Butler Basketball: 5 storylines to follow for the 2017 Big East tournament

Guard play is essential in March

History states that quality guards are what carry teams in postseason play. Butler enters the Big East Tournament as the two seed, and they have a plethora of guards that can control the pace of games as well as take over late.

For starters, Kamar Baldwin was a unanimous selection for the All-Freshman team in the conference. He is one of the best two-way players nationwide with incredible quickness in addition to being ambidextrous. Baldwin is the third-leading scorer on the team, and it is hard to argue with his 38.5% shooting from three.

After Baldwin comes three seniors: Tyler Lewis, Kethan Savage, and Avery Woodson. All three are transfer students and bring different things to the table for head coach Chris Holtmann. Tyler Lewis is a true floor general, who has some of the best vision in the conference. He leads the team in assists at 4.0 per game and is splashing three-pointers at 43.1%. For context, this is just his first season shooting over 30% from distance.

The starting point guard is Kethan Savage, who although is the weakest shooter of the group, is vicious in attacking the basket. When in transition, it is really hard to stop this guy, as he is very good at creating contact, getting to the free throw line, and finishing in traffic. He was the team’s third-leading scorer in conference play with 10.5 per game while connecting on 54.9% of his shots inside the arc.

Lastly, Avery Woodson is the dead-eye shooter for Butler. He is shooting 42.2% from three and leads the team in made trifectas with 65. Woodson is having a great season and will likely be the guy to knock down the big open three for Butler when they need it.