Butler needs two role players to step up

It goes without saying that Duke is the favorite tonight. They are a good basketball team with a couple of talented kids playing their best basketball of the season. They have size, they can shoot, they have a talented back court, they defend, they rebound the ball. While they certainly aren't one of the great Duke teams and while they will probably not be mentioned among the greatest title teams of all-time should they win, it doesn't make a win tonight any less impressive.

As the favorite, its tough to define a key to the game tonight for Duke other than not allowing Butler's style of play to take control. If Duke plays their A game, Butler doesn't stand a chance.

So how does Butler prevent Duke from playing their A game? We've touched on that, but it really comes down to two unsung role players:


Ronald Nored: Butler relies heavily on their defensive ability, and Nored is arguably the best of the group. A 6'0", 174 lb point guard, Nored averages just 6.0 ppg, but his value is quantified by the numbers of Butler's opponent. Nored is the guy that draws the assignment of an opponent's best perimeter player, and he has done an admirable job shutting down all comers. In this tournament alone, Nored has been the reason that talents like Randy Culpepper, Andy Rautins, Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente, and Durrell Summers were slowed. Tonight he will be matched up with Jon Scheyer or Nolan Smith (our money is on Smith). Keeping those two from getting into a rhythm is vital to Butler's hopes.

It will be huge for Butler if Nored can slow down whoever he is matched up with tonight.
(photo credit: MSNBC)

Andrew Smith: Matt Howard largely has been a non-factor in the tournament, as his averages have dipped to 7.0 ppg and 4.0 rpg. Whether its foul trouble, injury issues, or matchup problems, last year's Horizon player of the year has been relegated to role-playing duty these last five games. Given Duke's size and ability on the glass, Butler is going to need all the front court players they can run out there. It is also a fairly safe assumption that Howard will be in foul trouble at some point in this game. He's played just 15 minutes in the tournament and has seen action in only 23 games this season, but Smith played a key 12 minutes in Butler's win over Kansas State, a team very similar to Duke. Expect the 6'11" freshman to see some minutes tonight, and Butler will need a similar effort to the one he provided against the Wildcats.


There is one other issue that will come to light. Butler basically has two scorers on their roster -- Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack. No one other than those two has reached double figures in the last two games. These two are good for 15-20 points on a given night, which is fine when a game is played in the 50's. But Duke is a very good offensive team, and I would expect this one to be played in the high 60's or low 70's. At that rate, Hayward and Mack may not be enough to carry the Bulldogs.

So who is steps up as the third scorer?

Willie Veasley had 13 against Syracuse. Nored went for 15 and 6 assists against Murray State. Howard had 11 in the win over UTEP. Butler will need to find points outside of Hayward and Mack tonight if they want to have a shot at winning.