Busting Brackets
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Big East Basketball: Power ranking the conference (Nov. 22 – Nov. 28)

By Lukas Harkins

CINCINNATI, OH - NOVEMBER 13: Xavier Musketeers players react from the bench in the second half of a game against the Rider Broncs at Cintas Center on November 13, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Xavier won 101-75. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - NOVEMBER 13: Xavier Musketeers players react from the bench in the second half of a game against the Rider Broncs at Cintas Center on November 13, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Xavier won 101-75. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – NOVEMBER 12: Thompson
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – NOVEMBER 12: Thompson /

Another team that competed in the PK80 Tournament, Butler falls one spot from a T-5 finish in the first week of rankings to T-6 this time around. Although the team performed fairly well while in Portland, they were unable to come up with any major resume-building wins. Duke, Florida, and Gonzaga were all in their bracket at the PK80 but the Bulldogs did not match up with any of those three.

Butler Bulldogs Basketball
Butler Bulldogs Basketball /

Butler Bulldogs Basketball

In the first round of the tournament, the Dawgs faced off against Mohamed Bamba and the Texas Longhorns. This game was dominated by poor shooting on both ends of the floor. In the end, though, the length of Texas flustered Butler too much to get anything going on the offensive end. Kelan Martin and Kamar Baldwin both struggled mightily in this opening round loss.

After this loss, Butler then faced Portland State in the second round. The Vikings were fresh off of a hard-fought loss to Duke in their first-round game and came to play once again against Butler. The Bulldogs had several opportunities to pull away throughout the game, but in the end, the team needed a late-game stop to hold onto their two-point victory.

In these early stages of the season, there is a big difference between going 1-2 in a tournament and going 2-1. Heading into Butler’s last game of the PK80, they were matched up with Ohio State, coached by former Butler coach Chris Holtmann. In what was an emotional game, the Bulldogs made a massive comeback in regulation to force overtime, where a Kelan Martin layup gave them the victory.

Looking forward, Butler is going to need more production from its two stars, Martin and Baldwin, as well as the return of a healthy Sean McDermott (who injured his ankle against Portland State) in order to succeed in conference play.

Schedule for this week:

  • Saint Louis (3-2) at Butler on Dec. 2
  • Utah (5-1) at Butler on Dec. 5
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