Butler Basketball: Keys to success against UC-Irvine in 2018-19

DETROIT, MI - MARCH 16: Aaron Thompson #2 of the Butler Bulldogs shoots the ball against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the first half of the game in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Little Caesars Arena on March 16, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

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PHILADELPHIA, PA – FEBRUARY 10: Head coach Jordan of the Butler Bulldogs looks on. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

3. Find a body on the defensive glass

While UC-Irvine is one of the better defensive teams in the nation, we cannot say the same about their offense. The Anteaters currently rank 144th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency and the majority of their shot attempts come inside the arc (68.5% of FGA are 2PA), where they are not particularly great (46.8 2P%, 266th). With that said, though, it is important to mention that UC-Irvine can be deadly from distance even though they do not attempt many of those shots. To this point in the year, the Anteaters rank just 323rd in the nation in 3PAr but do convert on 37.0% of their 3-pointers.

Now that statistics are out of the way, let’s break down a bit of what they mean. To put simply, UC-Irvine is a team that will seek out opportunities to score inside the arc. However, they are not particularly great at finishing inside the arc and therefore can go through long offensive droughts. In order for Butler to take advantage of UC-Irvine’s offensive weaknesses, the team will need to consistently box out and secure defensive rebounds. This is especially true when you consider that the Anteaters rank 87th in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage (31.9% of misses).

And while big men Joey Brunk and Nate Fowler will be responsible for a large part of this key, it takes a team effort to effectively rebound consistently. This means that every player needs to find someone to put a body on as the ball is in the air. Butler ranks fairly well nationally in terms of defensive rebounding percentage (72.9%, 108th) and the hope is that they can keep UC-Irvine off the offensive glass in this matchup.

The Anteaters will likely struggle to score consistently if they are not snagging offensive rebounds and finishing on second-chance opportunities.

Next. Updated national power rankings (Wk. 7). dark

Butler basketball may not enter this game as a huge favorite but they should still enter the gym thinking they will leave victorious. With students off for Winter Break, the rest of the Hinkle Fieldhouse will need to be engaged and loud (which they weren’t against Presbyterian) to help create a hostile environment. This has the potential to be a “grind-it-out” kind of game and the Dawgs should be able to win their individual matchups and get the W.

Final Prediction: Butler Bulldogs – 75, UC-Irvine Anteaters – 66.