Millers open 2013 with 10-0 no-hitter vs. Pike

With lots of youth and only five seniors on the 2013 Noblesville Miller roster, it's tough to put any expectations out there with all the inexperience hitting the field. That didn't seem to be the case Thursday night as the diamond Millers brought out the big bats and solid pitching to post a 10-0 no-hit shutout of the visiting Pike Red Devils in the season opener for both squads.

Garrett Christman got the start and worked a solid three innings in his first stint pitching, as he started his junior season.

TJ Lindstrand didn't waste any time showing off his bat. The first pitch in the bottom of the first to TJ was drilled on two bounces to the warning track and hit the wall, allowing Lindstrand an easy double to lead off Noblesville's hitting. He would be stranded, but it would be a preview of things to come.

Christman made quick work again of the Red Devils in the 2nd, striking out catcher Tate Spence, forcing Matt Mikesell to pop out and Matt White to groundout.



 Photo by Noblesville athletic director Mike Hasch

Pike starting pitcher Aaron Lewis had no idea what he would be in for when he took the hill in the bottom of the second.

Andrew Wilson grounded out to short to lead off the inning. Nick Miller got patient and walked on six pitches, then stole second almost immediately. Vinny Essig took a 2-2 pitch into left center, scoring Miller from second for a 1-0 Miller lead. DH Trevor Salmon knocked a 2-0 pitch over the head of CF Matt Mikesell, advancing Essig to third and Salmon with a stand-up double and two runners in scoring position. Then, the #9 hitter Zach St. Pierre (in photo) stepped up to the plate. St. Pierre was down in the count (0-2), saw a strike down the middle of the plate and sent it sailing over the right center wall for a three-run bomb and a 4-0 Noblesville advantage.

The Millers weren't done scoring in the second. Lindstrand and Brian McLean both walked and scored eventually on passed balls to go up 6-0. Christman and Luke Porter also took the free pass. The two then crossed home plate when Nick Miller laced a 2-2 pitch with two outs, up the middle to score Christman and Porter, capping off Noblesville eight-run 2nd inning.

Drew McLochlin relieved Christman and pitched the 4th inning, allowing just two groundouts and a fly out.

Noblesville got the bats back out again, because they wanted to try to put this season/home opener to bed in just five innings.

Christman led off the bottom of four with a single to left. Porter followed suit dropping a single of his own into left. Christman was able to reach home on a passed ball for a 9-0 NHS lead. Vinny Essig sent home the tenth and final run for Noblesville, hitting a fly ball to left for a sacrifice fly, driving in Andrew Wilson, who was hit in the head by a pitch to get aboard. That was all Noblesville needed at the plate to seal their season and home opener vs. Pike, 10-0.

Will Plumer (2 K's) and Cory Conway combined for three strikeouts to shut down the Red Devils one more time in the top of the 5th and send Pike back to 71st street with a 10-0 loss.

The combination of Christman, McLochlin, Plumer and Conway silenced the Pike bats and as a foursome no-hit the visiting Red Devils.

Zach St. Pierre led Noblesville with 3 RBI's on his 3-run home run, while Nick Miller and Vinny Essig both had a pair of runs batted in. TJ Lindstrand, Essig and Trevor Salmon all contributed doubles.

Noblesville (1-0) continues its spring break play when they host the 3rd Annual Noblesville Classic on Saturday, March 30. They'll open the 11 a.m. game as they face some more Red Devils, this time it's the Red Devils from Richmond. Game 2 will pit two-time defending Noblesville Classic champion Homestead against Hanover Central from northwest Indiana.

Butler's Matthew Graves is new head coach at South Alabama

It won't be the same next season, but it's a tremendous career move. Butler associate head coach Matthew Graves has accepted the head coaching position of men's basketball at South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama.

Graves replaces Ronnie Arrow, who retired 10 games into the 2012-13 season. Arrow left Mobile as the all-time leader in victories at South Alabama and most in the Sun Belt Conference. Jeff Price became the interim coach of the Jaguars, finishing the season 17-13 and lost in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt tournament to eventual champion Western Kentucky.

A 1998 Butler graduate, Graves played for the Bulldogs from 1993-98, scoring 994 points in his career and also finishing second all-time on the three-point list with 175 made. He scored a career-high 42 points vs. Cleveland State and is the last player to break the 40-point barrier. Was a key part of the 1997 NCAA Tournament team, making Butler's first appearance in 35 years.

Following his graduation from Butler, Graves spent time as an assistant coach at a couple Indianapolis area high school, North Central and Ben Davis.

Coach Graves came back to Butler in 2001 as the Coordinator of Basketball Operations for Butler men's basketball and held that position until 2003 under former head coach Todd Lickliter. From 2003-2010, Matthew remained an assistant coach on the Bulldog staff. In 2010, he was promoted to the role of associate head coach under current head coach Brad Stevens.

It says a lot about a coach when teams in the last 10 seasons have compiled a record of 244-98 over that span.

In his 17 years as a part of the Butler men's basketball program, the Bulldogs made nine NCAA Tournaments, which included four Sweet 16 appearances and most importantly, back-to-back NCAA National Championship games.

Butler University and the entire Butler Bulldog athletic program would like to thank Matthew Graves for his numerous contributions as a player and coach during his 17 seasons. Good luck in your head coaching adventure at the helm of the South Alabama Jaguars!

Marquette gets revenge, ends Butler's NCAA Tournament run

There's a reason that this NCAA Tournament third round game between 6-seed Butler and 3-seeded Marquette was given this much hype. CBS television's programming department, along with the rest of the nation, considers Butler as a basketball program of national prominence. CBS made the right choice for this rematch to be a primetime matchup.

With thoughts of Rotnei Clarke sinking his buzzer-beater to beat Marquette in the Maui Invitational four months ago, the Golden Eagles were looking to turn the tide their way this time. Buzz Williams' squad found a way to get to Butler down the stretch and escape with a 74-72 third round win over the Bulldogs, to advance to the Sweet 16.

The first half went back and forth with two ties and seven lead changes. Rotnei Clarke extended Butler's lead to 28-21, with three free throws, after Derrick Wilson fouled Clarke on a three attempt. Clarke then nailed a jumper with a couple minutes left to give the Bulldogs their largest lead to that point and head into the locker room with a 35-27 cushion.

Half number two would be a matter of who would outlast the other. Butler did what it could to score and keep Marquette at even just a slight distance and also grabbed their biggest lead (41-32) since going up 10 (33-23) with 3:26 left in the first.

The Golden Eagles weren't going to just sit back and watch Butler advance to the Sweet 16. Vander Blue, Junior Cadougan and Davante Gardner took charge for Marquette, which would pose problems for the Bulldog defense. Offensively, Butler responded as they should. Anything Marquette made, BU's offense countered.

Rotnei Clarke was a man on a mission and wasn't going to be stopped until the clock read all zeros. He was all over the floor, diving for loose balls and doing what he could to keep Butler's season going. This was just Clarke's second NCAA Tournament game in his stellar collegiate career with his first three years at Arkansas and his senior season this year at Butler.

Complete poise and intense play at both ends of the court kept Butler's hopes alive for a Sweet 16 next weekend. Marquette came back at Butler with the same. Down the stretch, it was Jamil Wilson, Vander Blue and Davante Gardner that would turn out to be the key factors to a Golden Eagle victory.

There was a somewhat controversial foul called on Butler's Kameron Woods with 0:48 left. On the left baseline, he and Jamil Wilson both went up to grab a rebound. The only reason, it appeared, that Wilson came down with the board, was that he used his body against a flat-footed Woods, charging Kam Woods with a foul. Wilson's two free throws gave Marquette a 71-69 edge.

In the final five minutes, the score was tied a couple times and the lead changed hands three different possessions before Marquette's 70-69 lead with 0:48 left would be theirs for good. They extended their lead to 74-70 on three Gardner free throws.

With four seconds left, seldom-used senior Emerson Kampen entered the game. He threw a baseball pass the full length of the court to fellow senior Andrew Smith, who put in two on a layup with 2.9 left, cutting Marquette's lead to 74-72.

The Golden Eagles gave Butler one more ounce of hope, turning the ball over back to the Bulldogs immediately. It may not have been the greatest play call out of the timeout, but with Marquette's defense, it appeared to be the only option. Andrew Smith took Butler's final shot from three-point range, missing and ending the Bulldogs' chance at a Sweet 16 berth, 74-72.

Fans more than likely anticipated sharp-shooting senior Rotnei Clarke to take the final shot, but being blanketed, Smith became the option.

For the victorious Marquette Golden Eagles (25-8), they were led by Vander Blue and his game-high 29 points, shooting 9-for-15 from the floor and a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe. Jamil Wilson and Trent Lockett both netted 13 each, while Junior Cadougan added 9 and Davante Gardner chipped in with 8. Free throws were what got it done for Marquette, knocking down 23 of their 27 attempts for 85%.

Butler (27-9) was led by none other than Rotnei Clarke with a team-high 24, going 8-17 from the field, including 5-12 from outside the three-point arc. Andrew Smith poured in 17 points and 8 rebounds. Roosevelt Jones had 8 points in his 38 minutes of action. 

Marquette advances onto the Sweet 16 and will play the winner of the 7-seed Illinois vs. 2-seed Miami (FL) game that tips tonight at 8:40 p.m. in Austin, Texas. Next week's Sweet 16 in Washington, D.C. will feature 1-seeded Indiana (29-6) against 5-seed Syracuse (28-9), along with Marquette vs. the Illinois/Miami winner.

NCAA Tournament: Big second half helps Butler top Bucknell, advance

The 6-seeded Butler Bulldogs knew that it wouldn't be easy at all, but they pulled together and came out of their NCAA Tournament second round matchup with 11-seed Bucknell with a 68-56 victory at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.

It was a low scoring affair in the first half while the Bulldogs and Bison got a feel for what each other were bringing to the table.

Roosevelt Jones dropped in nine of his 14 points in the first half, but also grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists, all while shooting 6-12 from the floor.

With just a seven point lead at 21-14 at halftime, there was room for error on either side. It was just a matter of who was going to take the other out of their game plan.

Butler's 6'11 center Andrew Smith's job was to shut down Bucknell's 6'11 center Mike Muscala and he did a pretty outstanding job at doing so. Muscala was limited to just 9 points and 10 rebounds, but shot a dismal 4-of-17 from the field. Muscala was held to just two points in the first half.

Overall, it became the Rotnei Clarke and Andrew Smith show for the Butler Bulldogs in the second half. The two seniors combined for 25 of Butler's 47 second half total.

It looked like the Bulldogs were going to pull away just minutes into the second stanza, as they snagged a 29-18 lead with 16:35 left. Bucknell wasn't in favor of this at all and back came the Bison.

The Patriot League champion Bucknell darted on an 8-0 run to trail Butler just 29-26 over 15 minutes on the clock, forcing the Bulldogs to burn a timeout.

The Bison weren't finished. Butler's need for a timeout sparked an 11-2 run to give Bucknell a 37-31, thanks to six of those by Joe Willman.

