This game was pretty much over at halftime, as the 'Cats cruised out to a big early lead and easily held on for the win. The story of the game was Drew Crawford, who scored 22 points on 5 for 10 3-point shooting. Crawford looked confident on offense, taking the ball strong to the basket at times and showing some touch from the behind the arc. John Shurna added 14 points and 9 rebounds, and did a better job with shot selection on offense.The center play was also improved, as Kyle Rowley got the start and had 8 points in 18 minutes. He got in foul trouble (what else is new), but had a couple good finishes near the basket.

The only downside was Alex Marcutullio hurting his thumb diving into the scorers table after a loose ball. He left the game and did not return, but it didn't look too serious to my untrained eye. I'm liking Marcotullio more and more, he's a very confident player and despite not being a great athlete he plays very hard on defense. It will be a huge loss if he can't play Friday vs. Notre Dame.

It was nice to see Northwestern put away an inferior team early and not have to battle down to the wire. I'd like to see them ride the momentum and play well against Notre Dame. I'm certainly not expecting a win, but I do expect a much better effort than the 'Cats put forth against Butler, so go 'Cats.