against St. John’s. Photo by Jonathan Wang.
SAWYER GOLDWEIN | MANAGING EDITOR | sgoldwein@butler.edu
The men’s basketball team desperately needed a win at home against St. John’s to right the ship after two-straight losses. Instead, turnovers and a lack of paint presence resulted in a 84-70 loss, plummeting the Dawgs to a 1-4 mark in the Big East.
The first half was a high-quality, back-and-forth affair that included some of Butler’s best stretches of basketball in months. The Bulldogs’ two stars, junior guard Finley Bizjack and graduate forward Michael Ajayi each had efficient first halves for the first time since November, combining for 24 points on 7-of-11 from the field before the break.
The teams went into the locker room deadlocked at 42, with both units dealing with foul trouble after a physical start. The Bulldogs fell victim to the foul issues first, with Ajayi picking up his fourth just before the first media timeout. The Dawgs hung in for as long as they could without him, but even after his return a 9-0 Johnnies run was the nail in the coffin.
The catalyst for the backbreaking spurt, and many of the Bulldogs’ issues was turnovers. Butler racked up 21, compared to just five by St. John’s, in large part due to a full-court press by Johnnies’ head coach Rick Pitino.
Butler’s first-year point guard duo of Stink Robinson and Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor struggled mightily against the heavy pressure. Robinson, Oliogu-Elabor and graduate Yame Butler, who also got minutes at point guard, combined for three assists and nine giveaways.
Pitino stressed the importance of all five opposing players being capable of handling the ball against his press.
“It’s tough for any freshman,” Pitino said. “[Stink] is a terrific basketball player; he gives back the pressure as well. But when you play against us it has to be everybody handling the basketball, not just the point guard.”
St. John’s scored 27 points off turnovers, with 19 of them coming after halftime.
Underwhelming second halves have been a theme for Butler this season, including in the Dawgs’ loss to Villanova. Head coach Thad Matta is unsure what the fix is.
“I don’t know,” Matta said. “We talked at length about it leading into this game and obviously it didn’t work … We’ve got to get better.”
Time is running out for Matta and his team to figure things out. They have a week off before a pair of road games against Xavier and Seton Hall. Butler is 0-3 on the road this season.