Butler rolled back and took the lead again with an 8-0 run of their own, fueled by a triple each by Clarke and Smith, along with two Kellen Dunham free throws for a 39-37 edge.

The lead would toggle back and forth a couple times. Ryan Frazier got fouled by Clarke, made the basket and hit the free throw for the old-fashioned three-point play and a 40-39 Bucknell advantage. Twelve seconds later on Butlers' ensuing possession, Andrew Smith laid up two points to get Butler back in front 41-40 and they would keep the lead for the duration.

Butler outscored the pesky Bison 27-16 over the final eight minutes and held on to post a 68-56 second round win in the NCAA Tournament in Lexington.

Joe Willman led all scorers with a game-high 20 points on 10-of-16 shooting. A stout Butler defense forced 9 Bucknell turnovers, while only committing 5. Mike Muscala wound up with 9 points and 10 rebounds and he was joined with 9 each by Bryson Johnson and Cameron Ayers.

Butler was paced as per usual by Rotnei Clarke with 17 on 5-of-14 field goals. Andrew Smith put up double-double numbers with 14 points and 16 boards, also converting 7 out of 8 from the foul line. Roosevelt Jones also scored 14 on 6-for-12 attempts. Alex Barlow chipped in with 10 points, including hitting all six of his free throws. Kameron Woods also grabbed 8 rebounds. Two big positives that carried the Bulldogs was an outstanding 25-28 (89%) from the free throw line and the fact that they only had 5 turnovers as a team.

Bucknell finishes their season at 28-6. Butler (27-8) continues its March quest on Saturday. The Bulldogs will battle the Marquette Golden Eagles (25-8) for the second time this season. We all remember the first matchup in the first game of the Maui Invitational. With time winding down, Butler's Rotnei Clarke drained a three as time expired, giving the Bulldogs a 72-71 win. It only means that Saturday's tilt will be nothing short of intense and exciting! Gotta love March Madness!

Butler University officially leaving A-10 for Big East

It was officially announced this morning, Wednesday, March 20 that Butler University would be joining the "Catholic 7," along with Xavier and Creighton to form the new Big East Conference on July 1, 2013.

There have been talks in the past couple months, but nothing had actually been made official until the school's announcement earlier today. Now, it is set in stone that a majority of the Bulldogs' athletic programs will be competing amongst some of the nation's elite schools in the reformed Big East conference.

With Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame all leaving the current Big East to expand the Atlantic Coast Conference this Fall to start the 2013-14 school and athletic year, there was little wonder that it would take any time at all for the Catholic 7 to find some new conference mates.

New Big East members Butler, Creighton and Xavier will join the Catholic 7 from DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's and Villanova. In the 2014-15 academic year, current Atlantic 10 members, Dayton and Saint Louis, are projected to join the Big East to give the reconfigured conference 12 members.

Butler is no stranger to representing its school and the city of Indianapolis on a national level in the NCAA Championships in their previous conference affiliations in the former Mid-Continent, Horizon and Atlantic 10. They have won NCAA National Championships in men's and women's basketball, men's soccer, volleyball, men's cross country, lacrosse and baseball in its storied athletic history. In the past 10 years, Bulldog athletics has won a total of 29 conference championships.

Recently, Butler men's basketball achieved what no one thought was possible. They shocked the nation when the men's basketball team made NCAA Tournament runs all the way to the National Championship game two years in a row, before bowing out to Duke in 2010 (61-59) and Connecticut in 2011 (53-42).

The only Butler athletic program not affected by this move to the Big East is the football program. Butler football will remain a member of the Pioneer League and other programs will start their Big East membership in the Fall of 2013.

This makes things look bigger and brighter for Butler University athletics on a national level. It will help with their recruiting and exposure in a tremendous way.

A-10 Semifinals: 1-seeded Saint Louis ousts 5-seed Butler

Butler was all about getting revenge on a Saint Louis team that swept both meetings with the Bulldogs in the regular season. Out of the gate in the first half, Butler played with more poise and purpose, but it wasn't enough as Saint Louis advanced to their first Atlantic 10 Championship appearance with a 67-56 win.

Regardless of what Butler did in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, they will wind up in the NCAA Tournament field of 68 teams.

The first half became a back-and-forth affair with Saint Louis grabbing a slight 27-25 edge with a Rob Loe basket with 0:01 left on the clock.

It wasn't until Dwayne Evans' bucket with 5:06 left that got the Billikens their first double-digit lead, 55-45. The second half was the Dwayne Evans Show. He scored 16 of his game-high 24 and showed no quit at all as he led his SLU teammates to victory, 67-56.

There were some different intangibles that helped Saint Louis keep Butler from winning this semifinal matchup. The Billikens forced 20 Bulldogs turnovers, 14 coming from steals. They forced Butler to shoot just 21-of-54 (39%) overall and just 5-for-18 from three-point land. SLU made seven more free throws (20-31) than Butler attempted (9-13). Keeping BU off the foul line is always a good thing, especially with a few that are automatic there.

For victorious Saint Louis (26-6), Evans led all scorers with 24 and 11 rebounds. The SLU junior also shot 7-10 from the floor and 9-11 at the free throw line. The Atlantic 10 6th Man of the Year, Cody Ellis, joined Evans in double-figures with 13 on 4-for-8 from beyond the three-point arc.

Butler was only able to get Rotnei Clarke into double-digit scoring with 16 on 7-of-15 field goals. Andrew Smith and Roosevelt Jones both finished with 8, while Kameron Woods had 7.

