Butler Basketball: Dawgs add resume-building road win over Georgetown

Butler basketball has been flirting with the bubble all season long and just picked up a massive road win over Georgetown. What did we learn?

This one was possibly more stressful than it needed to be. Again. Despite leading for over three-quarters of the game, Butler basketball narrowly snagged a big-time road win over Georgetown this weekend. In the end, though, this will simply go into the record book as a win and a big one at that. Heading into this weekend, the Dawgs were firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble in need of a resume-building win and they were able to do just that.

Behind strong performances from just about everyone on the roster, Butler was able to build nearly a double-digit lead early in the game and they never really looked back from there. Sure, the Hoyas were able to trim their deficit to just two points on several occasions but Butler seemingly always had an answer. This marked Butler’s second consecutive nail-biting win and fans everywhere might need to change their shirts before finishing out the weekend.

Now, since I’m sure you watched the game, let’s just dive into three of my biggest takeaways from the win for the Dawgs without any more introduction.

1. This team has *maybe* learned how to close games…

This might be a surprising takeaway for some Butler fans. And before you dive into my Twitter mentions to argue this point, hear me out. Just one week ago, this team had lost all four contests that were decided by five points or fewer. Now, though, the Dawgs have secured back-to-back close wins during arguably the most crucial stretch of the season. And while the victories might not have been all that pretty down the stretch due to stagnant offensive play and blown leads, they still go in the record book as victories.

At the end of the day, all that really matters is winning and that is exactly what the team has done. Of course, there is bound to be frustration over the blown leads but the team has managed to weather those runs from their opponents and still come out victorious in back-to-back games. In my opinion, there is one very positive takeaway from that (aside from the two W’s in the standings): this team has learned how to play through adversity.

In this win over Georgetown, in particular, Butler’s defense showed up in the last few minutes and shut down every open look from the floor. Rotations weren’t great at times and they did commit some fouls but the Hoyas were held to just five points on 0-for-5 shooting from the field over the last 4:25 of the game. And Butler did this on the road. That deserves to be commended.

2. Quality depth and rest matters.  

I have commented on Butler’s depth on many occasions so far this season. With so many capable rotation players on the roster, it is clear that the Dawgs are one of the deepest teams in the Big East and they are often able to use that to their advantage. In this matchup, head coach LaVall Jordan went nine deep in his rotation (all played at least eight minutes) and eight of them recorded points. As has been the case throughout this conference season, Butler’s bench was absolutely superb. Statistically, Butler won the bench scoring battle by 13 points (22-9).

Additionally, even teams with outstanding depth need a break. To start conference play, the Dawgs had to play 10 games over the span of 32 days and it was clear that their stamina was drained near the end of that stretch. Heading into this matchup with Georgetown, though, Butler had an entire week to prepare and that was evident. The Dawgs came out with a ton of energy and had a strong gameplan, especially on the offensive end, from the jump.

3. Butler’s NCAA Tournament hopes are…well…very much alive.

This might also come as a surprise given how the team has played throughout the season but it is true. Thanks to the current state of the bubble, most notably due to the struggles of the Pac-12, there are plenty of spots available for teams to swoop in and snag bids. Entering this matchup, Butler was sitting right on the cutline as the first team out of our bracketology field here at Busting Brackets. And with Temple, the second-to-last team in at the time, dropping a road game to Tulsa, it is reasonable to think that the Dawgs will move into that spot in the projected field.

To put it simply, this team is firmly in the NCAA Tournament discussion and they should now have the confidence needed to keep what is now a two-game winning streak going. Butler is getting strong contributions from just about everyone on the roster and they have really played like a team for extended stretches over the past two games. With another road game coming up next against St. John’s, the Dawgs will have an opportunity to solidify their position in projected fields before returning home to take on DePaul.

In the end, this was a massive win for Butler basketball for many reasons. The Dawgs were able to 1) snag a road win, 2) hold onto their second consecutive close game, and 3) get meaningful contributions from several members of the roster to pull out the win. There were obviously some negative takeaways (*cough* defensive rebounding *cough*) as well but let’s just focus on the fact that the Dawgs are now tied for third in the Big East with a chance at a Big Dance bid.

It is now time to celebrate this one and come back with another big-time performance against St. John’s on Tuesday.