Busting Brackets
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Butler Basketball: Keys to success at home against Creighton in 2018-19

By Lukas Harkins

DETROIT, MI - MARCH 18: Head coach Jordan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - MARCH 18: Head coach Jordan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 09: Thompson #2 and Baldwin #3 of the Butler Bulldogs fight. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 09: Thompson #2 and Baldwin #3 of the Butler Bulldogs fight. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Defend the perimeter

Creighton is easily one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the nation. Thanks to sharpshooting stars in Ty-Shon Alexander and Mitchell Ballock, this is a team that can let it fly from the perimeter and make opponents pay. To this point in the year, the Bluejays rank No. 4 in the nation in 3-point percentage (43.2%) and they attempt 44.5% of their total FGA from beyond the arc. They might rely on the trifecta a bit too much at times but it would be a mistake to simply let them rain down jumpers. This is where Butler’s perimeter defenders will need to come to play.

Most notably, Kamar Baldwin and Aaron Thompson will need to be at their best when it comes to defending beyond the arc and fighting through screens. These two have shut down some elite 3-point shooting teams in the past (see Marquette last season) and they will need to do the same in this one. Creighton has plenty of weapons on the perimeter but if Butler can slow down their primary playmakers, open looks from 3-point range might be hard to come by.

Additionally, closing out on 3-point shooters could allow Butler to utilize the transition game to their advantage. For the most part, the Dawgs will want to slow down the pace of this game but there is nothing wrong with pushing the tempo when you have numbers. And if Creighton’s missed shots are bounding out to Butler’s guards, they could start working a bit more in transition, finding easy buckets inside or open looks along the perimeter for Sean McDermott or Paul Jorgensen.

Butler head coach LaVall Jordan has stressed throughout this season that he wants his team to play a bit faster (currently 306th in offensive tempo) and while slowing the pace down might help them over the course of the entire 40 minutes against Creighton, taking advantage of quality transition opportunities could pay dividends.