Busting Brackets
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Butler Basketball: Keys to success on the road versus Creighton

By Lukas Harkins

PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 10: Aaron Thompson #2 of the Butler Bulldogs passes the ball against the Villanova Wildcats at the Wells Fargo Center on February 10, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 10: Aaron Thompson #2 of the Butler Bulldogs passes the ball against the Villanova Wildcats at the Wells Fargo Center on February 10, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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DETROIT, MI – MARCH 18: Head coach Jordan of the Butler Bulldogs reacts. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – MARCH 18: Head coach Jordan of the Butler Bulldogs reacts. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

1. Find a way to get to the line.

For starters, let me say that it is incredibly impressive that Butler’s offense ranks 26th in the nation in adjusted efficiency despite the lowest FTAr among all power conference teams. With that said, though, the team absolutely needs to get to the free throw line more in order to consistently win games down the stretch of this season. And while Butler’s lack of free throw attempts can be derived from stylistic choices of play, it is also reasonable to think that they deserve more trips to the line than they are currently getting. From a personnel standpoint, one has to think that players like Kamar Baldwin and Jordan Tucker should be able to get to the line with some regularity.

In order to get to the free throw line more in this contest, Butler needs to do a better job playing through contact. To this point in the year, attempting fadeaway jumpers in the lane or pulling the ball back out to reset a possession has become part of the norm for the Dawgs. This, though, does not lead to getting to the free throw line and Butler will continue to struggle as long as they continue to attempt far less free throws than their opponents are making.

Additionally, head coach LaVall Jordan might even start to grill the officials a bit over the course of this game to garner more calls. Coach Jordan is not typically one to “work the refs” but maybe that could be a difference-maker. Something needs to change when it comes to Butler’s free throw differential and there is no better time for that shift than right now. In the first meeting between these two teams, Butler attempted 17 free throws.