Perhaps reports of the Bulldogs demise were a bit premature. After looking lost early in the season without departed star Gordon Hayward, Butler appears to finally be hitting their stride.
Butler cruised to the finals in the Diamondhead Classic in Honolulu after dispatching Florida State last night 67-64. The game wasn't as close as the score as Butler held a double digit lead for most of the second half. Butler was led by some familiar faces as Shelvin Mack scored 17 and Matt Howard added 19.
Butler's opponent in the final might be surprising to some (but not us at MarchManiacs.com, not to toot our prognosticating horn but HONK HONK). Washington State and Klay Thompson defeated #15 Baylor, despite 29 points by LaceDarius Dunn.
Washington State appears poised to enter the Top 25 for the first time under coach Ken Bone, regardless of Christmas Day's outcome. Wazzou sits at 10-1, with quality wins over Baylor, Mississippi State and Gonzaga; the last two in absolutely dominating fashion.
Things were looking a little bleak in historic Hinkle Fieldhouse after an early season blowout loss at Louisville and the subsequent loss to lowly Evansville. The 12-point loss at Duke was actually an encouraging sign, and a two-point loss to Xavier is nothing to be ashamed of, but a 4-4 record was. Given the relative weakness of the Horizon League, Butler was facing the very real possibility of needing to win their conference tournament to even get a chance to repeat their National Final run of a year ago.
Now, at 8-4 with consecutive wins over Florida State, Utah and Stanford the future is looking a little brighter. A win Saturday over Wazzou would be huge, as the Bulldogs won't see another ranked opponent the remainder of the season.
The Horizon League is the 9th rated league currently. It is consistently the most underrated league in the country.
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