It seems like it's been weeks now, but Butler senior guard Rotnei Clarke has been cleared to play by Butler University's head athletic trainer Ryan Galloy.
Clarke has been sidelined for the last three games because of a sprained neck he suffered in Butler's 79-73 win at Dayton on January 12. He returned to practice Thursday and in full-contact drills was free of all symptoms.
Clarke stole the ball and drove to the other end of the court where he was intentionally fouled, sending him to the floor and crashing into the basket support. Rotnei was on the court for around 8 minutes before he was taken off the court on a stretcher and taken to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton and was later released to travel back to Indianapolis with his teammates.
When Rotnei Clarke takes the court Saturday against Temple, Hinkle Fieldhouse will more than likely erupt with excitement that one of the vital pieces to this team is back and ready to help the Butler Bulldogs win, no matter what it takes.
What the Temple Owls (13-5, 2-2 A-10) bring to the tables...
The Temple Owls have had their ups and downs during this 2012-13 college basketball season, just like most teams. They got themselves an early Christmas present by defeating current #3 ranked Syracuse, 83-79 on a neutral court.
Since that time, the Owls have gone 3-3 in the month of January. Starting out the month, they gave it their best, but couldn't quite upset #6 Kansas on the road, bowing out in the final minutes, 69-62.
Xavier got the best of Temple in Cincinnati on January 10, 57-52. Two wins in a row (Saint Louis and at George Washington) started sparking more interest the Owls' way, but losing to St. Bonaventure at home (81-78) and narrowly beating Penn (76-69), have left Temple trying to figure out what its identity will be for the remainder of the season.
The Atlantic 10 has quickly become one of the more evenly spread conferences in the country. Thirteen of the 16 teams have won at least 10 games and it's going to make for a great finish to conference season and an even better Atlantic 10 tournament in the second weekend of March.
They'll for sure have their hands full with the #9 ranked Butler Bulldogs on Saturday evening at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis at 6 p.m. With Butler having senior guard Rotnei Clarke back in their lineup, the Bulldogs depth may get the best of the visiting Owls.
Clarke has missed Butler's previous three games and is just itching to get back on the court. With him back in the lineup Saturday, Kellen Dunham will probably come off the bench as the sixth man, which he's done quite well doing for a majority of the season. Along with Clarke, Alex Barlow, Roosevelt Jones, Khyle Marshall and Andrew Smith will fill out the starting lineup. Erik Fromm, Kameron Woods, Chase Stigall and Jackson Aldridge will all see time off the bench, just like they've seen against Richmond, Gonzaga and LaSalle.
Butler will surely be able to use Clarke's 16.3 ppg. (4th in the A-10), especially after they came up short 54-53 at LaSalle on Wednesday, snapping their 13-game winning streak. Saturday night will be another hostile environment for the opponent (Temple), but Hinkle has always been one of the toughest places to play in the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment