Butler basketball desperately needed to notch a home win over Seton Hall and that is exactly what they did…even if it was close down the stretch.
This one was not particularly pretty down the stretch. In fact, many might not even call it gritty. But…in the end, a win is a win and that exactly what Butler basketball was able to come away with at Hinkle Fieldhouse. After losing three straight games, Butler absolutely needed to notch a victory to stay in the NCAA Tournament conversation and this was a big one, even if it was more stressful than perhaps necessary down the stretch.
As I was in attendance for the game, I have not watched the “All-Access” portion of the broadcast yet but here are three of my takeaways from the essential victory. (I will avoid writing a play-by-play recap of this one because it is coming out a tad later than normal but the entire statistics can be found here.)
1. Seniors showed up to carry the weight.
Butler definitely needed to put on a strong performance in this matchup in order to take down Seton Hall. Seemingly from the opening tip, the Dawgs shot the ball well from deep and played with a ton of energy on both ends of the floor. And while Butler’s only two seniors, Paul Jorgensen and Nate Fowler, came off the bench in this one, they played tremendously well to help carry the team when necessary.
On the day, Jorgensen and Fowler combined to post 33 points on 12-for-16 (including 6-for-9 from three) shooting from the floor. They were absolutely outstanding on the offensive end and also held their own defensive both on the perimeter and around the basket. These two performances were much-needed when you consider that Butler’s star player, Kamar Baldwin, was held to 10 points on just 3-for-11 shooting from the field.
2. Defense still
Thanks to quality ball movement and hot shooting from deep, Butler won this game with its offense. As already mentioned, the seniors played a major role but plenty of other players also supplied strong scoring outings. With that said, though, the Dawgs’ defense struggled throughout the night. And while this might not have shown up on the scoreboard until the final few minutes, Butler did not defend that well in the first 35 minutes, either. In fact, of the six Pirates who played more than 10 minutes in the game, only one posted an ORtg below 100. Oh, and allowing this kind of shot selection is not tremendous:
I complained about Butler’s defense all game long, even when up 17. There’s no way to illustrate why better than this Seton Hall shot chart. That’s textbook shot distribution for the Pirates. pic.twitter.com/wUpOIg7K6t
— Jared Grubbs (@ButlerWay) February 2, 2019
Given the idea that Butler features their fair amount of solid individual defenders, they have the potential to be a much better defensive team that they have shown to this point. Many have pointed out that Butler struggles when it comes to shutting down the pick-and-roll and it will be interesting to see how they develop in that facet of the game as the season moves forward.
3. Butler’s bubble is not yet burst.
Butler needed this win extremely badly for their NCAA Tournament resume. After losing their previous three games, the Dawgs fell out of most projected bracketology fields (mine included) while staying in consideration. And while this victory might not put them “solidly in”, I think it is fair to say the Dawgs will once again basically define the cutline for who is in and who is out. With bubble teams dropping games left and right, each win matters and Butler showed the fight necessary to pull this one out.
Looking ahead, Butler will play three of its next four games on the road but several of them are winnable. As we have seen throughout Big East play so far, there are no “easy wins” in Big East play and the bottom eight teams in the conference are all beating up on each other. Someone will eventually have to separate themselves as the third-best team and even though Butler is just 4-6 in league play, who is to say they can’t be that team?
On the whole, this game summarized much of Butler’s season. They shot the ball well from the perimeter, played superb basketball for extended stretches, but also let their opponent go on a big run. Inconsistencies have plagued the Dawgs throughout this season but as long as there is more good than bad down the stretch, they will remain in the NCAA Tournament discussion.
Next up: Butler Bulldogs at Georgetown Hoyas on Feb. 9 (Saturday).
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