The Friars trailed by 14 just nine minutes into their 78-61 loss at Butler and never got closer than nine in the second half.
This is a team that will go through its share of scoring lulls as they continue to build their identity. Rodney Bullock looked as though he was ready to carry the scoring load on a nightly basis, but he has gone from highly efficient sniper (Bullock was shooting over 50% from the field for much of the year) to volume scorer since a 26 point, 10 rebound effort against Massachusetts on Dec. 10.
His final stat line against Butler was solid (17 points on 6-11 shooting), but Bullock and Ed Cooley’s other veterans failed to establish themselves until the second half when the game was far out of reach.