The Bulldogs (26-8) found out Sunday evening that they'll be playing their NCAA Tournament 2st round game against Bucknell (28-5), who was the Patriot League champion. Butler is the 6-seed and Bucknell the 11-seed in the tournament's East Regional. This will be the first meeting ever between BU and the Bison and will take place on Thursday, March 21 in Lexington, Kentucky at Rupp Arena.

A-10 quarterfinals: Butler takes out 4-seed LaSalle, advances to semifinals

After not being able to play in Butler's regular season matchup at LaSalle, Rotnei Clarke was chomping at the bit to get his shot at the Explorers and what better time than in the Atlantic 10 tournament quarterfinals. Dropping the only season battle between the two at LaSalle (54-53), Butler got redemption by posting a 69-58 victory Friday afternoon.

Losing in Philadelphia by one in the final seconds on January 23, 5-seed Butler was completely focused on winning, but knew it wouldn't be an easy task.

The lead was tossed back and forth a few times and tied four times, but the Bulldogs had a two-point lead at the break, 37-35.

Butler had its biggest margin of 12 points with 5:59 left (64-52), but LaSalle wasn't going to go away quietly. Three Jerrell Wright free throws and a Sam Mills triple brought the Explorers back to within six (64-58). But, over the final five minutes, it was all about some great Butler defense and LaSalle throwing up prayers in hopes of some shots falling in. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, that didn't happen. Rotnei Clarke canned a trey and Roosevelt Jones knocked down a jumper to bring it back to double-digits and how the game ended, 69-58.

A seasoned squad like Butler knew exactly what it would take to come out with the quarterfinal win and that's exactly what they did down the stretch, running away with a 69-58 win. This victory advanced fifth-seeded Butler to a third meeting of the season with Saint Louis.

Tyrone Garland led LaSalle (21-9) with a game-high 17, followed by Tyreek Duren with 16 and Jerrell Wright with 14. As of the start of the Atlantic 10 Tournament, LaSalle is projected to make the NCAA Tournament field, but we'll find out tomorrow night during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show at 6 p.m.

Butler (26-7) had five players in double-figures and almost had a sixth. Rotnei Clarke led the Bulldogs with a team-high 14, knocking down 6-for-16 from the floor. Khyle Marshall had 13, while making six of his seven attempts. Andrew Smith had a solid game with 11 points and 8 rebounds, with a 5-for-5 performance from the free throw line. Roosevelt Jones and Kameron Woods (off the bench) both had 10 points, but Jones turned the ball over 7 times and Woods added 9 rebounds. Kellen Dunham had 9 points on 3 three-pointers. Two big factors really kept Butler over the top. BU outrebounded LaSalle 41-23 and they were 10-of-10 from the foul line.

The Bulldogs advanced to Saturday's semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament against 1-seed Saint Louis, who beat Butler twice during the regular season.

A-10 Tournament: 5-seed Butler outlasts 12-seed Dayton

With a lot of unselfish play by Butler as a whole and just that much more of a sense of urgency, the fifth-seeded Butler Bulldogs emerged victorious in the 2nd round of the Atlantic 10 conference tournament over the 12-seeded Dayton Flyers, 73-67.

The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York was rocking all day and night long with some hot and exciting action at the home of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets.

It was senior guard Rotnei Clarke's first action seeing Dayton since he took a nasty tumble into the undercarriage of the basket, just 12 minutes into Butler's game at Dayton on January 12. Clarke didn't waste time and definitely chose his shots wisely, to say the least. Butler's leading scorer (16.8 ppg.) had no trouble getting himself into a rhythm and taking control of the game's tempo, as he led all scorers in this second round game with 21 points, including a remarkable 6-for-12 shooting performance beyond the three-point arc.

It was a back-and-forth affair in the first nine minutes, with Dayton up 14-10. With freshman Kellen Dunham fouled on a three attempt, the frosh narrowed things to 14-13 with all three free throws. On Butler's ensuing possession, Khyle Marshall nabbed Butler the lead (15-14) that the Bulldogs would keep the rest of the first half, heading into the locker room with a slim 33-30 edge.

Just four minutes into the second half, the Flyers grabbed the lead again. Kevin Dillard netted five straight points on two field goals for a 43-39 slight lead for UD. But it wouldn't last long.

It isn't highly recommended that you give Butler a deficit that is easy to come back from. Clarke and Dunham combined for nine quick points on three triples to give Butler a 48-45 advantage that they wouldn't let Dayton have back the rest of the way.

Up by just a 55-50 score with 7:11 left, Butler needed and wanted some sort of answer to keep Dayton away. That answer was junior Erik Fromm. The 6'8 junior (Bloomington, IN/South HS) made his own 9-4 run in just under three minutes of the game clock to give the Dawgs a 64-54 cushion with 4:26 remaining.

Butler kept things at a two possession game the rest of the way, holding off a very feisty Dayton Flyers squad, 73-67.

Dayton (17-14) got four into double-figures. Josh Benson led UD with a team-high 18, knocking down 9-of-17 from the floor. Kevin Dillard had 15 on nine field goals, Dyshawn Pierre had 12 and Vee Sanford with 11 for the Flyers. UD will more than likely end up in the NIT field for their post-season play.

Butler (25-7) was led by their prolific scoring guard Rotnei Clarke with a game-high 21 on his 6 treys. Senior center Andrew Smith made good use of his size on the inside with 18 points on six field goals, including a pair of three-pointers. Khyle Marshall, Kellen Dunham and Erik Fromm each chipped in 9 for the advancing Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs advanced to Friday's quarterfinals to meet up with 4-seeded LaSalle (21-8).

