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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CINCINNATI, OH – JANUARY 02: Coach Jordan of Butler gives instructions. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH – JANUARY 02: Coach Jordan of Butler gives instructions. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

2. Defend the perimeter.

Creighton is one of the toughest teams to defend on the perimeter in the entire country. With a ton of elite shooters on the roster, the Bluejays are not afraid to let the ball fly both in transition and in the halfcourt. On the season, head coach Greg McDermott’s team ranks 15th in the nation in 3PAr (46.9% of total shot attempts are from deep) and fourth in 3P% (41.9%). To put it simply, this team can score with the best of them.

Butler, though, should be accustomed to defending teams who like to let it fly. In fact, their last two opponents (Villanova and St. John’s) are also close to the same league as Creighton when it comes to volume and efficiency from beyond the arc. On the whole, the Dawgs have done a nice job defending the perimeter so far this season (third in the Big East in opp. 3P%) and they have to hope that continues in this one. In order to limit Creighton’s open looks, the entire roster needs to be ready to pressure the ball and run around screens.

In their prior meeting this season, Butler held Creighton to just 7-for-27 (25.9%) from beyond the arc and their 3-point defense has traveled extremely well so far this season. For reference, Butler is forcing opponents into less than 35% shooting from deep in both home and road games this year. On the season, though, Creighton has been much better from three when playing at home (45.9%) as opposed to on the road (35.0%).