UPDATE 12:12, Lighty was 2 for 13 from 3 before sticking that one.
UPDATE 12:16, Good passing by Butler that possession, but better post defense as Matt Howard misses inside.
UPDATE 12:20, Gordon Hayward hits again on the longball. Dawgs down by 4.
UPDATE 12:22, And how about one more time? Hayward has 9 of Butler's 12 points. The Buckeyes lead by 3 with 9:28 to go in the half.
UPDATE 12:26, Both teams turn it over. 16 combined already in the game.
UPDATE 12:31, Beautiful bounce pass on the fast break as Shelvin Mack puts home the one-hand jam!
UPDATE 12:32, Mack drives baseline and finds Hayward in the corner AGAIN for a three! Gordon is 4 for 4 from the field for 12 points. Game tied.
UPDATE 12:37, With 3:59 left before halftime, we stand knotted at 19 apiece. Hayward has 14 points on 5 for 6 shooting.
UPDATE 12:43, The length of Ohio State continues to trouble the Bulldogs. Turnovers are the reason Butler trails 25-21.
UPDATE 12:49, Great effort by Matt Howard to keep the rebound alive and then he's fouled and hits two free throws.
UPDATE 12:53, Buckeyes 29-23 at intermission.
UPDATE 1:33, After going down by as much as 12, Butler has chipped away and reduced the deficit back to 6 points, 45-39. Hayward has 19 pts and Shelvin Mack has 13. The rest of the team combined has 7. If the Dawgs are going to win, it looks like it will have to be a two-man rodeo.
UPDATE 1:37, Very shady foul call on Matt Howard, who was hooked across the arm by the OSU player but got whistled for the contact nonetheless.
UPDATE 1:40, With 8:25 to go, Matt Howard makes a big 3-point play rolling to the basket. Dagws back within 6.
UPDATE 1:52, Hayward is 6 of 7 from 3-point range as Butler pulls within 2, 50-48!
UPDATE 1:55, HE DOES IT AGAIN! Tied at 51-51, and the stage is set for a big finish in Columbus.
UPDATE 2:00, Mack misses his second three in as many posessions that could have given Butler the lead. Now, with 1:03 left, Ohio State is fouled and hits a free throw to go up 54-51.
UPDATE 2:02, Evan Turner, OSU's leading scorer, misses inside and leaves the door ajar! Timeout Bulldogs, 10 seconds left, needing a 3-pointer to force overtime!
UPDATE 2:05, Hayward misses a contested 3 as time expires. The Bulldogs fall to 8-1 with a 54-51 defeat.
WRAPUP: Once the heartbreak passes, Bulldog fans can turn to this game and find evidence that this young edition of Butler basketball is legitimate. Questioned by pundits entering the season, Brad Stevens' crew showed today that their strong start could carry over in a hostile Big Ten arena. Yes, Butler shot 32% from the floor and turned over the orange 19 times. No one is saying Butler played particularly well, at least offensively. But what they did do was show real grit and star power in nearly toppling an undefeated, ranked Ohio State club. Gordon Hayward, who finished with 25, was remarkable. Between him, Matt Howard, and Shelvin Mack, I saw three players who can make the plays when needed. Going forward, that bodes well for Butler. Today, Thad Matta was fortunate to escape with a win.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Playing Catchup...
A lot has happened during the Bark's lengthy vacation. Jumping right in, and in no certain order...
--The Bulldog basketball team hasn't really cashed in on respect following their impressive run a year ago. Sure, A.J. Graves and Mike Green are gone, but Butler and its head coach Brad Stevens have shown this program to be nationally relevant. Yet pre-season mags and newspaper pundits have placed Butler as low as 5th in the Horizon League, perhaps making a grave oversight in the process. Butler may not have genuine star power (although soph F Matt Howard and fresh G Shelvin Mack show the ability) but what the team has displayed in its 5-0 start is true depth. Stevens has gotten meaningful contributions from as many as ten different players as he tries to sort through his young talent.
--Pick up a copy of ACDC's latest release, Black Ice, if you haven't already. Still solid stuff from those guys, even at this stage in their careers.
--Well, the Bark woke up Nov. 5 and saw the sun. The Dr. Pepper didn't taste any different. But nevertheless, you just had to feel totally confused by those election results. Are we that gullible as a people? Are lofty rhetoric, a fawning and obsessed media, and a scad of insanely unreachable promises all it takes to elect a candidate so unqualified? I'm told Jan. 20 will be an historic day for the USA, and I get that. I understand what this all means to the black community, and, hey, if it helps alleviate the excuses so often made by Jessie Jackson and his ilk, then Obama's victory might be worth it. But you know what: at some point, I have to say enough is enough. Simply because Barack is the first black president doesn't wash away his friendships with domestic terrorists, felons, Marxists, and racists. After all, how am I supposed to celebrate when a new chief executive, regardless if he's white, black, brown, red, or green, has spent his political career funneling taxpayer money to that lunatic Father Phleger or to steeped-in-voter-fraud groups like ACORN? The 2008 election was indeed historic, because the winner was the most far left-wing America's ever seen. And that is not a good thing. I looked forward to the inevitable day we'd elect a black man or woman to be President. Just not this one.