Butler edges Xavier for regular season finale win

On Senior Night, emotions always carry a higher value. That was the case on Saturday at a packed Hinkle Fieldhouse (10,000) as the Butler Bulldogs salvaged the end of their regular season rough patch they've been in with a big home win over Xavier, 67-62.

Another big thing on the minds of the Butler Bulldogs was their 15-point (62-47) drubbing at Xavier on November 13. They used the remainder of their regular season as a measuring stick on how they could better things as a team until the Musketeers made their trip to Indianapolis on Saturday.

Butler's four seniors (Rotnei Clarke, Chase Stigall, Emerson Kampen and Andrew Smith), along with Roosevelt Jones were in the starting lineup. Throughout the rest of the contest, head coach Brad Stevens showed that the depth of his squad will have for the month of March.

Despite their 12 losses coming into Saturday's game, Xavier was still Xavier, feisty as ever.

There were a few factors that propelled Butler to victory. Rotnei Clarke was back to his dominant scoring, but he wasn't the only offensive presence that stood out for the Bulldogs.

Xavier held their own in the first half, including trailing Butler just 26-25 at the break. Five ties and four lead changes made for one heck of a 20 minutes of Atlantic 10 conference basketball.

Tied at 10-10, Butler went on a run that was matched by Xavier. Led by three consecutive buckets by Kameron Woods, Kellen Dunham and Erik Fromm both made a three for a 20-12 lead, but only briefly.

The Musketeers showed that they can run with the Dawgs. After Fromm's trey for an eight-point lead, Semaj Christon sank a three, then Lawrence North grad and Indianapolis native Justin Martin made two consecutive field goals for a 20-20 tie.

It didn't take long for Xavier to pull back out in front. A Dee Davis three tied things up for a sixth time, 28 all. But, Rotnei Clarke took it upon himself to put his teammates on his back and lead them to a victory.

Clarke nailed a few treys to ignite the Butler offense and he was joined by sophomore forward Kameron Woods in the attack.

A Woods dunk with 10:46 left, gave Butler its biggest lead at 47-37. Xavier just wouldn't go away. Semaj Christon, Isaiah Philmore and Erik Stenger helped the Musketeers during an 8-0 run that brought Xavier's deficit to 47-45 on two Christon free throws.

Christon scored four more for a 52-49 edge. Woods tipped in a basket and Clarke swished a pair from the charity stripe to tied the score at 54. Four more by Butler's gutsy senior and the Bulldogs were back on top. But, two more ties would be what BU needed to make a final push.

Butler found itself in a good position. Tied at 60-60 on an Isaiah Philmore layup, Xavier was forced to foul the Bulldogs.

Dunham, Clarke, Smith and Woods combined on 7-of-8 free throws in the final 43 seconds to put the finishing touches on a 67-62 Senior Night victory over the Xavier Musketeers.

Xavier was led by Semaj Christon with a team-high 20 points on 6-12 shooting and 7-8 FTs. Isaiah Philmore put up a double-double with 16 points (7-12 FGs) and 11 rebounds.

After just four 1st half points, Rotnei Clarke dominated the second half with 17 to finish with a game-high 21 points on 5-14 field goals and 8-8 at the free throw line. Kameron Woods continued his offensive wakeup call to come off the bench with 15 points, five boards and also blocked a few shots in 21 minutes. Woods also scored 17 at UMass Thursday. Dunham had eight off the bench and Andrew Smith scored seven for victorious Butler.

The Atlantic 10 tournament starts on Thursday and both the Butler Bulldogs and Xavier Musketeers will be in action at The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Xavier (17-13, 9-8 A10) will be the 7-seed and face 10-seed Saint Joseph's (17-12, 8-8 A10) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. With a win, they would match up with 2-seeded VCU (24-7, 12-4 A10) Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Butler (24-7, 11-5 A10) enters the A10 Tourney as the 5-seed and will play 12-seeded Dayton (17-13, 7-9 A10) at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 14. With a win over the Flyers, the Bulldogs will meet up with 4-seed LaSalle (21-8, 11-5 A10) at 2:30 Friday.

Butler finds answers with win at UMass

After being embarrassed last Saturday, March 2 at VCU, something had to be done to hopefully solve the issues that plagued the Butler Bulldogs for 40 minutes against the Rams. A players-only meeting was held on Sunday, March 3rd. Whatever was said by the seniors and leaders of this squad during that meeting, worked. Butler rolled into Amherst, Massachusetts on Thursday, March 7 and made a statement in beating the UMass Minutemen, 73-62.

Butler was bound and determined to pick up a big road win after last Saturday's performance at VCU. With gritty in-your-face defense and dominant rebounding, there was no stopping the Bulldogs at The Mullins Center.

Junior Khyle Marshall and sophomore Kameron Woods both completely shocked Massachusetts by each scoring 9 points in the first half in leading Butler to a 30-22 halftime lead.

Spreading out the scoring and defending the Minutemen like there was no tomorrow was exactly what the Bulldogs did and it worked like a charm. Keeping UMass at just enough distance to have a comfortable cushion, BU was able to work on some different facets of their game that had been lacking during this slight two-game losing skid to Saint Louis and VCU.

From the 8:07 mark of the first half to 17:29 left in the game, Butler ran off on a 19-6 run to take a 38-24 advantage. Capped off by a Rotnei Clarke three, the Bulldogs were in complete control and didn't look back.

With their lead never getting below eight (twice), the Dawgs were able to stretch their margin to 16 (also twice) en route to holding off the feisty host Minutemen by 11, 73-62.

Butler's victory at UMass helped them find the answer to a question that came about from losses in their previous two games. If Clarke and Smith weren't able to score, who would step up? Answer: Kameron Woods and Khyle Marshall showed that they're very capable of putting points on the board. Freshman Kellen Dunham was blanketed by the UMass defense or Brad Stevens would have gotten more than two points from the sharp-shooter from Pendleton, Indiana.

Fortunately for Butler, Clarke got back on his hot shooting in the second half, scoring 11 of his shared game-high 17 points in the final twenty minutes. Rotnei shot just 3-of-10 overall and 0-for-6 from three before he got his touch back.

Woods became the Bulldogs' x-factor in this big A-10 win at UMass, also scoring a game-high 17 points, knocking down 7 of his 11 field goals. Marshall sparked the offense with 14 points, making 6-of-7 from the floor. Senior Andrew Smith showed up big by chipping in with 13 points (9-13 FTs) and 15 rebounds, not to mention grabbing his 600th career rebound. Sophomore forward Roosevelt Jones had a balanced game with six points, seven boards and eight assists. Sophomore Alex Barlow tallied a career-high four assists.

Keeping the Minutemen off the boards, Butler had a 37-20 advantage, including 18 offensive rebounds. Neither team shot the ball good at all from three-point range, with Butler going 3-for-19 (16%) and UMass just 4-of-18 (22%).

UMass (18-10, 8-7 A10) was led in scoring by Terrell Vinson, who also shared game-high scoring honors with Woods and Clarke, with 17 points. Sampson Carter had 12 on 5-of-6 shooting and Chaz Williams had eight points and eight boards.

Butler (23-7, 10-5 A10) has a pretty tough task on Saturday, as they'll host the Xavier Musketeers (17-12, 9-6 A10). Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. It's Senior Night at Hinkle Fieldhouse and seniors Rotnei Clarke, Andrew Smith, Chase Stigall and Emerson Kampen will be recognized following the game.

#25 VCU shuts down #21 Butler in blowout fashion

The Atlantic 10 conference keeps getting more and more attention these days. First, it's Butler making the big splash hosting ESPN's College Gameday on January 19. Next, Saint Louis makes its presence known by beating Butler twice, along with VCU to stand alone atop the conference standings.

This was a highly anticipated rematch of their 2011 Final Four national semifinal matchup, which Butler won 70-62, en route to playing in their second straight national championship game. Saturday, March 2nd's road trip to Richmond, Virginia for #21 Butler was looked at as no different of a matchup. Butler has been slipping lately and VCU cracked the top 25 this week and trails Saint Louis by just one game in the standings with one week to go in the regular season.

Butler was down early to the host Rams and were never able to climb out of the hole that they created. Trailing 11-2 quick and then 11-6 just four-plus minutes into action, the Bulldogs had no answer for a lot of things that were being thrown at them by VCU.

Between VCU's smothering defense and suffocating full-court pressure, Butler found themselves unable to handle that pressure and wound up turning the ball over 14 times in the first half and 23 total for the game.

The Rams were so quick on defense that 17 of Butler's 23 turnovers were steals by the stout VCU defense, including 5 by Darius Theus, while five other Rams had two steals each.

Trailing 13-6 with 13 minutes left in the first half, Butler was simply dominated for the rest of the half. VCU jaunted off on a 32-15 run to take a commanding lead into the locker room, 45-21.

Butler started the second half on a 7-0 run, but there was no way that VCU was going to let the Bulldogs back into this game. The Rams took over from that point, keeping up their domination on a 39-24 spree the rest of the way to blow out Butler, 84-52.

Shaka Smart's squad kept their foot on the gas and were on a mission to make a statement that VCU basketball wasn't just a fluke by getting itself from the NCAA Tournament's Opening Round all the way to the Final Four in 2011 and .

The constant speed and endurance of VCU on both ends of the court completely stymied the Butler Bulldogs, who have now lost three of their last five games.

The Dawgs were led in scoring by Roosevelt Jones with a team-high 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Khyle Marshall had 13 points and six boards. Kellen Dunham (7) and Andrew Smith (6) both chipped in, but had dismal performances. Kameron Woods led all with 10 rebounds. The most surprising stat was that Rotnei Clarke was held to just 5 points on 2-for-8 field goals, playing just 22 minutes.

Victorious VCU managed to spread out their offense and get four players into double-figures. Troy Daniels led all scorers with a game-high 20 points, was 5-for-9 from the floor (4-8 on 3's) and knocked down all six of his free throw attempts. Briante Weber, Juvonte Reddic and Treveon Graham each had 11 points for the Rams.

Overall, the Bulldogs were dominated in just about every category. Only converting 41% (20-49) overall and just 21% (3-14) from three were pretty staggering for Butler, but it was their horrid free throw shooting (45%), going 9-of-20, that helped VCU keep extending its leads. The only positive that came out of this for BU was that they out-rebounded the Rams, 42-28. 

Free throw shooting (16-20), three-point field goals (10-23) and steals (17) that turned into a majority of Butler's giveaways (23), were big reasons that VCU was able to get the job done in front of a capacity crowd (7.693) at the Siegel Center in Richmond.

#25 VCU (23-6, 11-3 A10) will move up in the top 25 polls this week with this 32-point thumping of #21 Butler. The Rams are currently the #2 seed in the Atlantic 10, right behind Saint Louis. The face tough opponents this week in hosting Richmond (17-12, 7-7) on Wednesday and going to Temple (21-8, 9-5) on Sunday.

