Busting Brackets
Fansided

Butler Basketball: Resume breakdown for the bubblicious Bulldogs

By Lukas Harkins

PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 10: Head coach Jordan of the Butler Bulldogs looks on 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: Head coach Jordan of the Butler Bulldogs looks on 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) /

Metric rankings and quadrant records

Butler’s “on paper” resume is not all that great but it screams “bubble team”. For the most part, the Dawgs are ranked right in the heart of bubble country when it comes to metric rankings and the team boasts plenty of “good, not great” wins on the year. Because of that, there are plenty of flaws in the resume but it is still deserving of strong consideration for the field given how poorly the bubble is shaping up at this point in time.

Here is a quick overview of Butler’s teamsheet as it stands right now (Feb. 17):

  • NET Ranking: 54th in the nation
  • Strength of schedule: 25th
  • Resume Metrics: 45th in KPI, 70th in SOR
  • Quality Metrics: 49th in BPI, 50th in KP, 44th in Sag
  • Quadrant 1 Record: 1-6
  • Quadrant 2 Record: 6-4
  • Quadrant 3 Record: 5-1
  • Quadrant 4 Record:  3-0

What is important to mention about these numbers, though, is that quadrant records are fluid based on the NET status of Butler’s opponents. Because of this, there are certain teams that Butler fans should be rooting for. While Butler controls its own destiny by just winning every game during this rest of the season, that should not be expected and therefore rooting for specific teams to bolster the resume matters (and cheering for other bubble teams to lose, of course).

At this point in time, Georgetown is the most important team for Butler to follow as they stand at No. 79 in the NET, meaning that they are just outside of the top-75 cutline for certain quadrants. This affects the Dawgs because their home loss to the Hoyas sits in Q3 right now while the road win over them is in Q2. If Georgetown is able to creep into the top-75 in the coming weeks, that would greatly improve Butler’s resume as they would not have a Q3/4 loss at all and they would also gain a Q1 win.

It is these details that matter in the bubble conversation and could be the difference between making and missing the NCAA Tournament.