INDIANAPOLIS — Butler entered its matchup against Creighton facing as much of a must-win game as a team can have in early January.
The Bulldogs had lost back-to-back games against Florida and Georgetown. They sat at 9-5 overall and 0-1 in conference play with three challenging road tests coming. But the Butler team that showed up at Hinkle Fieldhouse could very well have passed for a Top 25 crew with how it dismantled Creighton.
Here’s how the Bulldogs improved to 10-5, picked up their first conference win of the season, 84-69, and sent the Bluejays packing:
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Downright suffocating defense
Creighton (10-5, 1-1 in Big East) entered the game as the Big East’s top-scoring team, averaging 84.