Butler basketball, who is sitting on the Big Dance bubble, has a huge opportunity coming up. How can the Dawgs defend home court against Marquette?
Butler basketball is very firmly on the bubble at this point in time. Despite scuffling through Big East play to date with just a 3-5 in-conference record, nobody else on the bubble has consistently snagged victories either. This has opened the door for the Dawgs to remain heavily in the conversation with a monster opportunity coming up. Butler is well-known to traditionally play well in front of their home crowd and that will need to occur this week when Marquette, a nationally ranked top-10 opponent, comes to visit Hinkle Fieldhouse.
In breaking down Butler’s current resume and remaining schedule, it is easy to see why this is a huge game. Head coach LaVall Jordan’s team could really use another high-quality win to put on their resume and this would fit the bill. Additionally, even though Marquette is ranked in the AP top-10, they are not all that highly-regarded by predictive metrics and it is easily possible that Butler will even be favored in this matchup.
Regardless of what the spread is, though, it is clear that this is a big game for Butler moving forward. I have said time and time again that the Dawgs will likely need to finish .500 in conference play in order to reach the NCAA Tournament and that would mean finishing the Big East slate by winning six of their last 10 games. And while this is totally reasonable, it would be great to start that streak by taking down Marquette.
Of course, this will not be an easy task. Marquette, who is led by superstar guard Markus Howard, is definitely one of the top teams in the Big East and they have won every single close game that they have played so far this season. With that said, though, the Golden Eagles have really struggled against the Dawgs, especially in Hinkle Fieldhouse, since conference realignment (Butler is an undefeated 5-0 at home vs. MU in BE play).
Now, let’s dive into three potential keys to success for Butler against Marquette in this matchup. (All statistics used in this article were found via Sports-Reference or KenPom unless otherwise noted.)