Last Friday, Cleveland State was upset by Butler University in a game that defied all predictions, a blowout where a nail-biter was foretold. The Bulldogs were leading from the beginning, with sophomore Andrew Smith at the helm, scoring most of the team’s final 79 points, in addition to a career high of 22 points.
Cleveland was coming off a streak of 15 wins interrupted by a single loss. Butler came off of a 24-point loss at Milwaukee. Both were given nearly equal chances from the beginning, although Butler was admittedly favored...but just a bit.
Cleveland coach Gary Waters said after the game that “I am disappointed. I knew they were going to come ready to play...I thought we would answer their emotion.” Many seemed to share this sentiment, with several fans lamenting the lack of excitement in the game. It seemed that from the first half, Cleveland had given up, and Butler was sinking basket after basket against them. However, the fans on the Butler side were enthusiastic as ever, with many standing up promptly as soon as their team dared to cross the half court line. I suppose, when one is an extremely fervent fan, one feels no remorse. And if one does, one would tamp it down.
“I thought we did a really nice job of defending as a team and attacking as a team,” said Butler head coach Brad Stevens of his team’s performance after the game. “You have to handle their initial wave in order to attack them appropriately.”
The Bulldogs did that and more as they cleaned out Cleveland State. Though it was not exciting for very long, this was a very important game, and may well be remembered by many people, Butler and Cleveland State fans alike, although maybe Butler with relatively more fondness, for years to come.
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