Butler game thread

[muskieman]

When: Tue. Feb 18 8 p.m
Where Cintas Center

TV: Peacock with play-by-play from Paul Burmeister and analysis from Austin Rivers.
Radio: 700 WLW-AM also available on the Varsity Network and on Sirius XM.

Butler is on a three-game winning streak, scoring 82-84 and 97 in those games. This will be the first game against Butler this year, with a return trip to Butler, which will be the last game of the regular season.
Butler enters the game off a 97-86 win over Georgetown Saturday; the 97 points were a season-high. Butler is 8-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points, including all five of their BIG EAST wins.
• Pierre Brooks II led the Bulldogs with a career-high 30 points against Georgetown; he went 10-for-13 from the field and made all eight of his free throws.
Patrick McCaffery is shooting 12-for-20 (60 percent) from three-point range over his last five games:

[longliveskip]

as I said before - we should be in "tourney" mode for every game moving forward. playing like our tournament lives are on the line, which they essentially are. however, all these games are winnable if we show up, defend, and play well.

we shall see tonite.

hope the boys are ready.

[Anti-Homer]

This game will not be a cakewalk. Butler has played well against most teams, as X has. They are also very similar statistically and have multiple guys who can score, and who shoot 35% or better from 3. It all begins and ends with their wings (Telfort, Brooks, McCafffery). They also have a 7'1" center who is similar to Bandago (sp?) from UNLV East. Good rim protector, but scores mainly on stick backs, alley oops, and catches in the low block.

X wins, 78-73. Maddox will shine offensively, and Swain defensively, but the latter is something we're used to seeing. Time to go entertain the local dignitaries in the Moderator's Suite. Rumor has it we're getting sliders from Chilli's.

[connecticut72]

Agree with AH assessment. This will
Not be a cake walk. Playing at home will help but I have always thought that Thad was X ‘s best coach. We need to play real fast and make our shots. Obviously we need to win out. Go X!!!

[Kevin Reilly]

Maddox came in and played very well ( 8 points and 5 rebounds ). McKnight played very well too setting the pace with 8 points and 3 assists. We are driving to the basket and we are so much better when we do that. I think we took too many three point shots (5-14) but we are getting to the basket and the offense is looking good.

[Kevin Reilly]

Maddox and Conwell are both playing outstanding defense. Maddox also has 8 rebounds. Freemantle should forget shooting three pointers.

[muskieman]

Dailyn Swain and Dayvion McKnight both with 13 points to lead Xavier. Swain had 6 steals, not bad

Musketeers had 14 steals, tied for the most this season. Also assisted on 21 of their 29 made field goals

Finley Bizjack is just overmatched and thoroughly demolished by Dayvion McKnight tonight

The Bad: Butler beat X in second half 32-28

[Kevin Reilly]

Maddox had 8 rebounds in 15 minutes. He had 5 rebounds in 20 minutes vs DePaul. He is really playing hard on both ends.

[muskieman]

highlights https://x.com/i/status/1892044998327099709

Sean's presser https://youtu.be/TnpHTtKY2IA

Players presser https://youtu.be/bH7TtcDbn_o

[Anti-Homer]

Maddox had 8 rebounds in 15 minutes. He had 5 rebounds in 20 minutes vs DePaul. He is really playing hard on both ends.

Yea,

SM continues to perplex with his (mis)managment of players every year. There were several last year, including Green and Djokovich, and Maddox this year. He has become a very good defender after a rough start, is a good passer and rebounder, and is obviously a very good offensive player. He's streaky, because he playes 23 minutes one game, and 15 the next. Sm also has a quick hook with him, though he earned some extra rope with his stunning offensive games recently. This is a guy who for the last two years averaged 18ppg, shooting over 40% from 3, and over 30 min a game. His stats over the past two years were better than Conwell, Boum, and Olivari's, and he played in a better league overall. He also finishes at the rim well and hits his free throws.

Also, up 18 with 4 minutes, SM could have put Hugley in to get more reps, instead of Freemantle. His most egregious lack of awareness though was against Nova at Cintas, when with 1.8 seconds, he chose to let a 6'2 180lb guard in Maddox defend a 6'8" 260 lb PF in Dixon. I know I'm going off-topic, but as great of a coach as he is, his deficits are whoppers.

Back to the game. Swain's defense was like a pro defending college players. No one could score off of him, and he had several steals and ran a very good break. A shooting pattern: he is short on most threes, and long on most jumpers in the lane. I'm not sure what that means, but they would be so much more effective if he could be the man in the middle when the other team plays zone, because he accelerates to the rim, and elevates over defenders on short-mid range jumpers.

Lastly, it looks like McKnight's slump is over, though I guess the competition has to be taken into consideration.

If X wins out, they're in. Creighton at home and @Butler will be toss-ups.