UConn coach says Butler is an NCAA tournament team. But Bulldogs 'not there yet.'

UConn coach Dan Hurley was quick to talk up Butler in the aftermath of his team's 88-81 victory at a sold-out Hinkle Fieldhouse.

"That's an NCAA-caliber team right there," Hurley said, citing specifically the progress coach Thad Matta has made in his season-plus at the helm before branding the Bulldogs as "one of the toughest teams" they've had to guard this year.

"You have to win games over the course of the season, rank highly in the NET and all that stuff, but (Butler) is an NCAA tournament-caliber team," Hurley reiterated. "They're easily a top-40, top-30 team in the country."

That's a glowing assessment from Hurley, whose defending national champion Huskies (13-2, 3-1) entered the week ranked fourth nationally and improved to 8-0 all-time against Butler (10-5, 1-3).

Matta certainly recognizes that potential and remains very high on this group — he said as much doing his opening statement — but also understands they still have a ways to go.

"We're close, but we're not there yet," he said. "We have to keep grinding. We have to fight and compete for 40 (minutes). We'll get there."

There were stretches Friday night when Butler looked the part of a team worthy of a spot in the Big Dance.

Like in the first half.

After weathering a 7-0 run, Finley Bizjack ended a three-minute shooting drought with a layup, then after matching buckets with free throws, the Bulldogs ripped off a 9-0 run that featured five points from DJ Davis, whose second 3-pointer gave them a 31-23 lead with 6:34 left.

Davis was great in the first half, as was Boden Kapke, who took advantage with UConn's 7-2 center Donovan Clingan unavailable, netting a couple critical buckets down the stretch, including a steal and slam in the final minute that pushed Butler's lead to seven and whipped the crowd into a frenzy.

Davis maintained that momentum into the second half (he helped lead the team back from an eight-point deficit), finishing with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting with a 4-for-8 mark from 3.

"DJ is DJ. He's an incredible shot-maker and even the ones he missed tonight were good looks," Matta said. "We need to get him finishing around the rim a little bit more, but that's part of the game. We just have to keep finding ways to get him open and play off him."

Those were all positive takeaways — as was Butler's 23-for-25 showing at the free-throw line — and carry added value when considering the opponent. Put another way: Butler hung with the fourth-ranked team in the nation. And there's something to be said for that.

But moral victories won't help this team come Selection Sunday and the reminders that this team remains a work-in-progress ultimately dominated the final narrative.

Butler had the momentum (and a seven-point lead) entering the second half. Instead of capitalizing, it fell flat, most notably on the defensive end, where a lack of energy allowed UConn to quickly tie the game at 46.

After generating nine turnovers (seven steals) in the first half, Butler managed just four in the second, while allowing the Huskies to shoot 63% from the field with six 3-pointers on 13 tries.

They weren't deep in their stances or as active as they needed to be defensively, Matta observed. "You can't play defense like that in college basketball and expect to win."

"We just didn't have the energy (on defense) when we came out in the second half," said Jahmyl Telfort, who logged 16 points. "These guys are national champs so you can't just relax on them. Defensively, we have to do a better job."

Butler deserves credit for rallying and making a game of things down the stretch, but after scratching and clawing to cut the deficit to four, Cam Spencer out-ran the entire team for an offensive rebound. He grabbed the ball and quickly called timeout before letting out a celebratory yell as he joined his teammates on the bench.

Moments later, Spencer drilled a 3-pointer to make it a three-possession game with less than a minute left.

"We did a lot of good things, but when you play a team who's as good as UConn is, you make mistakes and they make you pay," Matta said. "That's what good teams do."

Two things can be true at once and Friday proved as much: This Butler team has the potential to be quite good, but it's not there yet.

Piere Brooks added 19 points for Butler, while Posh Alexander logged six assists. The Bulldogs, who shot 47.2% as a team, travel to Marquette on Jan. 10.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Butler basketball looks worthy of March Madness but falls to UConn