Butler cruises past Lamar in season opener

The atmosphere at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse was uncanny for all as the Butler Bulldogs opener their season in grand fashion, cruising past Lamar in the second half, thanks in great part to an electric home crowd. The Bulldogs won going away with a dominating 89-58 win over the Cardinals.

There were times in the first half when it was a wonder when Butler would get comfortable of being in front of a packed (9,617) home environment and used to being on national television (Fox Sports 2).

The Lamar Cardinals were a scrappy version of the Saint Louis Billikens that Butler faced twice last season in Atlantic 10 play. Guards that were all over the court on both ends and an midsized frontcourt that still caused trouble.

In the first 16:30 of the first half, there were seven lead changes and one tie on the scoreboard, before Butler brought things back down to size. Lamar's Donovan Ross nailed a jumper for the Cardinals' final lead of the game at 30-29. The next play down the court, junior guard Jackson Aldridge got the Bulldogs the lead, which they wouldn't relinquish the rest of the night. Aldridge's three came from the right corner and got that home court bounce off the front of the rim, hit the backboard and down through the net. That three put Butler up 32-30 with 3:34 that they would add six more onto and lead 38-32 at the half.

It became a tale of two halves for both squads, but it was Lamar that took a step backwards in second the half.

The Bulldogs took full advantage of Lamar being gassed by halftime and bolted off on a 23-8 run that gave Butler a commanding 61-40 lead with 11:30 left in the contest.

Butler kept building on this 20-plus point lead, bringing a majority of the bench in for playing time in the final five minutes of the game.

Lamar's Nimrod Hilliard brought it back to a 20-point deficit, but that wouldn't last long at all. During the final 3:31 of the game, it was all freshmen doing the scoring for Butler. The frosh Dawgs went on an 13-2 run during that span and put away the Cardinals for good. Rene Castro scored all of his six points, while Nolan Berry, Elijah Brown and Michael Volovic combined for seven in those final few minutes to put Lamar away, 89-58.

On opening night in the 2013-14 season, it wasn't about who was going to replace the prolific three-point shooting of Rotnei Clarke. It also wasn't focused on where frontcourt scoring would come from with Andrew Smith graduating with Clarke back in the spring and Roosevelt Jones out for the season with a left wrist injury.

Head coach Brandon Miller got the answer he probably knew people would be asking about. His three frontcourt starters did a superb job of producing when the knew they had to on Saturday night against a feisty defense of Lamar. Khyle Marshall, Kameron Woods and Erik Fromm combined for 40 points and 22 rebounds between the three of them to stifle the Cardinals' defense and throw them completely out of whack in the second half.

Nimrod Hilliard led all scorers with a game-high 23 points, while Donovan Ross snagged 18 points, 14 of which came in the first half.

Marshall led Butler with 19 points and 13 boards and he was followed in scoring by Kellen Dunham with 13 (11 in 2nd half), Woods with 11 (7 rebounds) and Fromm with 10. Jackson Aldridge had a nice night off the bench with nine points, while also grabbing two boards and dishing out a pair of assists in 13 minutes.

Following the press conference after the game, I had the chance to take a minute with Khyle Marshall. I noticed that he had more energy in this season opener of his senior season that I noticed of any other Bulldog. Khyle was the only Butler player that had already peeled his warm-up shirt off prior to the National Anthem. This guy was read to play and showed it with his leadership on the court.

"It's a new year and we've got a whole different mindset. When that warm-up clock hits 0:00, it's time to start playing, time to get going and start rolling. It's just something that's me as a player and I feel like I've matured. As a senior, it's your last go around, so it's now or never," said a confident Marshall following last night's win over Lamar.

Size and bench depth when it came to determining the final outcome of this ballgame. Butler was able to manhandle Lamar 62-22 in the paint. They scored 20 points off the Cardinals 13 turnovers, while only committing 5 turnovers themselves. The Bulldogs were also able to manage 24 second chance points (14 offensive rebounds) and outscored Lamar's bench 34-4.

