3. Defend the perimeter.
By now, I think we know that Butler is not going to defend the paint all that well. The Dawgs rarely block shots and they constantly send opponents to the free throw line. This just might not be a facet of the game that the team can effectively stop on the defensive due to personnel. But with reliable perimeter defenders such as Aaron Thompson, Kamar Baldwin, and Henry Baddley on the roster, Butler should be able to limit their opposition’s ability to light it up from beyond the arc.
But yet, that has not really occurred to this point in the year. Butler’s defense, which is ranked outside of the nation’s top-100 in adjusted efficiency, has struggled in seemingly all aspects of the game this season. Butler is traditionally known as a program with a stout defense but that has not been the case this year. In fact, this is the lowest-rated defense of any Butler team since 2004-05, when the team finished just 13-15 (7-9 HL). With regards to perimeter defense only, the Dawgs have allowed opponents to shoot a strong 35.4% from beyond the arc so far this season.
In general, the Big East is one of the best conferences in America when it comes to striping it from distance. In conference games only, Big East teams are shooting threes at the seventh-highest rate of all 32 conferences and knocking them down at the 12th-highest clip. Given this, perimeter defense will be key to success in this tournament. In order for Butler to make the deep run necessary for the automatic bid, the perimeter defenders will need to stay active in closing out and staying in front of their matchup. Even if the Dawgs are destroyed in the paint, defending the arc might be far more important.