Butler will need Rotnei Clarke against Temple
By COLLIN O’CONNOR
ISL Correspondent
Coming off of a tough loss that came down to the buzzer against La Salle on Wednesday, this matchup against Temple on Saturday can be a very important game for Butler. So, it is definitely fortunate for the Bulldogs that their best scorer and senior leader, Rotnei Clarke, will return from a neck injury he suffered January 12 at Dayton.
The Bulldogs still managed to knock off Richmond and Gonzaga without their star, but the loss at La Salle exposed a weakness that an able Clarke could eliminate. The Bulldogs are averaging 73 points per game with Clarke on the floor and just 59.7 without him.
Still, it may take a couple of games for him to completely get into the swing of things. Add that to the fact that Temple has shown a flair for playing well in big games this season, and this makes for an interesting matchup on Saturday night.
Inconsistency is a big contributor to Temple’s 13-5 record, but it has played especially well against two of the top teams in the country in knocking off Syracuse and going down to the wire against Kansas, only to fall short at the end.
The key in both of those games offensively for the Owls was their leading scorer Khalif Wyatt. Averaging just over 17 points per game, he went off for 25 points against Kansas and 33 in the win over Syracuse. However, Wyatt averaged just 11 points per game in losses to Xavier and Canisius, shooting 29.6% from the field.
Playing against a team that is looking to rebound off of a Wednesday loss and is ranked in the Top 10 in the country, it is going to be very important for Temple to find ways to get Wyatt in the scoring column. Getting him his looks early can light a fire to keep him going throughout the whole game, as he showed in his 33-point outburst against Syracuse.
However, a part of the game that Butler may be able to take a hold of is Temple’s rebounding – or lack thereof – on the defensive end. With a rebounding percentage that puts them at 254th in the nation, it is fair to say that this team has struggled to win the rebounding battle this season, and that is generally something that Butler does a very good job of. Going up against one of the top teams in the country on the glass in Gonzaga, Butler again won that battle, showing its aggressive style of play going after the offensive rebounds. If that type of effort is there tonight, the Bulldogs could be able to take control with second-chance points.
The main thing to watch for, however, is Clarke’s return. Going up against a Temple team that has three players averaging double figures on the season and is averaging over 70 points per game, the average mark in the 50s that Butler has posted without Clarke the last three games will not be enough to knock off this potentially dangerous Temple team.
Everyone will be watching to see how Clarke can come back in, and if he can play with the rhythm and success he had before his injury, because it may take that type of effort for the Bulldogs to come away with another victory on Saturday night.