Lamar (0-1) gets to head home to Beaumont, Texas and hosts George Mason on Tuesday, November 12 for their next game.

The Butler Bulldogs (1-0) will continue their three-game home stint next Saturday, November 16th, as the Princeton Tigers (0-0) come to Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for an 8 p.m. tipoff on Fox Sports 2. Princeton opens its season on Sunday, November 10, hosting the Florida A&M Rattlers (0-1).  

Andrew Smeathers to leave Butler basketball program

It is probably one of his toughest decisions yet in life, but it had to be done. 6'6 junior forward Andrew Smeathers, a product of Bargersville, IN and Center Grove High School, has decided to leave the Butler Bulldog basketball program in pursuit of a setting where he'll see more playing time.

Smeathers will finish out the 2013 fall semester in Indianapolis at Butler University, but will transfer to another school in time to start the spring semester in January of 2014.

At this time, it's undisclosed as to where Smeathers will continue the final two seasons of his college basketball eligibility.

He was a 2011 Indiana All-Star at Center Grove High School, the first time in the school's history that they've had someone named to the All-Star squad.

As a Bulldog freshman in 2011-12, Andrew saw action in 23 games, including a 17-point outburst against Oakland City, knocking down five three-pointers.

His sophomore campaign in 2012-13, Smeathers made it off the bench in just 20 of Butler's 36 contests.

He scored a eight points in a total of nine minutes in Butler's first two exhibition games to start this 2013-14 season.

Injuries have been a slight issue with Smeathers, but a player like Andrew Smeathers needs to be able to display his talents and spread his wings. Butler may not have been the perfect place for Smeathers to show the college basketball world what he's got, but he'll catch on somewhere and excel to the best of his abilities.

Best of luck in your future, Andrew Smeathers.

Bulldogs' shooting overpowers DePauw in final exhibition tuneup

On Saturday, the Butler Bulldogs entertained their second and final exhibition opponent. They did so in a fashion that delighted the 6,000-plus in attendance for the matinee affair at Hinkle Fieldhouse, as the Bulldogs cruised to a 93-68 win.

The visiting Tigers gave Butler all it could handle in the first half. Keeping things honest, DePauw trailed by no more than nine, which eventually became their halftime deficit of 42-33.

Adams Botts led the way for DePauw in the first half, as he scored 14 of his team-high 17 points before the break. Tommy Fernitz pitched in 10 by the halftime break.

Kellen Dunham paced Butler in the first 20 minutes with 11, while Erik Fromm kept the Tigers honest down low with 10.

DePauw had no idea how much of a second half time Butler could be. The Bulldogs outscored the Tigers 51-35.

Freshman guard Elijah Brown was quite impressive, as he scored 8 by the half and 10 after to finish with 18 points. Brown shot 6-of-11 from the floor and connected on all five of his free throw attempts in just 22 minutes of action.

Dunham led all scorers with 23 points and shot pretty well, knocking down 7-for-11 of his field goals and also sank all six from the charity stripe.

The second half was all about getting the Bulldogs' bench involved to see who will wind up being key contributors as the regular season starts this week.

DePauw got three into double-figure scoring. They were led by Adams Botts and Pat Haggin both scoring a team-high 17, with Tommy Fernitz adding 10.

With Dunham leading all with 23, Elijah Brown was instrumental off the bench with 18, while Erik Fromm was the third Bulldog to reach double-digits with 11 and six rebounds. Alex Barlow had 9 and three steals, with fellow starters Kameron Woods (6 points, 6 boards) and Khyle Marshall (8 points, 3 rebounds) did their part, before giving way to the Bulldog bench.

Two other freshmen got some quality minutes, as Nolan Berry and Andrew Chrabascz each pitched in 5 points.

The Bulldogs shot well overall by making 53% of his shots and 47 % (7-15) from outside the three-point arc. Butler got back to its old ways of drilling 30-of-39 from the free throw line.