#21 Butler (22-7, 9-5 A10) has possibly seen its last stint in the top 25, but sits currently as the #4 seed in the A-10 and this week's final two regular season games won't be easy. They'll head to Amhurst, MA to face the Massachusetts Minutemen (18-9, 8-6 A10) on Thursday, March 7 for a 7 p.m. tipoff. Saturday, the Bulldogs will host a rematch with the Xavier Musketeers (16-12, 8-6) with a 6:30 tip time at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Boys' basketball Sectional Semifinals: predictions

There were just a handful of so called "upsets" in the 1st round games of the 2013 IHSAA Boys' Basketball Sectional action. Those were played on Tuesday, Wednesday and four games from Wednesday to Thursday that were postponed due to snowy weather conditions in northern Indiana.

4A-9 (at New Castle): New Castle (12-9) over Anderson (16-6)
4A-10 (at Warren Central): Lawrence Central (10-10) over Warren Central (11-9)
4A-13 (at Center Grove): Center Grove (9-12) over New Palestine (15-6)
1A-49 (at Kouts): Gary 21st Century (13-7) over Kouts (19-3)
1A-64 (at Wood Memorial): Northeast Dubois (10-12) over Evansville Day (16-5)

Here are my predictions for tonight's Sectional Semifinals:
CLASS 4A
4A-1 (Gary West):
Lake Central (14-7) over Hammond Morton (10-10)
Munster (23-0) over Gary West (12-7)

4A-2 (Michigan City):
Valparaiso (17-4) over Chesterton (13-8)
Merrillville (18-3) over Michigan City (10-11)

4A-3 (Mishawaka):
Penn (16-4) over South Bend Clay (14-8)
South Bend Adams (19-2) over South Bend Washington (9-11)

4A-4 (Elkhart):
Concord (19-1) over Warsaw (11-10)
Goshen (14-7) over Northridge (9-11)

4A-5 (Fort Wayne Carroll):
Fort Wayne Northrop (17-7) over Fort Wayne North (14-5)
Columbia City (20-3) over DeKalb (16-7)

4A-6 (Huntington North):
New Haven (15-5) over Fort Wayne Wayne (13-8)
Jay County (20-2) over Homestead (17-6)

4A-7 (Lafayette Jeff):
Kokomo (20-2) over Lafayette Jeff (7-14)
McCutcheon (14-8) over Logansport (12-8)

4A-8 (Carmel):
Noblesville (12-8) over Carmel (19-2) [upset pick of the night]
North Central (15-5) over Fishers (15-6)

4A-9 (New Castle):
Pendleton Heights (13-9) over Richmond (15-7)
New Castle (12-9) over Greenfield-Central (5-15)

4A-10 (Warren Central):
Indianapolis Tech (20-4) over Lawrence Central (10-10)
Indianapolis Cathedral (20-5) over Indianapolis Roncalli (10-9)

4A-11 (Decatur Central):
Pike (20-3) over Avon (10-11)
Ben Davis (15-6) over Decatur Central (13-7)

4A-12 (Mooresville):
Mooresville (10-11) over Terre Haute South (9-13)
Martinsville (11-9) over Terre Haute North (12-11)

4A-13 (Center Grove)
Franklin (15-6) over Franklin Central (10-10)
Center Grove (9-12) over Whiteland (8-13)

4A-14 (Columbus North):
Bloomington North (12-8) over Bloomington South (11-10)
Columbus North (21-1) over Columbus East (14-6)

4A-15 (Seymour):
Jeffersonville (20-3) over Bedford North Lawrence (8-12)
New Albany (14-7) over Jennings County (13-9)

4A-16 (Evansville North):
Evansville Harrison (20-1) over Evansville North (12-8)
Evansville Central (14-7) over Evansville Reitz (12-9)

CLASS 3A
3A-17 (Hammond):
Hammond (10-10) over Hammond Gavit (12-10)
Gary Wallace (11-7) over Griffith (11-10)

3A-18 (Kankakee Valley):
Andrean (18-3) over Rensselaer Central (7-14)
Hanover Cenral (14-7) over Calumet (6-15)

3A-19 (Plymouth):
South Bend St. Joe's (12-9) over John Glenn (8-13)
Plymouth (18-3) over Mishawaka Marian (11-9)

3A-20 (Twin Lakes):
Maconaquah (12-9) over Benton Central (6-15)
West Lafayette (17-5) over Western (13-8)

3A-21 (Wawasee):
Northwood (15-6) over Fairfield (11-11)
Tippecanoe Valley (18-3) over Lakeland (6-15)

3A-22 (Garrett):
Fort Wayne Concordia (18-4) over Leo (10-10)
Woodlan (10-12) over Angola (9-11)

3A-23 (Norwell):Norwell (15-6) over Mississinewa (8-12)
Whitko (6-15) over Heritage (8-13)

3A-24 (Muncie Central):
Hamilton Heights (13-8) over Muncie South (7-13)
Yorktown (15-7) over Muncie Central (7-13)

3A-25 (Frankfort):
Lebanon (16-5) over North Putnam (8-12)
Frankfort (18-4) over Southmont (16-5)

3A-26 (Mt. Vernon-Fortville):
Indianapolis Chatard (7-14) over Indianapolis Arlington (10-11)
Mt. Vernon (Fortville) (20-1) over Guerin Catholic (17-5)

3A-27 (Danville):
Danville (16-5) over Beech Grove (10-10)
Indianapolis Northwest (15-6) over Tri-West (13-8)

3A-28 (Greencastle):Owen Valley (10-11) over Brown County (6-15)
Edgewood (13-8) over West Vigo (10-11)

