(1) Butler 70, (2) Wright State 45

The Big Picture: No madness occurred in Indianapolis Tuesday night, as Butler (28-4), winners of 20 games in a row – 20 games! – took care of business and took Wright State (20-12) behind the woodshed in a 25-point rout.  To be fair to the Raiders, playing the Horizon League final at atmospheric Hinkle Fieldhouse, Butler’s home court, transformed an already-challenging task into a college hoops version of scaling Mount Everest.  Brad Stevens’s squad can now officially begin thinking about what sort of seed it’s going to get while Wright State has to see whether it’s headed for the NIT or the College Basketball Invitational.

The Good: There was a clinic conducted at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Tuesday, and it came whenever Butler had the rock.  Paced by Shelvin Mack’s 5-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-6 behind the arc, the Bulldogs shot 52 % from the field for the game.  A good rule of thumb is that when a team makes more than half its shots from the field in a championship game, it’s more than likely going to win.  And, ummm, yeah, Butler sure did win tonight.

Beyond the superlative shooting, what makes the Bulldogs such a great team is their balance.  Mack may have led the way in the Horizon League final, but each of Butler’s big six – Matt Howard, Gordon Hayward, Ronald Nored, Willie Veasley, Zach Hahn, and Mack – scored at least 8 points in Wednesday’s triumph. That sort of balance makes for a tough out and is the stuff of a deep March run.

The Bad: Pity poor Wright State.  The deck was stacked against the Raiders from the get-go.  Surprisingly for a team with their experience, they wilted inside Hinkle Fieldhouse.  Brad Brownell’s club typically takes good care of the rock, but the Raiders turned it over 15 teams versus Butler.  That’s just too many times versus an excellent Butler team playing on its home court.

The Ugly: Wowzers, did the Raiders ever pick the wrong time to misfire from the field.  Wright State made 37.4 % of its triples on the season.  Versus Butler tonight, with a trip to the Big Dance on the line, the boys from Dayton, Ohio, were 2-of-20.  The temptation may be to say that Butler’s defense was the reason for Wright State’s struggles behind the arc, but the Raiders were just clanking decent looks all game.

Next: Both Butler and Wright State are playing the waiting game, but for very different reasons.  The Bulldogs can gather around the telly on Sunday and see where they’re seeded in the Big Dance (our guess is a 5-seed) and who their opponent is. The Raiders are going to be hoping the NIT comes calling.  So far, with most regular season champs winning their conference tournaments, there is a decent chance that’s the post-season tournament Wright State will end up playing in.

By: Tim Coyne
DFN Sports Guest Writer