#23 BUTLER 66, INDIANA 64

NCAA BB HOOSIER CLASSIC
FINAL 1ST 2ND TOTAL --- --- ----- BUTLER (23) 34 32 66 INDIANA 35 29 64 FINAL
HIGH SCORERS: BUTLER - THOMAS JACKSON 14, BRANDON MILLER 13, DARNELL ARCHEY 10 INDIANA - JARED JEFFRIES 18, THREE PLAYERS WITH 12
HIGH REBOUND: BUTLER - THOMAS JACKSON 5, JOEL CORNETTE 5 INDIANA - JEFFREY NEWTON 8, JARED JEFFRIES 7
HIGH ASSISTS: BUTLER - THOMAS JACKSON 7, BRANDON MILLER 4 INDIANA - TOM COVERDALE 6, GEORGE LEACH 3
ATT: 16,471

Box Score
BUTLER (66) fg ft rb min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp Cornette 34 4-8 0-1 3-5 2 4 8 Hainje 23 3-5 0-0 1-2 0 5 8 Robisch 35 3-7 0-0 1-3 0 3 7 Miller 36 3-7 4-4 0-4 4 2 13 Jackson 36 4-13 6-8 1-5 7 2 14 Archey 21 3-7 2-2 0-2 2 1 10 Monserez 15 2-4 0-0 0-2 0 3 6 _______________________________________________ TOTALS 200 22-51 12-15 6-23 15 20 66 _______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.431, FT-.800. 3-Point Goals: 10-19, .526 (Hainje 2-3, Robisch 1-2, Miller 3-5, Jackson 0-1, Archey 2-4, Monserez 2-4). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 1 (Cornette). Turnovers: 9 (Hainje 5, Jackson 2, Cornette, Monserez). Steals: 5 (Jackson 3, Miller, Monserez).
INDIANA (64) fg ft rb min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp Jeffries 40 6-12 6-9 1-7 1 1 18 Leach 18 0-0 0-0 0-3 3 1 0 Coverdale 39 3-10 5-6 0-3 6 4 12 Fife 35 4-7 0-0 0-3 1 3 12 Hornsby 33 4-9 0-0 0-6 1 3 12 Moye 12 1-1 2-2 1-1 0 0 4 Perry 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Newton 22 3-6 0-0 6-8 2 3 6 _______________________________________________ TOTALS 200 21-45 13-17 8-31 14 15 64 _______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.467, FT-.765. 3-Point Goals: 9-16, .563 (Jeffries 0-1, Coverdale 1-4, Fife 4-4, Hornsby 4-7). Team rebounds: 1. Blocked shots: 5 (Leach 3, Jeffries, Newton). Turnovers: 12 (Newton 4, Fife 2, Hornsby 2, Coverdale, Leach, Moye, Perry). Steals: 3 (Fife, Jeffries, Leach). __________________________________ Butler 34 32 - 66 Indiana 35 29 - 64 __________________________________ Technical fouls: Indiana 1 (). A: 16,471. Officials: Ed Hightower, Mike Sanzere, Tom Clark.

DAVE'S POSTGAME ANALYSIS
There were two winning streaks on the line heading into this game: Butler had won 12 straight to being the season, and Indiana was 39-0 over the 20-year history of their Hoosier Classic. Fortunately for Butler fans, it was the Hoosiers' streak that ended as Joel Cornette jammed home a put-back dunk of a Thomas Jackson miss with just over three seconds remaining to give Butler a 66-64 victory in the championship of the Hoosier Classic. The Hoosiers got out to a quick start thanks to some hot shooting from Kyle Hornsby and Dane Fife, but the Bulldogs pulled to within one at halftime, 35-34. Indiana took a nine point lead in the second half, but as they have done so many times this season, Butler refused to give up and went on a 10-0 run to regain the lead. Butler had a 64-62 lead late in the game when IU's Jeff Newton scored off of an offensive rebound to tie things up at 64 with 17 seconds remaining. Butler Coach Lickliter opted not to call a timeout, trusting his veteran club to be able to finish the game. Jackson controlled the ball for a few seconds, then drove down the right side of the lane and put up a tough shot that bounced off. But IU's Jared Jeffries got caught watching the shot instead of blocking out his man, and Cornette flew in from the left block and threw down a two-handed jam that proved to be the game-winner. IU quickly inbounded and got the ball down the court, but Tom Coverdale's attempt at either a shot or a pass (not quite sure which) fell well short of either the goal or Jeffries underneath, the horn sounded, and Butler got the win.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jackson. What more could you ask from your point guard? He led Butler in scoring (14), rebounding (5), and assists (7). Despite shooting just 4-of-13 from the field, he played a solid 36 minutes and earned tournament MVP honors for his effort. His seven assists gave him 455 for his career and moved him to within two of second place all-time at Butler behind Jeff Rogers' 457. Tim Bowen's 471 are just 16 away now. Oh, and TJ had three steals too, and just two turnovers.
Another great team effort led to another great win. Brandon Miller finished with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Darnell Archey had 10 points off the bench. Cornette added 8 points and 5 rebounds. Rylan Hainje had 8 points prior to fouling out. Scott Robisch added 7 points. Mike Monserez had 6 points on two huge three-pointers which helped Butler dig out of that nine point hole in the second half. IU was led by Jeffries' 18 points.
Butler is the best team in the state of Indiana, hands down. The Bulldogs are 13-0, with wins over Purdue, Indiana State, Evansville, Ball State, and Indiana. If you would have told me pre-season that we'd be 13-0 heading into league play I probably would have laughed at your optimism. I love this team, but 13-0 is so far beyond the best I could have hoped for. This team continues to win, continues to play the Butler way, and continues to amaze and impress me. My hat's off to Coach Lickliter, the players, and the support staff for the Bulldogs. You deserve every accolade you receive and then some.

