Butler Game Thread

Shot over 50% two games in a row and almost 40% from three over the three wins.

Branch 8 assists and 0 T/O's on the road.

We are the  bottom of the barrel as far as assists  concerned and Branch supplies 8 today. That can change the attitude of a team.

I'll say it again, Branch has some serious potential. Good passer, but would actually like to see him look to score more.

 Barring foul trouble, there should never be another 30+ minute game for Green... As far as starting goes, I would Start Branch, but I'm not going to kick and scream if Green starts.. As long as Branch gets 20-25 min a game, I'm good.   

Loved the shot selection as a whole today. The combination if branch, dlo and Jordan really allows us to play uptempo and under control. Still would like to see Sanchez set up more on block and take mid range jumpers, while time to  time creating mismatches at the foul line to take man off dribble  but he really is a great weapon for us.

Gift too, has been playing well and liked his aggressiveness lately and Sampson played like the raining BE ROY.

Happy for team. 3 in row regardless of who you play can lead to a whole lot bigger things.

Branch  has such a knack for getting others involved.  His 8 assist today were no fluke, he just needed to be inserted into the right rotation for him to do it  with.  Letting him run point with Jordan on wing, let's Jordan be at his best as a combo guard.

Opportunity knocked on Branch and he delivered. Hope to get more in the future.

Also thought Lavin did a good job of rotation and TO management tonight. When Hooper checked in, they ran a play for him and countered Butler's over aggression on D which led to Hooper 3.

Mixed up Obekpa and Sanchez well and did a good job of giving starters short rests.

Good win in tough environment.

Nice win.   Say what you want about it being just 1 game, and Butler not being great, but there were times today when we played some pretty good basketball.
This was just a good win.  Not perfect, but everyone played solid and efficient basketball.  There's not a lot to dislike about a game like this.

Real happy for the guys.   Maybe things are coming together. 
But, for the life of me I can't understand why it took coach until now to start giving Branch big minutes, and playing him with Rysheed and D'angelo.   That seemed like an obvious move to a lot of us even in November. 

In fairness, early on the Branch - Jordan suffered from role uncertainty...didn't seem like either was sure who should be running point...as the season has gone on, it is apparent that Jordan can play off ball so Branch can assume the point role...worked great today...

 I really hope we get a chance to see how great Jordan can be in a few years.  By the time he's a junior...watch out.

 ( cue the Baldi response -- " For Temple")


 I can say his play has elevated tremendously as the season has gone on.   Is that development? or no? 

There's really no excuse anymore for branch to not be running the point IMO

I'll say it again, Branch has some serious potential. Good passer, but would actually like to see him look to score more.

I agree with this. Jordan is by far a better finisher at the rim, but Branch has an unbelievably quick first step. He blew past his defenders multiple times today. It really can't be said enough how great it is to have both of them on the floor at once, two really skilled passers, along with D'lo who can score from nearly anywhere on the floor.

We played hard, tough, poised and I though Lavin coached a great game. Hopefully some momentum is starting to build, This Creighton game is gonna be huge

As bad as Butler maybe this year SJU gave them their worse home loss since 93-94 season against Xavier.

 http://nypost.com/2014/01/25/red-storm-top-butler-for-third-straight-win/

Opportunity knocked on Branch and he delivered. Hope to get more in the future.

Also thought Lavin did a good job of rotation and TO management tonight. When Hooper checked in, they ran a play for him and countered Butler's over aggression on D which led to Hooper 3.

Mixed up Obekpa and Sanchez well and did a good job of giving starters short rests.

Good win in tough environment.

Asterisk next to Lavin rotation only because Greene being sick helped simplify things for him. But yes for two games in a row(didn't watch Dartmouth game) I did not have any real problem with anything Lavin did. I guess what he meant by end of January / February was not that that was when team would come together but rather when HE would finally figure out what he was doing.

One of Branch's finest moments was towards the end when DLo was determined to drive and the Butler defenders converged on him. He surrendered the ball to Branch who immediately went for the basket and caught the defense just catching their breath from DLo's threat. That's basketball smarts.

When given the opportunity to play without being worried to get hooked Branch is a real pleasure to watch. When was the last time a St. John's player had 8 assists in a game? Oh yea, it was branch last year. He's the best passer we've had since Cook. He needs 25+ mins from here on out and this season might not be a waste.

Why is everyone going gaga over the offense today?  We scored 69 points.  Against the Hall 77;  Providence 67; DePaul 75; and Villanova 67.  Plus we had a season/almost impossibly low 5 free throws total.

Logic dictates that the defense and rebounding should be getting most of the praise in this effort.

Why is everyone going gaga over the offense today?  We scored 69 points.

Because we got the W.

Why is everyone going gaga over the offense today?  We scored 69 points.  Against the Hall 77;  Providence 67; DePaul 75; and Villanova 67.  Plus we had a season/almost impossibly low 5 free throws total.

Logic dictates that the defense and rebounding should be getting most of the praise in this effort.

Because there was more of a flow to the offense, we looked better in the halfcourt than we've looked all season, we got more open looks than we've gotten all season, seemed like we had more points in the paint than we've had all season, and Branch consistently got into the lane and either finished or drew and dished to an open man.

Why is everyone going gaga over the offense today?  We scored 69 points.  Against the Hall 77;  Providence 67; DePaul 75; and Villanova 67.  Plus we had a season/almost impossibly low 5 free throws total.

Logic dictates that the defense and rebounding should be getting most of the praise in this effort.

Because with Greene out of the line up, a point guard was out there running something. That something was the offense. If our next game has Greene starting, and it has the ball in his hands, Creighton is going to eat us alive. The Greene experiment should be over now.