Butler guard Rotnei Clarke watches from the bench in the final minutes of an NCAA college basketball game against Vanderbilt. Clarke led his team with 22 points as Butler won 68-49. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Butler guard Rotnei Clarke watches from the bench in the final minutes of an NCAA college basketball game against Vanderbilt. Clarke led his team with 22 points as Butler won 68-49. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Updated: Monday, 21 Jan 2013, 8:34 PM EST
Published : Monday, 21 Jan 2013, 8:34 PM EST
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - No. 9 Butler will play without leading scorer Rotnei Clarke on Wednesday at La Salle.
Coach Brad Stevens says Clarke will miss his third straight game with a severely sprained neck. No decision has yet been made about Saturday's home game against Temple.
Clarke was hurt when he crashed head-first into a padded basket support at Dayton on Jan. 12.
But Clarke's absence hasn't slowed the surging Bulldogs (16-2, 3-0 Atlantic 10), who have won 13 straight including Saturday's buzzer-beater over then-No. 8 Gonzaga, 64-63. The streak has moved the Bulldogs into the top 10 for the first time since Feb. 18, 2008.
Stevens says Alex Barlow, the walk-on whose shot beat No. 1 Indiana in December, has been given a scholarship for the second semester.
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