Game recap: Butler basketball loses a tight game to Xavier in Big East tournament
Butler basketball has a rematch to start the Big East tournament as it tries to work back into NCAA Tournament consideration.
The Bulldogs (18-13, 9-11) are the No. 8 seed after winning their last two regular-season games, including one over first-round opponent Xavier. Butler was considered a March Madness team before a five-game losing streak in February.
Xavier (15-16, 9-11) has lost six of its last eight games, with the victories coming over cellar-dwellers DePaul and Georgetown.
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Work to do: Butler enters Big East tournament off NCAA bubble
Butler's regular-season finale: Senior night. Hated Xavier in town. A fond farewell.
Final: Xavier 76, Butler 72
Pierre Brooks scores 21, Jalen Thomas 14, Posh Alexander 14, Jahmyl Telfort 11 and D.J. Davis 10.
The Bulldogs commit 17 turnovers, some in the second half leading to Xavier breakaway layups.
Desmond Claude scores 26, Dayvion McKnight 20 and Quincy Oliveri 19 for the Musketeers, who meet No. 1 seed and defending national champ Connecticut on Thursday.
Butler box score vs. Xavier
XAVIER (16-16): Djokovic 1-5 0-0 2, Ousmane 3-8 0-0 6, Claude 11-20 3-4 26, McKnight 8-12 2-2 20, Olivari 7-19 2-3 19, Green 1-3 0-0 3, Nemeiksa 0-0 0-0 0, Nzeh 0-0 0-0 0, Ciani 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-67 7-9 76.
BUTLER (18-14): Telfort 5-12 0-1 11, Thomas 6-8 0-0 14, Alexander 5-11 3-4 14, Davis 3-11 3-3 10, Brooks 8-13 2-2 21, Moore 0-2 0-0 0, Bizjack 0-2 0-0 0, Screen 1-2 0-0 2, Kapke 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-62 8-10 72.
Halftime—Xavier 32-31. 3-Point Goals_Xavier 7-22 (Olivari 3-13, McKnight 2-4, Green 1-2, Claude 1-3), Butler 8-26 (Brooks 3-7, Thomas 2-2, Alexander 1-3, Telfort 1-4, Davis 1-7, Bizjack 0-1, Kapke 0-1, Moore 0-1). Rebounds_Xavier 36 (Olivari 9), Butler 32 (Thomas 7). Assists_Xavier 19 (Olivari 6), Butler 16 (Alexander 5). Total Fouls_Xavier 16, Butler 15.
1:44 left 2H: Xavier 71, Butler 68
Jahmyl Telfort is heading to the free-throw line out of the timeout.
Desmond Claude has 25 points, Quincy Olivari 19, Dayvion McKnight 16 for X.
Dayvion McKnight to the rim! pic.twitter.com/Uqks7qOUK8
— Xavier Basketball (@XavierMBB) March 13, 2024
4:56 left 2H: Xavier 63, Butler 62
Pierre Brooks scores inside and has 21 points, leading four in double figures for Butler. The Bulldogs' rebounding deficit is down to 4.
7:24 left 2H: Xavier 61, Butler 58
Posh Alexander's tying 3 rims out, but he recovers to block Desmond Claude's reverse dunk.
keep pushing 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/L1ofVhrm3Q
— Butler Basketball (@ButlerMBB) March 13, 2024
11:00 left 2H: Xavier 57, Butler 54
Xavier is 7-of-10 on 3s in the second half, Butler 7-of-10 on 2s. Xavier's bench has 3 points, Butler's 2. Desmond Claude has 21 points, Quincy Olivari 17. Pierre Brooks has 17 for Butler.
.@quincyolivari's 3️⃣rd 3️⃣ of the half! https://t.co/tLgULnMcbf pic.twitter.com/SAMWNjNJlF
— Xavier Basketball (@XavierMBB) March 13, 2024
15:46 left 2H: Xavier hits 3s, Butler shoots free throws
Butler 46, Xavier 43
Over the first 4:14 of the second half, it's Xavier 14, Butler 12.
Dayvion McKnight hits Xavier's first 3 of the game at the 17:40 mark. The Musketeers add 3 more before the timeout.
Dayvion McKnight for 3️⃣! pic.twitter.com/wSNSreWgZV
— Xavier Basketball (@XavierMBB) March 13, 2024
D.J. Davis gets the and-1, Butler's first free throw attempt of the game. Posh Alexander also gets to the line.
DJ DAVIS W/ THE AAAND 1! 🤠 pic.twitter.com/SmUsGGSQiM
— Butler Basketball (@ButlerMBB) March 13, 2024
Posh Alexander returns for the second half.
Halftime: Xavier 32, Butler 31
Butler is 8-of-20 on 2-pointers, 5-of-14 on 3s. Pierre Brooks is 3-of-4 from long range with 13 points.
Posh Alexander remained in the locker room the rest of the half after going down. He has 7 points.
Xavier is 14-of-26 on 2-pointers, 0-of-8 on 3s. Desmond Claude has 16 points. The Musketeers are +15 rebounding but have 10 turnovers.
There have been 14 lead changes.
Desmond Claude makes it a 6-0 Xavier run! He's got 12. pic.twitter.com/IHuC0HTyf1
— Xavier Basketball (@XavierMBB) March 13, 2024
3:15 left 1H: Butler-Xavier remains tight
Butler 26, Xavier 26
Xavier's Desmond Claude has 10 points, Quincy Olivari has 8. Pierre Books has 8 for the Bulldogs.
Pierre in his bag right now fr pic.twitter.com/OAJGqaWN1E
— Butler Basketball (@ButlerMBB) March 13, 2024
5:31 left 1H: Posh Alexander leaves with injury
Butler 24, Xavier 22
Posh Alexander goes down after a drive to the basket, holding his right knee. He needs help putting weight on his leg heading to the locker room. Andre Screen got the putback on the play.
Posh Alexander can’t put any weight on his leg as he’s helped back to the locker room. pic.twitter.com/QCLSiP1vLE
— Akeem Glaspie (@THEAkeemGlaspie) March 13, 2024
Jalen Thomas picks up foul No. 2 with 6:27 to go, and Andre Screen comes in.
6:56 left 1H: Xavier, Butler swap scoring runs
Butler 22, Xavier 22
Jalen Thomas hits a 3 to snap Butler's skid, and the Bulldogs go on a 7-point run. Xavier's Quincy Olivari has 2 fouls.
keep on FIGHTING pic.twitter.com/n6n4TwaMR7
— Butler Basketball (@ButlerMBB) March 13, 2024
The Musketeers score 8 in a row to take a 22-15 lead. They are 10-of-18 on 2-pointers and own a +12 rebound edge.
SLAM! @XavierMBB extends their lead midway through the first half
📺: FS1 pic.twitter.com/CiULL0jQp1— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 13, 2024
12:32 left 1H: Xavier 14, Butler 13
Xavier is strong inside: 6-of-9 on 2-pointers. Butler is strong outside: 3-of-7 on 3s. Xavier is already +8 in rebounding.
McKnight ➡️ Olivari! pic.twitter.com/qqEZFd0m3f
— Xavier Basketball (@XavierMBB) March 13, 2024
posh going to work 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/NtJoMZHfPd
— Butler Basketball (@ButlerMBB) March 13, 2024
15:43 left 1H: Jahmyl Telfort is in foul trouble
Butler 8, Xavier 6
Pierre Brooks has a pair of 3-pointers already.
PB33333 pic.twitter.com/VE6Rk5QOA7
— Butler Basketball (@ButlerMBB) March 13, 2024
Jahmyl Telfort picks up foul No. 2 at the 16:55 mark. Landon Moore checks in.
