Busting Brackets
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Butler Basketball: 3 takeaways from win over Detroit Mercy

By Lukas Harkins

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 08: Kamar Baldwin #3 of the Butler Bulldogs celebrates his shot in the second half against the Seton Hall Pirates during quarterfinals of the Big East Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 8, 2018 in New York City.The Butler Bulldogs defeated the Seton Hall Pirates 75-74. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 08: Kamar Baldwin #3 of the Butler Bulldogs celebrates his shot in the second half against the Seton Hall Pirates during quarterfinals of the Big East Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 8, 2018 in New York City.The Butler Bulldogs defeated the Seton Hall Pirates 75-74. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – FEBRUARY 06: McDermott #22 and Jorgensen #5 of the Butler Bulldogs celebrate. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – FEBRUARY 06: McDermott #22 and Jorgensen #5 of the Butler Bulldogs celebrate. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

2. Butler can be a great free throw shooting team

Over the course of last season, Butler basketball shot 77.6% from the free throw line, a rate that ranked 14th in the nation. And despite losing Tyler Wideman (82.0%) and Kelan Martin (84.4%), the team showed in this win over Detroit Mercy that they are capable of once again finishing near the top of the nation in free throw percentage. During this contest, the Dawgs shot 19-for-23 (82.6%) from the charity stripe and, while one game is far from a large enough sample size to draw any conclusions, this was a positive sign.

Due to the nature of his aggressive play, Kamar Baldwin is likely to attempt the most free throws on the team this season. Last year, the star guard shot a more than respectable 77.5% from the stripe. During this matchup against Detroit Mercy, Baldwin was able to earn free throws almost at will and he capitalized on these opportunities by shooting 7-for-9 from the line.

Additionally, it is important to mention that both of Butler’s centers are capable of being excellent free throw shooters. As long as Butler continues to feed Nate Fowler and Joey Brunk in the paint, it is reasonable to expect that they will earn their fair share of trips to the stripe. Against the Titans, these two combined to draw eight fouls and shot 10-for-12 on the following attempts.

This also does not account for the idea that Sean McDermott (81.8%) and Paul Jorgensen (83.7%) are bound to get to the free throw during this season as well. Jorgensen was the only one to get to the line in this one, making both of his attempts.