Butler beats Central Arkansas 82-58, but Holtmann has concerns
INDIANAPOLIS -- Butler coach Chris Holtmann looked troubled as he addressed the media on Saturday.
Kelan Martin finished with 30 points and six rebounds, Tyler Wideman added 10 points and 10 rebounds as the 18th-ranked Bulldogs defeated Central Arkansas 82-58.
Still, despite the 24-point blowout win, Holtmann's disappointment in himself and his players was written all over his face, clearly weighing heavily on his mind.
Holtmann, who is in his third season as Butler's coach, noted that Central Arkansas bothered the Bulldogs (8-0) in a lot of ways. Holtmann did not bring any Butler players with him to the podium after the game.
"Give Central Arkansas credit. I think they did a lot of things that bothered us. I don't think we played very well in stretches, I don't think we prepared very well. That concerned me the last couple of days. I don't think we practiced well. Ultimately that's on me. That's my fault. You can come up with a couple of different explanations for (our performance), I just don't ever want to see it again," Holtmann said.
The Bulldogs looked impressive in the box score on Saturday. Butler scored 24 points off 16 Central Arkansas turnovers. The Bulldogs scored nearly half their points down low, finishing with 32 in the paint. Butler capitalized on 10 offensive rebounds by finishing the game with 16 second-chance points. One of the few compliments Holtmann did give to his team was its ability to share the basketball and create opportunities. Butler's offense relied on good ball movement as 22 of its 31 field goals came by way of an assist.
Butler played a good first half and went into halftime up by 12 points. The Bulldogs had their fair share of hiccups in the first half, turning the ball over a couple times and missing a few free throws. But the source of Holtman's frustration with his squad's performance came in the second half, when it looked as if the Bears were going to give the Bulldogs a fight halfway through the final 20 minutes. Butler was forced to call a timeout with about 12 minutes remaining in the game due to Central Arkansas (1-7) cutting the deficit to just eight points.
Following the timeout, Butler willed a 17-2 run to stretch the lead to 74-51. Butler opened up its run in the midst of a scoring drought for Central Arkansas. The Bears didn't make a field goal for nearly seven minutes, shooting 1 of 9. Central Arkansas' only two points during that time came by way of free throws.
The Bulldogs' largest lead of the game was a product of their second-half-scoring run, pulling ahead by 25 points.
"We are at our best when we understand our margin for error is very, very small and we have an understanding there's an expectation and a standard of how we want to play. I think we did that at times today, but not nearly as much as we need to. We're going to have to play better - much better - than what we did," Holtmann said.
Jordan Howard led Central Arkansas with 20 points and Derreck Brooks finished with 15.
The road game was a measuring stick for Central Arkansas. The Bears used Saturday's game against a quality opponent as a foundation to work from for the rest of the season.
"We're trying to measure ourselves against really good teams and get better," Central Arkansas coach Russ Pennell said. "When we play teams like Butler, and we're going to be playing Michigan soon, it's a chance to measure ourselves and our (players)."
BIG PICTURE
With a big win over No. 8 Arizona, the undefeated Bulldogs are generating a buzz. Butler will face five more opponents, including Cincinnati and No. 13 Indiana, before it opens conference play at St. John's on Dec. 29.
POLL IMPLICATIONS: The Bulldogs' next big test against a ranked opponent will come on Dec. 17 when they face No. 13 Indiana in the Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis
UP NEXT:
Central Arkansas visits Arkansas-Little Rock on Saturday.
Butler visits Indiana State on Wednesday.
