The Butler Bulldogs might have Final Four talent in the eyes of many college basketball observers, but on a December Tuesday inside Madison Square Garden, the highly-esteemed mid-major program realized exactly what its main weakness is.

In the future, Butler and coach Brad Stevens could greatly benefit from what they saw against the Georgetown Hoyas in New York’s venerable arena, but in the present moment, the freshness of defeat possesses a considerable sting. The boys from Indianapolis wanted to make a splash in this tilt between two top-25 teams, but a seven-point setback will leave a bitter taste on the plane flight out of the Big Apple.

So will the memory of a man named Monroe.

The first, last and most central reason why Butler bowed to the Hoyas was Greg Monroe, Georgetown’s 6-11 center. The sophomore from New Orleans consistently thwarted the heavyweight of the Horizon League at both ends of the floor, using a variegated and well-developed arsenal to dominate in many different ways.

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At the offensive end, Monroe used his much-improved and cat-quick footwork to maneuver to the rim for easy looks. Monroe carries his 250-pound body with noticeable ease on the court, and that level of agility was too much for Butler forwards Matt Howard and Avery Jukes, who both fouled out primarily because Monroe was too much of a load inside. By scoring in double figures in both halves (14 in the first half, 10 in the second), Monroe gave coach John Thompson III a consistent scoring presence while also forcing the Bulldogs’ defense to collapse in the attempt to provide double-teams and other forms of help.

On defense, Monroe was just as active and influential as a game-changer. He blocked only two shots (along with teammate Julian Vaughn), but the Hoyas’ main man in the middle altered numerous attempts by Butler guards who worked toward the rim only to find a presence who wasn’t just tall (at 6-11), but also long. Many analysts talk about how “size matters” in basketball, but the concept that gets frequently overlooked is “length,” which refers not to pure height but to a player’s wingspan. Monroe is tall but also long, and those vine-like limbs clearly threw off the Bulldogs on their forays to the tin. The fact that Butler was somewhat gun-shy on drives to the basket made the Bulldogs hoist more threes than they should have. While Georgetown was an economical 6-of-14 (43 percent) from 3-point range, Butler went 8-of-25 (32 percent). The teams’ long-distance shooting totals help explain why Butler made three fewer field goals (19 to Georgetown’s 22) despite shooting 14 more shots in the game (62 to Georgetown’s 48).

Why did Butler get 14 more shot attempts? The Bulldogs hounded Georgetown’s guards and wings before they could pass the ball to Monroe, or after Monroe reset a possession by kicking the ball out to his backcourt mates. The Hoyas coughed up 20 turnovers to Butler’s 9, but when given those extra shot opportunities, the students of Brad Stevens were influenced by Georgetown’s mighty Mr. Monroe, who also snared 15 rebounds, two more than Butler’s top two rebounders combined. (Gordon Hayward led Butler with seven boards, while Howard had 6, for a total of 13.)

So, the truth has been revealed: Butler could still have a sensational season, but if the Bulldogs’ opponents possess an imposing and athletically gifted center, Stevens and his coaching staff will have to find a way to compensate for their lack of interior size and beef. It’s good to find these things out in December; if a good team in March can bring a bold big man to the Big Dance, Butler will have its hands full. Now is the time to start finding answers to the Bulldogs’ most alarming deficiencies.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer