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Butler looked great at the Old Spice, but the weekend could hurt them

Malik Morgan, Kellen Dunham

Butler guard Kellen Dunham (24) is fouled by LSU guard Malik Morgan (24), while driving to the basket, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Old Spice Classic tournament in Kissimmee, Fla., Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013.(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

AP

Butler looked really good in their trip to the Old Spice Classic this week.

The Bulldogs were expected to fall off this season, which is what happens when you lose the likes of Rotnei Clarke, Andrew Smith and some guy named Brad Stevens, but they looked nothing like a pushover in a win over Washington State and two point losses to No. 5 Oklahoma State and LSU in overtime.

At the very least, Brandon Miller’s team looks like they will be competitive in the Big East. I don’t think it’s crazy to say that Butler looked like an NCAA tournament team. They played that well.

But they lost, blowing two chances at notching a quality non-conference. That’s a problem, because there really aren’t that many other good wins on their schedule. North Dakota isn’t bad, but they aren’t even the best team in the Big Sky. Purdue is a Big Ten team, but they aren’t going to finish in the top half of that league.

And that’s it.

The good news for Butler is that they play in the Big East this season which means that they’ll have chances to build up their resume in conference play. But coming up short against both the Cowboys and the Tigers means that Butler is going to have that much more work to do if they want to get a bid.

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