Butler star guard Rotnei Clarke appears to be making a smooth recovery after suffering a sprained neck against Dayton and hasn’t been ruled out for Wednesday’s home game with Richmond.

“He won’t be on the court until he’s 100 percent and has 100 percent clearance, but he has really progressed well since Saturday,” coach Brad Stevens said on the Atlantic 10 coaches teleconference Monday.

Clarke took a hard foul from behind on a breakaway lay-up by UD’s Matt Derenbecker, who was called for a Flagrant 1 foul. The Bulldogs’ leading scorer temporarily lost feeling below his neck, was carted off on a gurney and taken to Miami Valley Hospital.

Clarke had a battery of tests Saturday night in Indianapolis, and all showed no serious damage.

“Obviously, Saturday and the initial hit and how he felt right after that initial hit was extremely scary for all of us — Rotnei and his family, first and foremost,” Stevens said. “We’re very thankful he’s feeling the way he’s feeling today.”

The Butler side never complained about the foul being dirty, but the aftermath was confusing for Stevens. When a player is injured and can’t take his foul shots, the coach on the other team picks the shooter. But because it was Flagrant 1, Stevens could have done the choosing.

He didn’t know that, though, and he looked over at John Adams, the NCAA supervisor of officials at courtside, and said, “They shouldn’t be able to pick.”

Adams, apparently out of hearing range for Stevens, replied, “They don’t.”

UD put Khyle Marshall, a 55-percent shooter, on the line, and he made one of two. But Stevens would have preferred Kellen Dunham, one of the nation’s top foul shooters at 95 percent.

“Whether it was a miscommunication from me or a miscommunication from the officials, I couldn’t really tell you because it was one of those things where I was focused on Rotnei,” Stevens said. “It very easily could have been me, but I was pretty sure I was told they would pick, and Dayton picked Khyle.

“I was fine with Khyle going to the line and Khyle making it. But it would have been hard to ignore a 95-percent free-throw shooter on the floor.”

Both coaches knew Adams was in attendance to evaluate the A-10 crew, and UD’s Archie Miller voiced his displeasure from across the court late in the game on a no-call when Dyshawn Pierre was bumped on a drive, followed immediately by a foul on Devon Scott as he attempted to block a dunk.

A glaring Miller held out his arms and barked something in Adams’ direction.

When someone near him said he must get singled out often by coaches during games, Adams replied, “Never.”

Turnaround year: Although a soft-nonleague schedule has helped, Charlotte is off to a 14-2 start under second-year coach Alan Major, a former Ohio State assistant.

The 49ers, who went 13-17 last season, did beat Davidson on the road. And they won their first two A-10 games against La Salle and Rhode Island.

“We’ve been able to add some depth to our roster,” Major said. “We’re at a point where we can substitute and maintain our defensive intensity level for 40 minutes.

“Offensively, at times we’re pretty and at times we’re god-awful ugly. But we’ve been able to sometimes manufacture it when the ball’s not going in, either going to the foul line or getting put-backs. We’re still finding our rhythm from game to game.”

Setting the pace: Saint Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli is a fan of VCU’s frenetic style. He also admires the Rams’ guts.

The A-10 newcomer plays an extended defense and leads the nation in steals and turnover margin while hoisting about 25 three-pointers per game.

“I think too many of us are in a cookie cutter. We play man-to-man, we’ll run some form of motion offense or our plays, and we’ll run ball screens,” Martelli said. “VCU is a team that presses and gets after you.

“Louisville is the No. 1 team in the country, and they do it. Florida does it. And VCU does it. But there’s not enough of us who are sure of ourselves enough to come out with a different style, and that’s what VCU brings to the league.”

Strength in numbers: The A-10 has 10 teams in the RPI top-100 nationally this week, and the league is rated seventh among all conferences.

Butler has an RPI of 15, VCU 30, Temple 32, La Salle 40, UMass 49, Saint Louis 50, Charlotte 60, Saint Joseph’s 66, Dayton 89 and Xavier 91.