Butler has no problem handling Loyola
The scouts from four NBA teams who attended Monday night's game might have left a bit dissatisfied.
A.J. Graves didn't.
Graves, like every cog in Butler's basketball factory, subscribes to collective goals more than individual ones. Loyola wasn't about to let Graves take over, and the Butler star didn't make a shot for the final 36:24.
As Graves (7 points) moved backstage, others claimed the spotlight, and Loyola didn't have enough to push back. The reloading team pulled away from the rebuilding one, and No. 14 Butler left the Gentile Center with a 66-55 win before a pro-Butler crowd of 2,100.
Loyola (5-10) dropped its third straight and has started 1-4 in Horizon League play for the third time in four years. Butler (14-1, 3-1) won its 10th game at a road or neutral site, tops among Division I teams.
"We are a deeper team (than last year's NCAA Sweet Sixteen squad)," Butler's first-year coach Brad Stevens said. "We have 15 bodies and each of them gives to their teammates in different ways."
Much of the giving Monday went to freshman forward Matt Howard, who led Butler with 19 points. Twice when Loyola cut its deficit to 3 points in the second half, Howard scored inside to widen the gap.
With Butler up 40-37, Howard tipped in a Graves miss and drew a foul on Loyola's Tracy Robinson. His 3-point play sparked a 14-3 Butler run.
"We never seemed to recover," Loyola coach Jim Whitesell said. "We seemed to have those spots where we were down 3 or 4 and the next thing you know, it's down 8."
Howard went 6-of-10 from the field and swished all 7 of his free throws in 20 minutes.
"It's really a large complement to Mike (Green) and A.J.," Howard said. "They consistently found me. A lot of my baskets were easy shots -- dump-downs off a guy coming over to help."
Green, who piloted Butler with 15 points and 6 assists, interrupted his teammate's selfless speech.
"He's modest," Green said. "He made some good plays, too."
Loyola once again couldn't make enough. Four players accounted for all but 4 points and the Ramblers couldn't draw even despite shooting 50 percent after halftime.
Forward Leon Young, the team's top rebounder and second leading scorer, missed his fourth game while recovering from pneumonia. Whitesell said Young has done light workouts this week but still must regain strength to avoid a relapse when he returns to the court.
"I'm looking for all offensive answers," an exasperated Whitesell said.
Junior guard J.R. Blount led Loyola with 16 points and forward Andy Polka added 14 points and 8 rebounds, but both men looked drained after facing Butler.
"You always have to be down and ready," Blount said. "When you go in the lane, they always give you a shot. Nothing dirty, it's just how the game is played. We tried to play the same way."
But with fewer options, the Ramblers fell short.
"Our hearts are there," Whitesell said. "We've just got to keep pounding away."