Butler's NCAA bubble pops as St. John's sends Bulldogs to fifth straight loss

INDIANAPOLIS -- In a must-win game to keep its postseason hopes alive, Butler played one of its worst games of the year, falling 82-59 at home to St. John's.

Posh Alexander led Butler with 15 points.

St. John's dominated the second half, outscoring Butler 43-26.

Here are three observations from the loss.

Insider: St. John's played like a team fighting for its NCAA life, while Butler saw its hopes die.

St. John's bench shines during quiet night from Joel Soriano

Before the game, Butler would've gladly taken a seven-point night from St. John's star center Joel Soriano. Bulldog bigs Jalen Thomas and Boden Kapke held up well against the Red Storm's big man, but on this night, the visitors didn't need Soriano to dominate.

Ten St. John's players reached the scoring column. Glenn Taylor Jr. led the Red Storm with 17 points. RJ Luis scored 15 points off the bench. Zuby Ejiofor added nine points and three rebounds. He scored seven straight during a first-half scoring spurt.

For the game, St. John's bench outscored Butler's 31-12.

Pierre Brooks finds offense early, team struggles in second half

Pierre Brooks had established himself as Butler's go-to scorer during the early part of the season. At 6-6, 240 pounds, the strong and versatile scorer flashed three-level ability and a penchant for getting hot from 3-point land. After a hot start to the season, the past three games were largely forgettable for the Michigan State transfer, combining for 20 points, shooting 32% from the field and 23.5% from 3.

Wednesday's game started the same as the last three, with Brooks getting downhill and missing a layup at the rim. The miss didn't deter the junior, and he kept the Bulldogs in the game with nine straight points, all coming via 3-pointers. Brooks scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half.

The entire offense fell flat after halftime. St. John's did a great job mixing up its defenses, pushing Butler's offense away out to the perimeter while cutting off lanes to the basket. The Dawgs fell into a bad habit of settling from 3 once again, finishing 8-for-24 from deep.

Butler needs to catch fire in March

Butler's five-game losing streak likely eliminates any chances of it getting an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Before the skid, the Bulldogs were on the right side of the bubble. Now, the only way they can likely reach the Big Dance is catching fire and winning the Big East tournament.

Crazier things have happened. This team still has a talented offense, but the play from its Big 3 (DJ Davis, Jahmyl Telfort and Brooks) has been scattershot for most of February. Rarely have all three players played well at the same time. And if they've put together strong offensive performances, their defense has not been good enough to beat the upper echelon of the Big East.

It's possible the pressure of making the tournament was too much for the Dawgs to handle. Or maybe the large load of minutes played by its starting five has worn down the team. The Dawgs have been remarkably healthy this season. They've played just one game without its original starting five of Thomas, Telfort, Brooks, Posh Alexander and Davis intact. But the strong play of the Red Storm highlighted just how important a strong second unit is.

Butler's reserves, Landon Moore, Finley Bizjack, Kapke, Andre Screen and Augusto Cassia have all had their moments. But it's impossible to predict if one of them will have the breakout performance needed to offset poor performance from the starting five.

Butler certainly looked like a tournament team in wins against Marquette and Texas Tech. With an ugly finish to the regular season, that team is now just a distant memory.

Butler stats vs. St. John's

ST. JOHN'S (17-12): Ledlum 3-7 4-4 10, Taylor 6-8 0-0 17, Soriano 2-8 3-3 7, Dingle 4-7 0-0 9, Jenkins 4-13 0-0 8, Alleyne 1-4 0-0 3, Luis 7-15 0-1 15, Ejiofor 2-3 4-4 9, Dunlap 1-1 0-0 2, Traore 1-3 0-0 2, Wilcher 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-70 11-12 82.

BUTLER (16-13): Telfort 2-7 3-3 7, Thomas 3-3 0-0 6, Alexander 4-11 5-8 15, D.Davis 2-7 2-2 6, Brooks 5-11 0-0 13, Bizjack 2-5 1-1 6, Kapke 1-3 0-1 3, Moore 1-4 0-0 3, Cassia 0-0 0-0 0, Screen 0-0 0-0 0, McComb 0-0 0-0 0, Mulloy 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-51 11-15 59.

Halftime—St. John's 39-33. 3-Point Goals_St. John's 9-26 (Taylor 5-7, Ejiofor 1-1, Alleyne 1-3, Dingle 1-3, Luis 1-4, Jenkins 0-2, Ledlum 0-2, Soriano 0-2, Traore 0-2), Butler 8-24 (Brooks 3-6, Alexander 2-4, Bizjack 1-2, Moore 1-2, Kapke 1-3, Telfort 0-3, D.Davis 0-4). Rebounds_St. John's 38 (Soriano 13), Butler 28 (Alexander 7). Assists_St. John's 17 (Jenkins 9), Butler 10 (Alexander, D.Davis 3). Total Fouls_St. John's 18, Butler 12.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 3 reasons Butler basketball lost to St. Johns in NCAA bubble matchup