3A-29 (Greensburg):
Rushville (10-11) over Madison (10-10)
Greensburg (20-1) over Batesville (19-2)

3A-30 (Charlestown):
Brownstown Central (21-1) over Salem (0-20)
Corydon Central (17-5) over North Harrison (14-7)

3A-31 (Washington):
Jasper (12-9) over Mitchell (6-14)
Vincennes Lincoln (16-6) over Washington (9-11)

3A-32 (Boonville):
Evansville Bosse (17-5) over Evansville Memorial (10-11)
Mt. Vernon (Posey) (16-6) over Boonville (9-13)

CLASS 2A
2A-33 (Wheeler):
Bowman Academy (12-9) over Lake Station (9-11)
Hammond Noll (18-4) over Whiting (2-18)

2A-34 (Winamac):
Winamac (9-12) over Hebron (9-10)
Boone Grove (12-8) over Rochester (7-14)

2A-35 (Westview):
Westview (19-3) over Central Noble (5-15)
LaVille (16-6) over Prairie Heights (11-11)

2A-36 (South Adams):
Fort Wayne Luers (13-6) over Adams Central (13-7)
Bluffton (14-7) over Eastside (9-12)

2A-37 (Manchester):
Oak Hill (13-8) over Manchester (6-14)
Northfield (15-7) over Wabash (8-13)

2A-38 (Delphi):
Fountain Central (17-4) over Carroll (Flora) (12-9)
Delphi (17-5) over Clinton Central (1-20)

2A-39 (Tipton):
Madison-Grant (8-12) over Alexandria (5-17)
Tipton (21-2) over Taylor (5-16)

2A-40 (Lapel):
Wapahani (19-3) over Lapel (12-9)
Frankton (17-5) over Muncie Burris (9-11)

2A-41 (Hagerstown):
Union County (16-6) over Northeastern (11-9)
Hagerstown (20-2) over Centerville (10-10)

2A-42 (Indianapolis Broad Ripple):
Indianapolis Marshall (15-6) over Heritage Christian (10-10)
Park Tudor (21-2) over Indianapolis Broad Ripple (14-7)

2A-43 (Indianapolis Washington):
Indianapolis Scecina (11-9) over Triton Central (4-18)
Indianapolis Washington (11-10) over Indianapolis Ritter (10-10)

2A-44 (South Putnam):South Putnam (11-9) over Cascade (7-14)
Speedway (17-4) over Covenant Christian (5-15)

2A-45 (South Ripley):
South Ripley (15-6) over North Decatur (5-16)
Switzerland County (16-4) over Austin (10-11)

2A-46 (Crawford County):
Crawford County (14-7) over Paoli (13-7)
Clarksville (16-5) over Eastern (Pekin) (9-11)

2A-47 (North Knox):
Sullivan (20-3) over Bloomfield (11-10)
Linton-Stockton (19-3) over North Knox (9-14)

2A-48 (Southridge):
Southridge (17-3) over Perry Central (19-3)
Evansville Mater Dei (9-12) over North Posey (9-13)

CLASS 1A
1A-49 (Kouts):
Washington Township (15-6) over LaCrosse (3-16)
Gary 21st Century (13-7) over Morgan Township (6-14)

1A-50 (West Central):
Pioneer (18-3) over North White (10-11)
West Central (6-15) over South Newton (2-17)

1A-51 (Culver):
Triton (15-5) over Culver (13-8)
Michigan City Marquette Catholic (17-5) over Westville (12-9)

1A-52 (Hamilton):
Elkhart Christian (14-7) over Lakewood Park (16-5)
Fort Wayne Canterbury (13-8) over Bethany Christian (4-17)

1A-53 (North Vermillion):
Rockville (23-0) over Turkey Run (3-18)
Attica (12-9) over Covington (13-7)

1A-54 (Tri-Central):
Lafayette Central Catholic (14-8) over Faith Christian (4-17)
Tri-Central (10-11) over Clinton Prairie (2-18)

1A-55 (Monroe Central):
Liberty Christian (17-5) over Monroe Central (12-8)
Southern Wells (9-12) over Wes-Del (7-13)

1A-56 (Blue River):
Union (Modoc) (15-5) over Blue River (7-14)
Seton Catholic (14-7) over Union City (2-17)

1A-57 (White River Valley):
White River Valley (11-10) over Eminence (5-15)
Clay City (13-8) over Shakamak (11-11)

1A-58 (University):
University (11-11) over Bethesda Christian (4-16)
Indianapolis Tindley (15-7) over Indiana Math & Science (9-13)

1A-59 (Edinburgh):
Baptist Academy (11-11) over Irvington Prep Academy (6-15)
Waldron (21-0) over Morristown (15-6)

1A-60 (South Decatur):
Jac-Cen-Del (6-15) over Rising Sun (2-18)
South Decatur (14-6) over Shawe Memorial (9-12)

1A-61 (West Washington):
Springs Valley (10-11) over Trinity Lutheran (8-13)
Orleans (11-10) over West Washington (6-15)

1A-62 (Borden):Lanesville (13-8) over Christian Academy (11-9)
Borden (18-3) over New Washington (9-12)

1A-63 (Loogootee):
Loogootee (17-5) over North Daviess (15-6)
Barr-Reeve (21-1) over Shoals (4-16)

1A-64 (Wood Memorial):
Tecumseh (8-12) over Cannelton (8-12)
Northeast Dubois (10-12) over Wood Memorial (7-15)


Well, I was 118-29 in all games played from Tuesday to Thursday! Stay tuned tomorrow for my Sectional Championship predictions! Enjoy!