Butler Defeats Number 8 Creighton

    Hinkle magic still exists, even during a pandemic. 

    On Saturday afternoon, Butler defeated the Creighton Blue Jays 70-66 in overtime at Hinkle Fieldhouse in what will surely be remembered as a classic in the history of the 93 year old basketball cathedral. Even during a pandemic where only up to 2,500 fans are allowed in Hinkle Fieldhouse, Saturday afternoon provided another episode of Hinkle magic for those in attendance. This game was a defining moment in a season for Butler which has been nothing short of unique. Only down to 8 scholarship players available to play and coming off back to back double digit losses, Butler needed a game to ignite a spark in the program. Not sure many thought it would have come Saturday afternoon against Creighton who came into Hinkle Fieldhouse with the number 8 ranking in the country and the top ranked offense in the Big East. The Blue Jays were rolling, on a six game win streak and had won 10 of their first 12 games. With a depleted Butler team struggling to find its identity this season and a surging Blue Jays team, all signs pointed to a Creighton win on Saturday. However, Butler had other ideas on this day. 

    Butler has had the notion this season of being a team who has struggled in first half's and has strong second half's. Saturday was the complete opposite. Butler came out strong and built a seven point halftime lead 32-25. It was Butler's best first half of the season, The Bulldogs had shut down the high powered Creighton offense in the first half by allowing the fewest points Creighton has scored in the first 20 minutes of a ballgame since last season(which ironically came against Butler at Hinkle when they scored 24 points on January 4th, 2020). Butler had built its largest first half lead of the season on a 7-0 run in the final minutes. Things were looking good. Freshman Myles Tate and Chuck Harris had 7 points each in the half, Senior Aaron Thompson had 8 points and Bryce Nze had 6 points. There was a good balance of scoring. Butler which has been plagued by turnovers this year only had one turnover. There was a spark and energy from the Dawgs that hadn't been seen much during this season. Butler hit their first shot of the second half and built a 35-25 lead. Things were going well and then Creighton all of the sudden couldn't miss and went on a run and things changed very quickly and drastically. 

    After falling behind 35-25, Creighton proceeded to go on a 26-3 run, yes you read that correctly. 26-3 run. Creighton was lead by their sharpshooter Denzel Mahoney who scored 23 of his 29 points in the second half and the Blue Jays came out firing and proceeded to put Butler in a double digit deficit in the blink of an eye it seemed. Mahoney scored 12 straight points in one stretch. Butler became unraveled. After having a great first half and making their first shot of the second half, Butler proceeded to miss their next 14 shots in a row. Creighton built a 51-38 lead. Butler had gone 10 minutes of not making a single bucket. Things were looking bleak. Creighton was now playing like the 8th ranked team in the country and Butler was struggling immensely. with less than 10 minutes left to play, Butler needed an answer and soon. 

    Senior graduate transfer Jair Bolden, who has been the best three point shooter for the Bulldogs this season made a three from the left wing to get Butler's first basket in over ten minutes. Thus the turnaround had begun. After Creighton went on their run, Butler fought back in the closing minutes with several runs including an 11-0 run near the end of the second half. Butler tied the game at 62 after Freshman Myles Wilmoth made a jump shot on the baseline. Analytics online had the Bulldogs probability of winning the game at just 2 percent when they were down 51-38 with less than ten minutes to play. Having several good looks at the basket in the final seconds to possibly win the game, Butler couldn't get one to fall and the buzzer sounded. Now the game was headed for overtime. An improbable comeback for such a young Butler team. However to really make a statement, the Dawgs had to finish off Creighton in OT. 

    Creighton started out overtime making their first two shots to go up 66-62 with four minutes to go. Freshman Myles Tate then hit a three pointer from the top of the key in transition to cut the lead to 66-65. Butler then took the lead for good on the next possession after Aaron Thompson slipped a pass on the baseline to Bryce Nze for the lay up to make it 67-66. Myles Tate then sealed the game with 30 seconds when he drove in the lane and hit a floater after a hop step as he was falling backwards. Butler wins 70-66. The comeback was complete and these young Bulldogs had their biggest win of the season. 

    Butler was led by Senior Aaron Thompson who had 17 points and 6 assists. Three other Bulldogs scored in double figures including Senior Bryce Nze who had 15 points, Freshman Myles Tate had 15 as well and Freshman Chuck Harris finished with 10 points. Creighton was led by Denzel Mahoney who finished with 29 points. Creighton also had scores in double figures with Christian Bishop scoring 10 and Damien Jefferson who finished with 12 points. 

    Butler has had Creighton's number at Hinkle, The Dawgs have won four in a row over the Blue Jays and have won 6 out of 8 against Creighton at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler's record goes to 4-7 while Creighton falls to 10-3. This win may not look like much right now but in the long run this game will give Butler the confidence it needs for the future. There is potential for this team. It will just take some time. Having three weeks off with no practice or games earlier in the year dur to a covid outbreak within the program, it set Butler back and they have been learning on the fly this season. This win helps Butler for the future in showing the young guys that they can play with the top teams in the country and they can win these tough games. They overcame adversity on Saturday and that will only help them in the long run. This game could be the spark the Butler basketball team needs for this season and possibly in the next few years.