Butler begins regular season play this Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse with the Lamar Cardinals coming to Indianapolis for an 8 p.m. tipoff and can be seen on Fox Sports 2.

Butler Bulldogs dominate Nova Southeastern in exhibition

It didn't take long at all before the Butler found themselves running away from their visitors in Tuesday night's exhibition contest at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The youthful home standing Bulldogs took advantage of every miscue of visiting Nova Southeastern, blowing away the Sharks, 101-64.

Alex Barlow and Kellen Dunham started in the backcourt, with Erik Fromm in the middle, while Kameron Woods and Khyle Marshall rounded out the starting lineup at the forward slots. Those five bring back a lot of experience from last year's 27-9 squad, which will be without the services of returning scorer and rebounder Roosevelt Jones this season.

Dunham (left) (Pendleton, IN/Pendleton Heights) dropped down all of his team-high 16 points, while freshman Elijah Brown (Los Angeles, CA/Mater Dei) knocked down eight of his 11 by halftime.

Butler cruised its way to doubling up the Sharks through the first 20 minutes, 55-27. The Bulldogs shot pretty well in the first half, making 18-of-28 from the floor over all and sinking 7-for-13 from outside the three-point arc. Three of those seven treys came from Dunham's 3-5 shooting (5-8 overall) and junior guard Jackson Aldridge (Sydney, Australia/Australian Institute of Sport) swished his only two attempts from downtown to finish with eight.

The second half was all about spreading out the playing time and keeping the Sharks at a distance, which is exactly what the Bulldogs were able to do. Butler was able to do what it wanted, pretty much whenever they wanted to against the visitors from the Sunshine State, outscoring Nova Southeastern 46-37 in the final half.

Khyle Marshall (left) (Davie, FL/Flanagan), who grew up just down the road from Nova Southeastern, finished with 13 points (6-8 field goals) and four boards. Freshman Nolan Berry (St. Louis, MO/De Smet) quickly became a crowd favorite as he scrapped his way to scoring six of his 11 points in the first half, while also grabbing six rebounds.

Senior center Erik Fromm (Bloomington, IN/South) added eight points in his starting role, making 5-of-6 free throws and Kameron Woods (Louisville, KY/Eastern) snagged nine rebounds to his credit.

Junior Andrew Smeathers (Bargersville, IN/Center Grove) scored five on a three and a couple from the charity stripe and flighty sophomore guard Devontae Morgan (Tampa, FL/Tampa Prep) put four on the scoreboard, with four rebounds and two assists.

Freshmen Steven Bennett (New Castle, IN/Chrysler) was one of a few that awoke the Hinkle Fieldhouse crowd on hand in the second half, scoring six in just eight minutes. Three additional freshmen gave it their all when they got their opportunity. Andrew Chrabascz (Portsmouth, RI/Cushing Academy) netted four points and four rebounds, Rene Castro (Milton, MA/Worcester Academy) had four and dished out a pair of assists and local product Michael Volovic (Carmel, IN/Carmel) managed five points in eight minutes on the floor.

Nova Southeastern was only able to get two into double-figures. Chris Page led all scorers with a game-high 18 points on six field goals and 4-4 from the foul line. Casey Carroll had 13 and Brian Cahill added nine for the visiting Sharks.

In the post-game press conference, I got the chance to ask Butler head coach Brandon Miller about the depth he'll have in his frontcourt.

"I think that's exactly what they give us. They give us depth and looking at our team, we're able to play a number of different combinations. Those guys fit to what we're doing and they each have their strengths and I think they'll both give something to this team. We're counting on those guys to play and that's why they're not going to redshirt. They'll give us valuable minutes throughout the season," said a confident Miller.

It seems pretty obvious that their four-game trip to Australia in August has helped this group of Butler Bulldogs and their chemistry immensely and will even more as the season progresses.

Butler will be playing its second of two exhibition games against Division III DePauw University from Greencastle, Indiana on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs will open regular season play on Saturday, November 9 when they host the Lamar Cardinals of the Southland Conference for an 8 p.m. tipoff on Fox Sports 2.  

Butler's 2013-14 schedule: Bulldog Big East tv exposure

The Butler Bulldogs begin their first of two exhibition games to jump start the Brandon Miller head coaching era in the 2013-14 season tonight when they welcome in Nova Southeastern to Hinkle Fieldhouse for a 7 p.m. tipoff.

Four days later on Saturday, November 2, the Bulldogs will host Division III's DePauw University from Greencastle, Indiana for their second and final exhibition contest before the games start counting for real.

Butler will be completely exposed to a national audience all season long in its first year as a member of the Big East conference. The regular season starts off with two straight games on Fox Sports 2, with the regular season/home opener with Lamar on Saturday, November 9 at 8 p.m. and Princeton one week later on November 16 at 8 p.m. The Bulldogs continue their three-game opening spree at Hinkle Fieldhouse with the SEC's Vanderbilt Commodores on Tuesday, November 19 at 6 p.m. on Fox Sports 1.

Before heading to Lake Buena Vista, Florida for the Old Spice Classic at ESPN's Wide World of Sports, Butler heads up I-69 to Muncie, Indiana to face the improved Ball State Cardinals at Worthen Arena at 2 p.m. on Nov. 23.

The ESPN networks will showcase the Old Spice Classic from November 28-December 1. The Bulldogs open up with a Thanksgiving Day matchup with the Washington State Cougars on ESPN2 at 2 p.m. Their second Old Spice game will be against either #12 Oklahoma State or Purdue. Others that Butler could meet up with are LSU, Siena, Saint Joseph's and #13 Memphis.

The week following, Butler returns home where they'll play three games in Indianapolis before ending their semester and starting their first season in the Big East conference. Home dates with North Dakota (Dec. 7) and Manchester (Dec. 9) on Fox Sports 1 will be offensive tune-ups.

On December 14, Butler faces Purdue in what could be their second meeting in just over two weeks. The two are the second game in the Close the Gap: Crossroads Classic at Banker's Life Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers. The Bulldogs and Boilermakers will be a 6 p.m. tip on the Big Ten Network.

The only game, aside from their game at Ball State, that isn't currently slated to be televised, is December 21st at Evansville.

The Bulldogs get back into things on Fox Sports 2 to host NJIT (New Jersey Institute of Technology) on December 28 at 1 p.m. They'll follow that up with a New Year's Eve game in the Big East opener at Hinkle Fieldhouse vs. the Villanova Wildcats at 7:30 p.m.

January and February are the meat and potatoes of Butler's schedule and will truly be a test of how they will survive in their first season in the Big East conference.

Ringing in the new year in conference play, they'll hit the road to Cincinnati, Ohio to face the Xavier Musketeers on Fox Sports National on January 4 at 2 p.m. Butler will have three more road tests in January, with all three in unfamiliar territory. Road games at Creighton (Jan. 14), Providence (Jan. 21) and Seton Hall (Jan. 29) will at be televised on Fox Sports 1.

Home games with DePaul (Jan. 9) and Georgetown (Jan. 11) will both be on Fox Sports 1. The home game with Marquette (Jan. 18) will be on CBS Sports Network and St. John's (Jan. 25) first trip to Indianapolis will be on Fox Sports National.

February starts off with huge games on the road at Marquette on Feb. 4 (Fox Sports 1) and Georgetown on Feb. 8 (CBS). Two straight home games will give Butler a little break after four of five on the road. Xavier on Feb. 11 (Fox Sports 1) and Creighton on Feb. 13 (CBS Sports Network) come to Hinkle for two games in three nights for the Bulldogs.

