Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Kelly Dunham (24) of the Butler Bulldogs.
Christian Post Report – The Butler Bulldogs play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the third round of the Midwest Region of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. Tip-off is on March 21, 2015 and starts 9:40 p.m. ET, and the game can be watched on TV on the TBS network, or online through live stream (details below).
Butler finished second in the Big East Conference with a 23-10 record but have only won one in their last three before their second round match against Texas.
However, when they faced the 11th seed, they needed a big game from guard Kellen Dunham to move on.
They led 26-24 at the half but kept the pressure to eventually win 56-48.
Dunham finished the game with 20 points, going 8-of-11 from the free throw line.
Only with eight active players in the roster, Butler got maximum minutes from their starters who found a way to win despite being underhanded.
They were out-rebounded by Texas 41-28 but they forced 15 turnovers against their five.
Furthermore, they forced Texas to commit 22 personal fouls, while Butler only committed 13 throughout the game.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame qualified after finishing third in the ACC standings with a 30-5 record.
They have won six straight matches, including a 69-65 win over Northeastern.
Zach Auguste went 10-of-14 from the field to score 25 points in just 27 minutes of play. He also pulled down five rebounds and only committed one turnover.
Jerian Grant, who never sat on the bench, went 7-of-12 from the field and scored 17 points while dishing out five assists in the game.
Notre Dame’s defence forced the Huskies to only shoot 27% from beyond the arc while forcing 16 turovers compared to only seven from the Fighting Irish.
Currently, four players average double figures for Notre Dame, with Grant leading the way with 16.8 per contest.
Auguste nets 12.8 per game, while Patt Connaughton and Demetrius Jackson average around 12 points each night.
For Butler, their scoring load lean heavily on Dunham who averages only under 17 per game.
Roosevelt Jones nets around 12.4 points per contest, while Andrew Chrabascz gets 10.9 points per game.
Notre Dame’s biggest advantage is in their shooting average, with the Fighting Irish averaging better than 50% from the field every night, with 39% conversion beyond the arc.
Butler are at 44% shooting from the field and 36% from the three point line.
For live scores, visit ESPN.com. For live streaming click here.
Source : Christian Post