Insider: Dawgs continue first-round dominance
- Butler vs. Middle Tennessee State, Saturday
MILWAUKEE – Avery Woodson, a Mississippi native, is so cold in Milwaukee that he wore a parka to a pregame news conference held inside a warm basketball arena. At least his teammates did not mock him for that.
“They know where I’m from,” he said. “I’m not used to this cold weather. They had no problem with me wearing that jacket.”
To make himself comfortable, Woodson heated up the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Thursday.
He sank five of his six 3-pointers in the first half, and No. 4 seed Butler went on to defeat No. 13 seed Winthrop 76-64 in the first round of the NCAA South Regional.
Woodson, a graduate transfer playing in his first NCAA tournament, scored 18 points in the arena where he scored 17 in a Butler victory at Marquette last month. He finished 6-of-10 on 3s.
• BOX SCORE: Butler 76, Winthrop 64
The Bulldogs (24-8) advanced to meet No. 12 seed Middle Tennessee State (31-4) on Saturday. Butler is 24th and Middle Tennessee 25th in the USA Today/coaches’ poll.
Middle Tennessee beat No. 5 seed Minnesota 81-72.
The victory made coach Chris Holtmann 3-0 in the first round in three years as Bulldogs coach. In the NCAA tournament, Butler is 9-0 as the better seed and 10-1 in the first round since 2001.
The Bulldogs, who were 11-point favorites, showed no lingering effects from season-ending losses to Seton Hall at Hinkle Fieldhouse and to Xavier in the Big East tournament.
Woodson’s six 3s tied his career high and were two off Butler’s NCAA tournament record, set by Darnell Archey against Louisville in 2003 and tied by Pete Campbell against South Alabama in 2008. Over the past seven games, Woodson has shot 24-of-44 (54.5 percent) from the arc.
Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey said Butler’s early ball movement was faster than the Eagles’ response. Woodson was uncontested when he hit three 3s in the opening 5 minutes.
“When you give him three, four steps where he can kind of lick his fingers and measure the wind and shoot it, he’s going to make 80 percent of those,” Kelsey said. “I bet if he’s back at Hinkle with nobody shooting in the gym, he’s going to make 80 out of 100 3s.”
• DOYEL: This is March, and this is how Butler wins
Andrew Chrabascz added 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. Kelan Martin came off the bench for 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds in just 17 minutes.
When Winthrop threatened in the second half, Tyler Lewis revived a stagnant offense. The Bulldogs stretched what had been a seven-point lead to 19. Lewis finished with nine points, eight assists and one turnover.
Kelsey said the Bulldogs were not only bigger and stronger, but quicker. Butler outrebounded Winthrop 42-27 and had a 20-5 edge in free throws made.
“We’re an eat-loose-balls team,” Kelsey said. “You have to tip your cap to Butler for beating us early on, on setting the tone on some of the hustle plays-type thing. That’s Butler basketball.”
As efficient as the Bulldogs were on offense, the victory can be attributed to defense against Keon Johnson, the 5-7 guard who is Big South Player of the Year. Shadowed by long-armed freshman Kamar Baldwin, the Winthrop guard was limited to 17 points (six under his average) on 7-of-19 shooting. Johnson had averaged 29.3 points in the Big South tournament.
Holtmann joked that his assistant coaches told him he looked “terrible” from sleep deprivation.
“The reason was that kid. I mean, he is a load to guard,” Holtmann said.
Australian forward Xavier Cooks led Winthrop (26-7) with 23 points. Winthrop’s Broman brothers, Bjorn and Anders, have made a collective 107 3s this season but shot 0-of-4 from the arc against Butler.
Winthrop made some late field goals to climb to 40 percent shooting. The Eagles made nine 3s, reaching their average, but three came late with the outcome settled.
The Bulldogs pulled away on a 14-2 run directed by Lewis, who punctuated it with a lob to Tyler Wideman for a dunk. That made it 62-43 with 7:21 left and effectively ended hope of a No. 13-over-4 upset. Lewis had another assist, two driving layups and a free throw during the spree.
Lewis’ assists were one off Butler’s tourney record of nine set by Mike Monserez against Louisville in 2003.
Martin came up limping after a late collision. Holtmann called it a charley horse and said Martin should be ready for the next round.
Holtmann laments Crean, Groce firings
Holtmann did not know Tom Crean had been fired at Indiana when he was asked about it during the postgame. He took the opportunity to criticize the firing of John Groce, who was Holtmann’s teammate at Taylor. Holtmann said Groce was “close to turning the corner” at Illinois.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Tom and how his team plays,” Holtmann said. “I had one of my closest friends lose a job not too long ago at Illinois, and listen, we all get into this knowing the deal.
“Do I disagree with those decisions? Absolutely. Absolutely, I do.”
Holtmann’s name has popped up in connection with multiple job openings and will continue to do so. He is Big East Coach of the Year.
Call IndyStar reporter David Woods at (317) 444-6195. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.