Clarke to miss another game for No. 9 Butler

Rotnei Clarke was hurt when he crashed head-first into a padded basket support at Dayton on Jan. 12.

Tim G. Zechar/Icon SMI

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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