Caitlin Clark, being named Time’s 2024 Athlete of the Year, was a huge deal for her and the WNBA. Proud boyfriend Connor McCaffery shared the post and even added, 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 to celebrate the huge success. Currently, it’s him who is having on-court success, as Clark enjoys her downtime from the W. The Bulldogs’ new assistant coach was off to a promising start, but the team seems to be in a rut now. To make matters worse, they have received further bad news.

“Sophomore Augusto Cassia sustained an injury to a ligament in his right knee in Tuesday’s game. He is out indefinitely.” The official X page of Butler Men’s Basketball shared the news. “The injury does not require surgery and is not season-ending. He will continue to be evaluated over the next few weeks.” During a recent game against the North Dakota State Bison, Butler lost 71-68. Cassia played 18 minutes and accumulated 4 points.

It marks the second loss on a trot for Connor McCaffery and the Bulldogs. Cassia is a miss because he leads the team in FG% (66.7). Plus, the Brazilian-born also is second in the team for blocks per game (0.8). Despite playing for only close to 15 minutes per game, he has found a way to leave a mark on the game. Even the Bisons left a stinging mark as they upset the home team.

Jacksen Moni scored eight of his 25 points in the final 2 1/2 minutes and Jacari White tallied 27 points. With that, they helped their team achieve a fifth straight win. The Bulldogs shot just 31 percent from the floor before halftime compared to NDSU’s 53.3 percent.

Is Connor McCaffery missing the Caitlin Clark effect?

Caitlin Clark became a Butler Bulldogs fan the moment the program hired her boyfriend, Connor McCaffery, as an assistant coach. And since then, she’s been at nearly every game. Her presence earned the nickname ‘lucky charm’ as the Bulldogs were on a roll. Interestingly, a one-game absence led to the team losing their winning streak.

In the loss against the Houston Cougars, Patrick McCaffery and Augusto Cassia had 11 points each to lead Butler (7-2) at the time. Which had its six-game winning streak snapped. Before that game, the Bulldogs, who entered shooting nearly 48% from the field and 42% on 3-pointers, were held well below those averages. Especially, in the second half, where they shot 67% from the field and outscored the Bulldogs 51-30.

Next up for Connor McCaffery and the Bulldogs come the Wisconsin Badgers in Indianapolis. With an 8-3 record, plus seventh in the Big Ten scoring 81.8 points per game and shooting 45.3%, surely will present a strong test for the team. Will Caitlin Clark show up and once again spark the winning magic?