Houston Pummels Butler In The Paint, Dawgs Shoot Poorly In 79-51 Loss

Source: Alex Slitz / Getty

HOUSTON — Butler returned to Houston for the first time since their magical 2011 season on Saturday. They were given a rude awakening as the #17 Cougars manhandled the Bulldogs 79-51.

The first half was simply a game of who could have a slower start. The slower start was for the Bulldogs who missed six shots in a row from the opening tip. The Cougars were only slightly better as they jumped out to a whopping 12-3 lead by the time ten minutes had come and gone in the half.

Though Butler’s defense was adequate, it was more of the fact that the Cougars were not shooting well that kept Butler in the ballgame early on.

What also helped was the sharp shooting of Patrick McCaffery who hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the half to cut the lead to single digits. But, Butler’s inability to stop Houston in the paint made it a 28-18 halftime deficit.

Butler was outscored 14-to-0 in the paint in the first half and only hit one shot from inside the arc.

Things did not improve in the second half even though Butler finally found some footing inside with Pierre Brooks, Augusto Cassia, and McCaffery. Still, the Dawgs could not compete in the paint on the defensive side as Houston kept hitting shot after shot from close range.

The Cougars also dominated the glass, wracking up four blocked shots, most of them on Andre Screen who had a tough night overall.

A flurry of 3-point shots late in the second half by LJ Cryer and Emmanuel Sharp put the game permanently out of reach for the Dawgs.

The loss snaps a six-game win streak for the Bulldogs coming off their championship performance in the Arizona Tip-Off. It also keeps Houston’s home win streak rolling, the longest active home win streak in the nation at 26 games.

Patrick McCaffery and Augusto Cassia handled the bulk of the scoring for the Bulldogs. McCaffery finished with 11 points as did Cassia. Jahmyl Telfort had a glaringly sluggish performance only mustering four points as the team’s leading scorer for the season (18 ppg). 

As a team, the game marked the worst statistical shooting performance of the season as the Dawgs shot a dismal 28% from the field (13-of-46). They were pummeled in the paint as well getting outscored 28-to-6 in that regard.

Butler will lick its wounds from the shellacking when they return to Hinkle Fieldhouse in three days against North Dakota State. It will be their final non-conference game at home this season.

Houston Pummels Butler In The Paint, Dawgs Shoot Poorly In 79-51 Loss  was originally published on ronewibc.staging.go.ione.nyc