Remarkable Butler

[aztrig3]

Now that that the men's college bball season is over and we're headed to the Horizon League it might be worthwhile to reflect on the remarkable season the Butler Bulldogs just finished. For starters let's compare their season to Ohio State. These two teams had 8 common opponents, 6 of whom were played in the preconference period, mostly in November and December, then culminating in facing Florida in the NCAA tourney. Based on the record, if Butler had played Ohio State the oddsmakers would have been hard pressed to make OSU more than a 1 point favorite.

Common Opponent

Indiana Butler W 60-55 OSU W 74-67
Kent State Butler W 83-80 OSU W 81-59
Valparaiso Butler@ W 60-47 OSU W 78-58
Cleveland St. Butler W 70-45 OSU W 78-57
Loyola (Chi.) Butler@ W 70-66 OSU W 87-75
Youngstown St. Butler W 67-39 OSU W 91-57
Purdue Butler W 68-65 OSU W 63-56
Florida Butler L 57-65 OSU L 75-84

In the every game elimination NCAA tourney Butler actually played Florida tougher than OSU. Butler led by as much as 10 points in the first half and the game was tied or within 1 point with 2:35 left in the second half. OSU led briefly against Florida at the start of the game, then basically was behind by about 10 points the rest of the game. Florida won both games because they had a more evenly balanced and a more over all talented team. Butler had no center and OSU had virtually no forwards.

Further comparisons between Butler and OSU:

Athleticism - big edge to OSU
Team work - slight edge to Butler
Defense - even
Point guard - even - both outstanding
Center - huge edge to OSU
Forwards - edge to Butler
Outside shooting - edge to Butler
Coaching - slight edge to Butler (thank God Lickliter goes to Iowa)
Administrative resources - huge edge to OSU

All in all a remarkable achievement for the Butler Bulldogs.