Xavier's Dayvion McKnight gets the first points, but Butler's D.J. Davis counters for Butler's first scoring.
LETS GET THIS STARTED DAWGS pic.twitter.com/8VYufQASEu
— Butler Basketball (@ButlerMBB) March 13, 2024
Butler misses its first 4 shots. Xavier commits turnovers on its first two possessions.
Butler basketball starting lineup vs. Xavier
Butler: D.J. Davis, Posh Alexander, Jahmyl Telfort, Pierre Brooks, Jalen Thomas
Xavier: Desmond Claude, Quincy Olivari, DAyvion McKnight, Lazar Djokovic, Abou Ousmane
Butler Blue IV is ready to go
Me cause the Dawgs open up BIG EAST tournament play today. pic.twitter.com/naYPzNxj7l
— Butler Blue IV (@TheButlerBlue) March 13, 2024
Butler basketball NET ranking
From the NCAA as of March 12
Butler, 65
Xavier, 64
Butler basketball start time in the Big East tournament?
4 p.m. ET Wednesday, March 13, 2024, at Madison Square Garden in New York.
How can I watch Butler in the Big East tournament?
TV: FS1
Radio: 1430 AM in Indianapolis, with Mark Minner (play-by-play) and Nick Gardner (analysis).
Streaming: SiriusXM Channels 138, 201 and 964, Varsity Network
Butler's possible path in the Big East tournament
With time ET, TV
Quarterfinals: Noon Thursday vs. Connecticut, FS1
Semifinals: 5:30 p.m. Friday, Fox
Championship: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Fox
Is Butler favored in the Big East tournament?
via BetMGM
Favorite: Xavier by 1.5 points
Over/under: 150.5 total points
Moneyline: Xavier -125, Butler +105
Butler basketball schedule
Date, day | location, opponent | time, TV/result |
Oct. 28, Saturday | vs. Ohio Northern (exhibition) | |
Nov. 1, Wednesday | vs. Franklin (exhibition) | |
Nov. 6, Monday | vs. Eastern Michigan | |
Nov. 10, Friday | vs. Southeast Missouri State | |
Nov. 13, Monday | vs. East Tennessee State | |
Nov. 17, Friday | at Michigan State | |
Nov. 23, Thursday | vs. Florida Atlantic in Orlando | |
Nov. 24, Friday | vs. Penn State in Orlando | |
Nov. 26, Sunday | vs. Boise State in Orlando | |
Nov. 30, Thursday | vs. Texas Tech | |
Dec. 5, Tuesday | vs. Buffalo | |
Dec. 9, Saturday | vs. California | |
Dec. 15, Friday | vs. Saginaw Valley State | |
Dec. 19, Tuesday | vs. Georgetown | |
Dec. 23, Saturday | at Providence | |
Jan. 2, Tuesday | at St. John's | |
Jan. 5, Friday | vs. Connecticut | |
Jan. 10, Wednesday | at Marquette | |
Jan. 13, Saturday | vs. Seton Hall | |
Jan. 16, Tuesday | at Xavier | |
Jan. 20, Saturday | vs. DePaul | |
Jan. 23, Tuesday | at Georgetown | |
Jan. 27, Saturday | vs. Villanova | |
Feb. 2, Friday | at Creighton | |
Feb. 6, Tuesday | at Connecticut | |
Feb. 10, Saturday | vs. Providence | |
Feb. 13, Tuesday | vs. Marquette | |
Feb. 17, Saturday | vs. Creighton | |
Feb. 20, Tuesday | at Villanova | |
Feb. 24, Saturday | at Seton Hall | |
Feb. 28, Wednesday | vs. St. John's | |
March 2, Saturday | at DePaul | |
March 6, Wednesday | vs. Xavier | |
March 13-16 | Big East tournament in New York | |
March 13, Wednesday | vs. Xavier | 4 p.m. ET, FS1 |
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Butler basketball vs. Xavier in Big East tournament score updates