One of the most intriguing matchups of the second round on paper, Butler and Texas put on quite a show at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was an intense contest, each team making runs and individual players stepping up for each squad throughout. When the dust settled, it was the Butler Bulldogs standing tall, thanks to good ball control, physicality and clutch shots down the stretch. They held off the much taller yet sloppy Texas Longhorns by a score of 56-48 on Thursday afternoon.
It was a slow start to the game, with minimal scoring coming from either side. Butler was able to maintain control of the game, however, by consistently controlling the tempo. They jumped out to a quick lead and maintained it for much of the first half. Their ability to quickly shift from running the floor at a high tempo to slowing the ball down in the half court allowed them to maintain control. At the same time, Texas struggled to shoot or rebound well, at one point having more turnovers than field goals late in the half. The Bulldogs' lead reached 11, but that was when Texas started to turn the tide. Thanks to a great run by Jonathan Holmes, Texas cut the lead down to two headed into the break.
The second half started out much more competitive than the first. Holmes continued his hot streak, nailing a three-pointer to give Texas a lead at 27-26. The teams would trade buckets and free throws for several minutes, with neither team able to break away. Not quite halfway through the period, Butler's Roosevelt Jones landed awkwardly on his leg, which forced him off the court for several minutes. Despite this, Butler actually made a large run, building up a nine-point lead while their star was oof the court. Texas clawed back though, even with Jones on the court. The Longhorns slowly climbed back into the game, led by a strong performance from point guard Isaiah Taylor, who went on a run in which he scored 12 of Texas' 14 points. Despite the effort, however, Butler made plenty of clutch free throws down the stretch and they closed the game out, 56-48.
Jonathan Holmes was Texas' leading scorer, pouring 15 points along with grabbing 5 boards. Isaiah Taylor also contributed 14, 12 of them coming late in the second half. Myles Turner and Connor Lamert had very similar stat lines on the afternoon, with each pulling in 10 rebounds while scoring just 2 points a piece. Texas did a very poor job of controlling the ball on Thursday, turning it over 15 times.
Kellen Dunham was the game's leading scorer, pouring in 20 points on 5/14 shooting, along with going 8/11 from the free throw line. No other Bulldogs scored in double digits, however Kameron Woods did score 9 and grabbed 9 boards. Rooselvelt Jones led Butler in assists with four.
A disappointing loss seems to be the most apropos ending possible for a highly disappointing Texas Longhorns season. In a year which many pundits and fans predicted them to unseat Kansas as the champions of the Big 12, they barely slide into the big dance and will be exiting after one game. The future of this roster, and of head coach Rick Barnes, will be a very interesting headline this offseason. For Butler, their tournament run will continue. Next up, they will face off with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. 3rd-seeded Notre Dame barely fended off 14th-seeded Northeastern in the first game on Thursday.