--Fire Charlie Weis all you want, Notre Dame. Top-notch talent still isn't going there.
--Speaking of top-notch talent, the Colts still have an abundance of it. Always have. Four losses early in the year, to the Bears, Jaguars, Packers, and Titans, were the byproduct of injuries as much as anything. Three linemen missed the Chicago game as Peyton took his first snaps since minicamp due to the knee surgeries. Bob Sanders sat against Jacksonville as the Colts didn't tackle well. Four starters missed the Packer game as the refs forgot Green Bay was also on the field. Bottom-line: the so-called turnaround shouldn't be surprising to anybody, because Indy remains one of the NFL's best teams. Simple as that.
--Exam week is coming up, and for some of us first-timers, why do I have the feeling the lifestyle of one Van Wilder will suddenly look all the more appealing come Dec. 15?
--If Washington won't loan hose billions to General Motors and Ford, I say we as citizens just go door-to-door with our little collection plates and do it ourselves! Sound good?
--Happy Holiday Shopping everybody! We encourage you to find the best deals you can. But please, leave the wildebeest impersonations at home. We don't need anymore department store casualties over a dollar off a Garmin GPS.
--The Bulldog basketball team hasn't really cashed in on respect following their impressive run a year ago. Sure, A.J. Graves and Mike Green are gone, but Butler and its head coach Brad Stevens have shown this program to be nationally relevant. Yet pre-season mags and newspaper pundits have placed Butler as low as 5th in the Horizon League, perhaps making a grave oversight in the process. Butler may not have genuine star power (although soph F Matt Howard and fresh G Shelvin Mack show the ability) but what the team has displayed in its 5-0 start is true depth. Stevens has gotten meaningful contributions from as many as ten different players as he tries to sort through his young talent.
--Pick up a copy of ACDC's latest release, Black Ice, if you haven't already. Still solid stuff from those guys, even at this stage in their careers.
--Well, the Bark woke up Nov. 5 and saw the sun. The Dr. Pepper didn't taste any different. But nevertheless, you just had to feel totally confused by those election results. Are we that gullible as a people? Are lofty rhetoric, a fawning and obsessed media, and a scad of insanely unreachable promises all it takes to elect a candidate so unqualified? I'm told Jan. 20 will be an historic day for the USA, and I get that. I understand what this all means to the black community, and, hey, if it helps alleviate the excuses so often made by Jessie Jackson and his ilk, then Obama's victory might be worth it. But you know what: at some point, I have to say enough is enough. Simply because Barack is the first black president doesn't wash away his friendships with domestic terrorists, felons, Marxists, and racists. After all, how am I supposed to celebrate when a new chief executive, regardless if he's white, black, brown, red, or green, has spent his political career funneling taxpayer money to that lunatic Father Phleger or to steeped-in-voter-fraud groups like ACORN? The 2008 election was indeed historic, because the winner was the most far left-wing America's ever seen. And that is not a good thing. I looked forward to the inevitable day we'd elect a black man or woman to be President. Just not this one.
--Fire Charlie Weis all you want, Notre Dame. Top-notch talent still isn't going there.
--Speaking of top-notch talent, the Colts still have an abundance of it. Always have. Four losses early in the year, to the Bears, Jaguars, Packers, and Titans, were the byproduct of injuries as much as anything. Three linemen missed the Chicago game as Peyton took his first snaps since minicamp due to the knee surgeries. Bob Sanders sat against Jacksonville as the Colts didn't tackle well. Four starters missed the Packer game as the refs forgot Green Bay was also on the field. Bottom-line: the so-called turnaround shouldn't be surprising to anybody, because Indy remains one of the NFL's best teams. Simple as that.
--Exam week is coming up, and for some of us first-timers, why do I have the feeling the lifestyle of one Van Wilder will suddenly look all the more appealing come Dec. 15?
--If Washington won't loan hose billions to General Motors and Ford, I say we as citizens just go door-to-door with our little collection plates and do it ourselves! Sound good?
--Happy Holiday Shopping everybody! We encourage you to find the best deals you can. But please, leave the wildebeest impersonations at home. We don't need anymore department store casualties over a dollar off a Garmin GPS.
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