The Bulldogs will ring in the new year and then jump right into Horizon League play. First up are the Wright State Raiders. Game time is Wednesday, January 2, at 7 p.m. EST. Come out to Hinkle and support the UNDEFEATED AND NATIONALLY RANKED BUTLER BULLDOGS!!! Hope to see you there!

User comments

Arch from Chicago, IL:

"UNDEFEATED AND NATIONALLY RANKED BUTLER BULLDOGS!!!"

That looks awesome! We need at least 8,000 Bulldog fans there 
Wednesday.

WarDog from Indianapolis, IN:

A few things I noticed from the trenches in Conseco, behind the IU 
bench, courtesy of a nice scalper.

On a night when f-bombs were raining down from the stands courtesy of 
the Big Redneck contingent, and the coach of the host school ranted 
continually, the team with the biggest heart and the most composure and 
maturity won the Ameritech Hoosier Classic.  I was so proud of our team, 
they really gutted it out and took it to IU.  Rylan's timely comments 
about our fans were right on, and I have to think that our team truly 
appreciates the support they get.  Most of the Blue Crew got consigned to 
the upper deck, but we never backed down, and I've got the busted voice 
to prove it.  That was flat out awesome, we competed hard and smart and 
deserved to win the game.  Once again, we played with humility and 
respect for our opponents and it equaled a huge win.  The Butler Way.

We were cheering like mad the whole time for our boys in blue, but the 
horrendous behavior by the Big Redneck fans was a joke.  With kids and 
old folks sprinkled all around, we got treated to some real classy 
stuff.  Hightower continually berated at top volume as a "fargin icehole", 
"blind motherfreaker", BU fans who were just standing and cheering 
screamed at to "sit down and shut the freak up", etc., etc.  As I watched 
the faces of the children sitting in the next seats, it made me so proud 
to be from this state.  Hey, I'd put our ignorant rednecks (did any of 
these GED rejects ever even sign up for a class in Bloomington?) up 
against those city boys from Philly and NYC any day.  What a treat.  In so 
many ways, IU and the Big Redneck fans showed their true colors at 
Conseco.

Speaking of profanity, Mike Davis rode the refs all night (harder than 
Pat Riley in MSG) and should have been lit up earlier.  He deserved a 
technical, if not for the one particular play, then for his cumulative 
bitching.  His lack of discipline turned the game in our favor, we 
finally got our ugly Bulldog nose in front courtesy of his tirades and IU 
was forced to play from behind the rest of the way.  He must have watched 
the Samford tape and noticed how well a good technical worked for them, 
thanks Mike.  

By the way, if Davis wants a lesson in how to address the press and the 
subject of officiating after a tough loss, he needs to roll the tape of 
Barry Collier after the Florida game in 1999.  I'm not going to pass 
judgement on Davis, he accepted an impossible position, but his amazing 
press conference performance clearly defined his character for me.  Was 
I the only one who noticed that the coach of the host school bailed on 
the awards ceremony?  Enough said.

