It was bound to happen, and it happened tonight. Going to Creighton and to Butler in back to back games is brutal, and coming up short in one of those games isn't a huge surprise. Credit to Butler for disrupting Nova offensively and refusing to fold as Nova opened up a couple decent leads.
Offensively, Nova just didn't play the type of basketball we've come to expect of them. They settled for a lot of poor shots. The ball movement left something to be desired, and they managed just 7 assists. The Cats shot just 37% from the floor and 23% from three. They protected the ball well overall, committing just six turnovers, but two came late in the game in crucial moments, and Nova executed uncharacteristically poorly down the stretch. Disturbingly, Nova got dominated on the boards by a poor rebounding team, 33-24. They left some opportunities out there, missing some wide open looks. Ultimately, it came down to execution down the stretch, and Butler was the team that did the better job there.
Defensively the Cats managed just two steals and eight turnovers. Hart's three fouls hurt Nova's second half defense as well, as their defensive leader had to spend stretches on the bench.
Josh Hart struggled, shooting just 3-11 and 1-5 from three. He had 13 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Brunson picked up where he left off in the Creighton game, pouring in 23. Jenkins had 11, but shot just 3-9 from three. Reynolds had five, and DiVincenzo had six and four boards. Bridges and Paschall were both invisible, particularly offensively, and running with a short rotation that proved to be disastrous for Nova. They combined for zero points and four rebounds. That's obviously not enough, especially against a good team on the road.
This one stings at the moment. 20 game winning-streak, undefeated start to the season, and the #1 ranking are all gone. But in the long-term, this shouldn't make much of a difference. It's a road loss to a ranked team, and has virtually no effect on the tournament resume. No one expected an undefeated season, and when the few losses come, you don't want them to come to cupcakes. Adding another bullet point to the resume would have been nice, but it is still looking very good with the Purdue, Notre Dame, and Creighton wins, and the Big East schedule and a date with Virginia will provide plenty of opportunities to build on it. Nova will get another shot at Butler on February 22. In the meantime, they will look to rebound Saturday with a welcomed home game against Marquette.