Butler will spend three of their final five games on the road and all five will be on Fox Sports 1. They'll make their first trips to St. John's (Feb. 18), Villanova (Feb. 26) and DePaul (Mar. 6), but will also play Providence (Feb. 23) and then Seton Hall (Mar. 8) to wrap up regular season play at home.

It's going to be a big step for the Big East, as they will be the focal content throughout the winter with the conference's new television home being Fox Sports 1 and 2.

Big East's basketball Media Day leaves Butler with work to do

Today in New York City, it was Big East basketball Media Day for both men's and women's basketball. Three schools played the role of new kid on the block. Butler, Xavier and Creighton are all starting their first athletic seasons in the Big East conference.

This trio of newcomers to the league have been selected by the coaches to finish 3rd (Creighton), 7th (Xavier) and 9th (Butler) out of 10. Below is the full pre-season coaches poll that was revealed today before national media members in The Big Apple at Chelsea Piers.
1. Marquette
2. Georgetown
3. Creighton
4. Villanova
5. St. John's
6. Providence
7. Xavier
8. Seton Hall
9. BUTLER
10. DePaul

Other pre-season predictions:

Player of the Year: Doug McDermott, 6'8 senior forward, Creighton (Ames, IA)

Rookie of the Year: Rysheed Jordan 6'4 freshmen guard, St. John's (Philadelphia, PA)

All-Big East 1st team:

• D'Angelo Harrison, 6'4 junior guard, St. John's (Missouri City, TX)
• Semaj Christon, 6'3 sophomore guard, Xavier (Cincinnati, OH)
• Markel Starks, 6'1 senior guard, Georgetown (Accokeek, MD)
• Davante Gardner, 6'8 senior forward, Marquette (Suffolk, VA)
• Bryce Cotton, 6'1 senior guard, Providence (Tucson, AZ)

All-Big East 2nd team:

• Jamil Wilson, 6'7 senior forward, Marquette (Racine, WI)
• JaKarr Sampson, 6'9 sophomore forward, St. John's (Akron, OH)
• Fuquan Edwin, 6'6 senior forward, Seton Hall (Paterson, NJ)
• Ryan Arcidiacono, 6'3 sophomore guard, Villanova (Langhorne, PA)
• JayVaughn Pinkston, 6'7 junior forward, Villanova (Brooklyn, NY)
• Cleveland Melvin, 6'8 senior forward, DePaul (Baltimore, MD)

Honorable mention:

• Kadeem Batts, 6'10 senior forward, Providence (Boston, MA)
• Chris Obekpa, 6'9 sophomore center, St. John's (Makurdi, Nigeria)

 Should the Butler Bulldogs feel slighted by being predicted to finish 9th out of 10? I don't see why they shouldn't. Is Butler being underestimated because they've joined the Big East and it will be that much harder to recruit against the likes of Marquette, Georgetown, Villanova, Xavier, St. John's and four others? That's also a possibility.

2013-14 will be quite the learning experience for this rendition of Butler Bulldog basketball. New conference, first-year head coach and every game viewable by a national audience.

It's been said by some that the 2013-14 season will be a down year for Butler basketball for numerous reasons. They lost sharp-shooting three[point threat Rotnei Clarke and the tough inside presence of Andrew Smith to graduation. Returning starter Roosevelt Jones was lost for the season when he injured his left wrist during Butler's four-game Australian exhibition tour in early August, leaving a bit of a hole in the Bulldogs' offense.  

Butler will have its hands full for the whole season, to say the least. The Catholic 7 (Marquette, Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, Providence, Seton Hall and DePaul) have welcomed the Bulldogs, Xavier and Creighton with open arms to help create a new identity for the new Big East. Those seven have a great NCAA Tournament history already and bring in upswing Creighton, Xavier who's had some Sweet 16 and Elite Eight appearances and cap it off with Butler's back-to-back national runner-up finishes in 2010 and 2011.

We're in for quite a winter in this first season of the new Big East and it will be exciting to see how many teams make the NCAA Tournament. It all starts to unfold in early November!

Butler Bulldogs anxious for 2013-14 Big East debut

It may have become official on July 1st, but the 2013-14 version of the Butler Bulldogs couldn't be more ready to start their first season of play in the new Big East conference.

There are quite a bit of schools that have gone elsewhere until all of the dust really settles. Former Big East icons Louisville, UConn, Cincinnati and Rutgers have all moved to new American Athletic Conference. After 2013-14, Louisville heads to the ACC to help make it the new super conference in college basketball. Rutgers, along with Maryland, will both become a part of the Big Ten, to give it 14 members.

Butler, Xavier, and Creighton have all joined up with 7 of the original Big East members in Marquette, Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, Providence, Seton Hall and DePaul to form the 10-team new Big East.

Playing in its third conference in three seasons, Butler feels like it has finally found a place where it can showcase itself on a national level. From the Horizon League two years ago and to its one-year stint with the Atlantic 10, the Bulldog traditions welcome joining the Big East conference and what it will do for Butler University as a whole.

Under 1st year head coach Brandon Miller, there will be quite a few changes from the 2012-13 team. The Miller Era has started and Brad Stevens is now the head coach of the Boston Celtics. It was tough to see Stevens make a quick exit for the NBA, but Butler has welcomed back former backcourt star Brandon Miller to take over the reigns and continue The Butler Way, just as Stevens built it up so well.

The Bulldogs officially began practice for the season on September 26 and despite being without one its top returning starters, Roosevelt Jones, depth will be an asset for Butler in the 2013-14 season.

Jones suffered a season-ending injury to his left wrist during the first of Butler's four-game Australian trip in early August. He will receive a medical redshirt and be able to continue as a Bulldog during the 2014-15 season.

Butler will have four weeks of regularly routines and practices before starting their two-game exhibition play. Nova Southeastern comes to Hinkle Fieldhouse on October 29 at 7 p.m. and DePauw visits the Bulldogs on Saturday, November 2 at 2 p.m. Without Jones in the starting lineup, numerous others will be counted on to contribute.

Two starters return from last season's 27-9 squad. Senior forward Khyle Marshall (top photo) (Davie, FL/Flanagan) and junior point guard Alex Barlow (Springboro, OH/Archbishop Moeller) come back with plenty of experience. Sophomore Kellen Dunham (photo at left)
 (Pendleton, IN/Pendleton Heights), senior Erik Fromm (Bloomington, IN/South) and junior Kameron Woods (Louisville, KY/Eastern) should more than likely round out the starting lineup.

Juniors Andrew Smeathers (Bargersville, IN/Center Grove) and Jackson Aldridge (Sydney, Australia/Australia Institute of Sport) should be see a good amount of time off the bench in the rotation. 6'3 sophomore Devontae Morgan (Tampa, FL/Tampa Prep) should also be a spark off the Bulldog bench.

Butler has quite the freshman class for Coach Miller's first set of recruits. Yes, they were all originally contacted and recruited by Brad Stevens, but they stuck with their commitment to Miller and the Butler program, even after Stevens jaunted to the Celtics.

Elijah Brown (Los Angeles, CA/Mater Dei), Michael Volovic (Carmel, IN/Carmel), Rene Castro (Milton, MA/Worcester Academy) and Steven Bennett (New Castle, IN/New Castle Chrysler) will all four be battling to see action on the court this winter. 6'10 Nolan Berry (St. Louis, MO/De Smet) and 6'7 Andrew Chrabascz (Portsmouth, RI/Cushing Academy) are both very likely to see time in Butler's frontcourt carousel.

It's going to be quite a transition during Brandon Miller's first year at the helm of the Butler Bulldogs, but there's extreme potential to make a lot of noise and shock the college basketball world when they least expect it. Most publications have thrown Butler into finishing between 6th through 10th in their first season in the Big East. Two weeks remain until the Bulldogs start exhibition play.