The first road battle of the season did not go as planned for the men’s basketball team. Boise State dominated early, stretched its lead to 20 to end the first half and sustained a late 15-1 Bulldog run to secure a 100-81 win.
For Butler, the problems started quickly, with the Broncos executing the Dawgs’ own offensive style to perfection, hitting three straight three-pointers to open the game. They did not slow down much, either, finishing the game with a 49% three-point hit-rate.
On the other end, Boise State lived up to its esteemed defensive reputation. The home team played smart, physical defense, running the Bulldogs off the three-point line and attacking passing lanes to make life difficult for Butler. It worked, stifling the Dawgs’ gunslinging offense to the tune of 8-for-36 from long range.
Junior forward Treyson Anderson was among the few Bulldogs who put together a solid outing, with a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double despite missing a dunk in the second half.
Anderson and company mustered up an impressive 50-point second half, but it was not enough to undo the damage done by Butler’s lack of perimeter defense.
Head coach Ronald Nored’s on-court adjustments after the loss will be intriguing, as it provided a first look at how his style may fare — particularly on the defensive end — against skilled, physical opponents. While he surely will not overreact to one bad day, it does beg the question of what Butler will do on days that threes are falling much more for the opponent than for the Dawgs.
As ugly as the game looked at times, the Bulldogs actually held the advantage in many statistical categories that often are good indicators of a team’s success in a given game. Butler led in paint points, two-point field goal percentage, free throw percentage and fast-break points. In addition, the rebounding and turnover deficits were both marginal.
As a result, it is tough to say that Nored’s style cannot work against high-level competition, but it is clear that on bad shooting days, the defense must come through accordingly.
Butler’s next chance to prove itself against major competition comes on Nov. 13 against Pitt, back home at Hinkle Fieldhouse.