Arizona suffered its first loss of the season Friday night at the hands of Butler, thanks to a big night from Kelan Martin. who lead the way with 16 points.
Despite the loss Arizona showed resilience to make it a close one after falling behind by as many as nine points with under 14 minutes left in the second half. The Wildcats put together a 17-2 run to tighten things up, before Butler closed it out in the final minute with a dunk followed by four free throws to push it to a 69-65 final.
Butler now makes a statement win in November that should carry some weight not only for the Bulldogs, but for the Big East conference.
Three takeaways:
1. Butler basketball is a machine
We've come to expect that Butler, now under the direction of Chris Holtmann, is still the perennial bully that you don't want to face -- especially in a tournament format. The Bulldogs knocked off Bucknell, Norfolk State, Vanderbilt, then Arizona in a span of six days -- and a 19-point average margin of victory. After giving up a lead late, they went on a 10-0 run to once again take the lead that they never relinquished.
"Our guys showed a lot of resolve, a lot of poise," Holtmann said after the game. "We had a great crowd here tonight, but we heard Arizona's too as they made that run. But our guys just made plays down the stretch. That's what these games come down to."
Butler has now knocked off a top-10 team for a third consecutive season. Are we really surprised at this point?
2. Arizona's luck was bound to run out
Arizona is a top-10 team, deservedly so, but they've struggled of late with putting away teams like Cal State-Bakersfield and Santa Clara, and it came falling down against Butler. The Wildcats are without their top player, Allonzo Trier, and also lost Ray Smith who retired from basketball after suffering an ACL injury. They are relying on heavily on two true freshman, Lauri Markannen and Kobi Simmons for a chunk of their scoring. The two led the way against Butler with 15 and 14, respectively, and Simmons' points came all in the second half. Relying on freshman, though, does come with some inconsistencies that Sean Miller's young team will have to work through.
3. Top 25 ranking implications
Butler is 6-0 with a top 10 win now under its belt. In this week's AP top 25 poll, the Bulldogs remained just outside the field but were "receiving votes" -- 14 to be exact. Of their six wins, three have come against Power 5 foes: Arizona and Vanderbilt this week, and an early season win against Northwestern. Expect Butler to jump up the rankings in its first appearance in the top 25 when the polls come out on Monday.