Xavier went into Cintas West and did what they needed to do. One down, one to go.
40 full minutes of basketball? If not, it was certainly close. In the first half of this game Xavier couldn’t quite put the game away. It turned out it was a classic case of playing with your food. Butler shot a frankly ridiculous 8-13 from deep in the first half. It didn’t last. What did was Xavier’s intensity and effort. At the end of 40 minutes, there could only be one winner.
Xavier’s stars are clicking
Who do you think is Xavier’s best player? If you answered Zach Freemantle, well, there’s good reason for that. Tonight he went for 24/8/2. Butler had absolutely no answer for him. They tried Andre Screen, they tried Boden Kapke, they tried double teams. Nothing worked. Freemantle went 12-17 from the floor and was dominant all game long.
Maybe you think it’s Ryan Conwell. I can remember when people were tweeting us that he wasn’t very good. He went for 21/1/4 with an offensive efficiency significantly higher than the dude who went 12-17 from the floor. He also grabbed a couple steals and was at times everywhere on defense.
Or maybe you prefer the stylings of Dailyn Swain. He put up a well-rounded 16/10/2 with a block and two steals. His defense was elite. More than that, he played an extremely goofy game. The photo that accompanies the article was from live action in the first half. In the second he had a steal and run out in which he was laughing as he sprinted away for the dunk.
Everyone did something
Those three were, obviously, excellent. Jerome Hunter (9/0/1) didn’t miss from the floor and hit a vintage LeBron fadeaway. Dante Maddox (2/1/0) didn’t shoot it well, but he played great defense. John Hugley (6/2/1) was a very large bundle of energy. The announcers expressed amazement that he wasn’t the player he was back when debuted, apparently unaware he’s battled serious leg injuries. No matter tonight, he played nine energetic and much appreciated by the traveling fans minutes. Marcus Foster (0/6/4) didn’t score but he did everything else. Dayvion McKnight (13/3/1) was back to his imperious best, just zipping around and looking slightly above the fray. All In, for sure.
Are turnovers a thing anymore?
Xavier turned the ball over on 9% of their possessions on Saturday and just 7% tonight. That is incredible. Creighton and Butler don’t really try to force turnovers, but Xavier played below both of those team’s season averages anyway.
Butler sort of just gave up
On senior night you’d expect a team to fight. When in a rivalry game, you’d expect a team to fight. With pride on the line, you’d expect a team to fight. Butler did not do those things. The camera cut to the Bulldogs bench at one point and they had the thousand mile stares of the defeated. There was 15:46 to play. The fans never got into it. The students looked like a case study in ennui. Butler was 6-14 in Thad Matta’s first season and is 6-13 with away to Creighton left this year. They’re going nowhere.