Busting Brackets
Fansided

Butler Basketball: 3 potential keys to success against Detroit Mercy

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
TUCSON, AZ – NOVEMBER 30: Detroit Mercy head coach Davis when leading Texas Southern. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ – NOVEMBER 30: Detroit Mercy head coach Davis when leading Texas Southern. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) /

1. Slow down Antoine Davis

Even though this new season is very young, Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis has already emerged as one of the best mid-major freshmen in the country. A 6-foot-1 guard, Davis has been electrifying as a scorer despite facing off against some tough competition in WMU and Temple. Even though he was ranked at just No. 312 in the 2018 recruiting class, Davis has shown early on in his college career why he received so much attention from high-major programs (he was originally committed to Houston before his father took the head coaching job at Detroit Mercy).

In the first two games of his college career, Davis has simply been on fire as a scorer. And even though the Titans have lost both of their games by double-digits, it has not been his fault. Here are his first performances so far:

  • at Western Michigan: 32 points on 6-for-14 from three (12-for-26 total)
  • at Temple: 30 points on 6-for-13 from three (11-for-21 total)

Given this, Davis should be the top defensive priority for Butler in this one. Considering the Bulldogs have struggled a bit defending 3-point shooting teams in the past, Davis has the potential to erupt for a huge scoring output once again. This is, of course, if he is able to create open looks for himself against Butler’s defense without running off of screens.

However, Butler, unlike WMU and Temple, has film on Davis and the defensive-oriented backcourt to stop him. Aaron Thompson, Kamar Baldwin, and Paul Jorgensen are all high-energy defensive guards who play upwards of 25 minutes per game. This trio will be relied on to slow down Davis’ ability to get hot.