In the regular-season Big East finale, Butler basketball will go on the road to face Seton Hall. What do the Bulldogs need to do to secure the victory?
Let’s face it, Butler basketball has not been very good on the road this season. Sure, they have a couple of nice wins away from home, including an evisceration of Marquette, the 3-6 record in true road games leaves a lot to be desired. Even after a disastrous double-OT loss to St. John’s earlier in the week, though, the Bulldogs are still safely in the NCAA Tournament for the time being with a No. 9 seed in our projected field.
In order to solidify that position and become a lock for the dance, head coach LaVall Jordan‘s team needs just one more win. The first opportunity for this win comes on the road against Seton Hall. While the Pirates are another team sitting in the No. 7-10 range in terms of seeding, they have struggled at times this season.
The team has played excellently in this closing stretch, however, winning three of four and taking Villanova to overtime. Two of those wins also happened to come away from home. In the last meeting between these two teams, Seton Hall came back from a double-digit deficit in the second half to knock off Butler on the road.
How will the Bulldogs respond to their loss to St. John’s and what can they focus on to exact revenge on their loss to Seton Hall earlier this season?
1. Which Butler team will show up?
Anybody who has watched Butler this year knows about their inconsistencies. When they play well, they are the type of team that can hang 90+ points on Villanova and beat anybody in the country. This has happened on occasion this season but there have also been some awful performances. For proof of this, look no further than their losses to Georgetown and St. John’s.
As the team prepares for their matchup with Seton Hall, it is important to ask which version of Butler is going to show up? On a good night, Kamar Baldwin is able to get to the basket, Kelan Martin has his way as a scorer, and the role players consistently knock down threes. Oh, and their defense can lock down like none other.
2. Contain Angel Delgado
This is a big one for Butler. While Tyler Wideman and Nate Fowler are reasonably big bodies in the paint, neither one matches up with Angel Delgado well. The senior big man is one of the best in the nation and is a matchup nightmare for Butler. I have no idea how Butler coach LaVall Jordan will draw up a gameplan for Delgado but there definitely needs to be one.
Throughout the season, Bulldog bigs have struggled with getting into foul trouble. Jordan may end up throwing different looks at Delgado (Joey Brunk sighting, maybe?) to throw him off his game. In the last meeting between these two teams, Delgado finished with 28 points (9-for-15 FG, 10-for-12 FT), 15 rebounds, and 6 assists. Simply put, that cannot happen again if Butler wants to win this game.
3. Kamar Baldwin needs to get his groove back
Even though Butler has won two of their last three games, Kamar Baldwin has seriously struggled. The sophomore guard has definitely hit a rough patch recently, averaging 8.7 points to go with 4.0 turnovers per game in his past three contests. In addition, the typically efficient scorer is just 8-for-30 (26.7%) from the field, including 3-for-12 (25.0%) from three.
Thankfully, Baldwin’s top-notch defense makes him a valuable player even when he is off offensively. However, with the NCAA Tournament coming up soon, the Bulldogs will want their star guard to get back on track. In road games this season (including his poor outing against St. John’s), Baldwin is dropping in 20.3 points per game on 44.7% shooting. It might not seem like it, but a road venue might be the perfect place for Kamar to get back to normal.
Next: Bracketology: Where are the Bulldogs and Pirates?
Overall, this is an important game for both teams in terms of seeding for the Big East and NCAA Tournaments. It is the final regular-season game of the year and can have a major impact on the postseason for both teams. Expect a fast-paced game between teams that each have a tremendous crew of seniors.
Will Kelan Martin and Tyler Wideman of Butler be able to spoil Seton Hall’s Senior Day for Angel Delgado, Khadeen Carrington, Desi Rodriguez (who is likely to play despite injury), and Ismael Sanogo?