A few notes + quotes from UWM’s drubbing of Butler Monday night…
*Milwaukee ended Butler’s league-record 22-game winning streak Monday night. The last Horizon League loss for Butler – Feb. 18, 2009 at Milwaukee.
*UWM shot better than 50 percent from the floor for the third time this season. The first two being a three-point loss to Marquette and a 12-point win over South Dakota State.
*In the last two games, the Panthers have hit 27 shots from behind the arc, easily their best back-to-back performances shooting-wise all season.
*Kaylon Williams’ triple-double was the first for UWM since Marc Mitchell did so back on Feb. 1, 1993 against UMKC.
*Anthony Hill, who fell in a heap midway through the second half, returned later in the game and said his ankle hurt but that he would be fine for the next game.
*This was the worst loss (24 points) for Butler since Jan. 29, 2005 when they lost to UIC, 73-49, a span of 198 games.
UWM head coach Rob Jeter
On snapping Butler’s streak of 22-straight HL wins.
“First of all, you give a lot of respect to Butler. They are the class of the league, there’s no doubt about it. The way they handle themselves, how they go about their business and the way they represent the league…I’m just proud of our guys.
“We just talked about doing the ordinary and maybe something extraordinary can happen. That’s what Butler does. They do the ordinary very well and enable to experience extraordinary things and that’s what I told our guys.”
On establishing the inside position early
“We tried to play the game simply, inside and out. We tried to just be simple and keep simple actions by going inside, which allowed us to be…because they did a heck of a job rotating. They switched and they rotate and they get backside help – they played pretty sound defensively but sometimes you can catch them on a switch or a scramble and you just have to trust you can make the shot if you have that look.”
Kaylon Williams
On getting a triple-double in a game this big
“It’s just a bonus. Coming out, you’re trying to win the game. It’s a team game. We got a great win but it’s like icing on top of a cake – you take it. It’s an honor…all the players who have come before me and for me to be the first (since 1993), it’s a great achievement.”
“Did you know during the game?
“No. No, I had no clue. You’re in a game against Butler, no matter what – you’re up 18 points – you still know a team like that can come back. I had no clue. I’m just doing what coach asked me to do – lead the team, get stops and it happened.”
Anthony Hill
On the injured ankle
“It’s fine. I’ll probably have to do a little bit of rehab but I’ll be OK.
“Matt Howard’s a big guy and he fell on my ankle but that wasn’t going to stop me from going back in and playing. I don’t care if it’s broke, I was going to go back in there and help the team win. It’s a big win and we’re just about to enjoy the win and move on to the next one.”
