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Butler Basketball: Breaking down each 2018-19 non-conference opponent

By Lukas Harkins

CINCINNATI, OH - JANUARY 02: Jordan the head coach of the Butler Bulldogs gives instructions to his team against the Xavier Musketeers at the Cintas Center on January 2, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - JANUARY 02: Jordan the head coach of the Butler Bulldogs gives instructions to his team against the Xavier Musketeers at the Cintas Center on January 2, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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CINCINNATI, OH – JANUARY 02: Jordan the head coach of the Butler Bulldogs gives instructions. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH – JANUARY 02: Jordan the head coach of the Butler Bulldogs gives instructions. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Butler basketball has released its non-conference schedule for the 2018-19 season. Who will the Dawgs be facing and how is the outlook shaping up?

Non-conference scheduling is a vital part of every college basketball season. While securing several “tune-up” games is important for a high-major team, as is scheduling some tougher opponents to increase a team’s overall strength of schedule. A steady mix of challenges and easy victories make up the best non-conference schedules. While having a strong SOS at the end of the year is important, as is having a fair number of wins on the resume as well. At a certain point, the number of wins matters more than the SOS.

With the new quadrant system for resumes in NCAA basketball, scheduling may start to look a little bit different from here on out. Last season was the first under this new system and most bracketologists (including myself) believe that it is an upgrade from the past. Of course, because team sheets cannot take into account the eye test or injuries all that much, it takes more than just looking at a resume to determine who should make the Big Dance.

As a quick reminder, though, here is how the quadrant system works for the NCAA Tournament selection committee:

  • Q1: Home vs. RPI 1-30 | Away vs. RPI 1-75 | Neutral vs. RPI 1-50
  • Q2: Home vs. RPI 31-75 | Away vs. RPI 76-135 | Neutral vs. RPI 51-100
  • Q3: Home vs. RPI 76-160 | Away vs. RPI 136-240 | Neutral vs. RPI 101-200
  • Q4: Home vs. RPI 161+ | Away vs. RPI 241+ | Neutral vs. RPI 201+

For Butler Basketball this season, the hope is that this system will not be used to determine if the team should make the tournament but rather where they are seeded. In Tyler Wideman and Kelan Martin, the program definitely lost some pieces that will be difficult to recover from. Yet, the return of star junior Kamar Baldwin as well as a tremendously deep roster overall, the Bulldogs should compete in the upper half of the Big East and could potentially be a top-25 team in the country. Remember, this is Butler we are talking about. There are not many programs as consistent.

https://twitter.com/ButlerMBB/status/1022179820430602240

As we look ahead to this upcoming season, the Bulldogs’ non-conference schedule will play a role in where they are seeded (if they are worthy of an NCAA Tournament bid). This is why smart scheduling in the offseason can go a long way by the time we hit March. So, now that the program has released its schedule for this coming year, let’s break down each non-conference opponent (Tiffin and Southern Indiana are the exhibitions.)