Since we're talking officiating, which team was called for the most 
fouls?  Which team shot the fewest free throws?  Which team had their 
leading scorer foul out with the leading rebounder soon to follow?  Hint, 
it was NOT the host school, Mr. Conspiracy Theory.  Were there bad 
calls?  Yes.  Welcome to the imperfect game we call basketball.  I could sit 
here and bitch all night about TJ getting hammered in the lane without 
a whistle, but I'll leave the whining to others. 

And speaking of that subject, Dane Fife, who owns the shapest elbows in 
the state, was well on his way to earning a T as well, what a wonderful 
combination of whiner/flopper that guy is.  I used to admire his 
hustle, but after seeing him try to hurt Chris Williams (just try to explain 
his actions in ANY other way) in the IU-Ball State game earlier this 
year, I watched him closely at Conseco.  Suffice to say I was left with 
an empty feeling.  The fact that he hid in the locker room after the 
game (shouldn't you have to be present to win a prize?)filled in any 
remaining doubts I had about that Michigander.  When he decided to be a no 
show they should have picked one of the Samford kids instead.  If Fife's 
also looking for tips on how to behave after a loss, he can roll tape 
on LaVall Jordan after that same Florida-BU game.  Jordan sucked it up 
and faced the press like a man.  Enough said.

You know, it is just possible that the Florida-BU game was a great 
picure into The Butler Way.  We played our hearts out, gave credit to our 
opponents, and rededicated ourselves to winning, something that 
ultimately came to bear fruit in Kansas City.  We turned a negative into a 
positive, and continued to build our program, even when the chips were down 
and we could have packed it in.  I wonder which team I would want to 
take a kid to see for an autograph session after a tough loss, Butler or 
IU?  Oh wait, they would actually have to show up after the game, so I 
guess that's not really a fair question.

These Dogs have really made me proud in 2001, here's hoping that we 
continue to improve in 2002.  We need some convincing performances in the 
conference to solidify our seed and get the Iron 5+2 some rest.  We 
desperately need to start developing our bench, and I think we will.  The 
coach of any mid major knows how vital the non conference season is to 
your standing in the eyes of the committee, and right now, we are 
standing tall.  We are going to be the biggest scalp in the Sunset, the BU 
game is circled in red for everybody, so we need to step on the gas 
every night.  Lets fill up the old barn and take this thing all the way 
home.  Couldn't be more proud of our team and our fans.

War Dogs

(then in a subsequent submission from WarDog):

One More Thing.......

I got so wrapped up in my first post that I forgot to say how impressed 
I was that Joel not only slammed home the winning put back with extra 
flavor, but instead of instantly going into celebration mode (am I the 
only one who notices that IU's #1 acts like he just won the national 
championship after EVERY bucket?) he hustled back and was dogging 
Coverdale all the way downcourt, effectively sealing the victory at both ends 
of the floor.

Just had to get that in, because I think it says a lot about how we 
approach the game, 40 minutes of solid, smart effort.  And speaking of 
IU's #1, could he have walked any more slowly out to center court to be 
recognized on the all tournament team?  Classy.  The IU Way.

War Dogs !!

MikeH from Cincinnati, OH:

I am a retired (after 25 years) basketball official.  I attended the 
games Friday and Saturday nights.  I went to high school with Tom Clark, 
worked games with both Tom and Mike Sanzere and respected Ed Hightower 
for his accomplishments as an official.  But I was disappointed with Ed 
for the way he interacted with Coach Davis.  I know he was trying to 
placate Davis and this was a holiday tournament . . .  

After retiring, I observed officials for one of the high school leagues 
in Cincinnati for a couple years.  If I was an observer for the game 
Saturday night, my comments to the crew would be: overall they controlled 
the game, they called the game the way both teams were playing and that 
Ed (as the referee) didn't take charge soon enough - he certainly had 
the opportunities.  Coach Davis didn't show much respect for the rules 
exceeding the limits for coaches (on the floor, going past the line) nor 
for the officials.  Coach Lickliter played it cool.  He worked within 
the limits, talked (not berated) to the officials and showed them 
repsect.  

If Ed had taken charge of the game ealier the ending may have turned 
out differently.  I don't know what would have happened - either no "T" 
or a "T" sooner with a following strategy change, I don't know.  

I hope the Big Ten Office will take Davis' comments and hold him 
responsible, then take the appropriate measures against Davis.  He knows 
better, he has to take responsibility.  He knows "it depends on where you 
stand on the court as to what you see and therefore call, foul or no 
foul!"

I've gone on too much . . .

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