Butler Basketball: Keys to success against Morehead State in 2019-20

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 02: Aaron Thompson #2 of the Butler Bulldogs shoots the ball against Jermaine Samuels #23 of the Villanova Wildcats in the first half at the Wells Fargo Center on March 2, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

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DETROIT, MI – MARCH 18: Coach Jordan of the Bulldogs reacts. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

1. Stay disciplined and physical on the glass.

With the “Bryce Bros” of Nze and Golden holding down Butler’s starting frontcourt, the team has been quite effective on the glass to begin this season. Of course, the Dawgs have not consistently faced “big” teams this season and that can be a reason for their top-100 rankings in both offensive (32.0%, 94th) and defensive (74.3%, 88th) rebounding rates. Nonetheless, though, the team is obviously going to be at least average on the glass throughout this season and they should hold a major advantage in that area against Morehead State.

As previously mentioned, one of the Eagles’ major weaknesses is their lack of size. Morehead State ranks just 304th in the country in average height (per KenPom) and that can be an issue against high-major opposition. Even though the Eagles have done a nice job combatting that this season with tremendous effort and hustle while tracking down loose balls, they were still outrebounded by 17 in their lone high-major game this season (at Missouri). Butler is a very physical team in the frontcourt and they also feature Kamar Baldwin and Jordan Tucker as players who are elite rebounders at their respective positions.

Butler should have more talent and physicality in this matchup and that should pay off in a big way. The Dawgs have done an excellent job controlling the tempo of their contests so far this season and dominating on the glass (and the turnover battle) can help create a possession advantage that is hard for a mid-major to overcome.

In order for the Dawgs to excel in this area, they will need to stay disciplined with regard to boxing out. Discipline has been a strength for Butler to begin this season and that will need to be evident once again. Despite their lack of size, Morehead State still ranks 60th in the nation in offensive rebounding rate (34.5%). Missouri did a great job earlier this week in limiting this facet of their game (six offensive rebounds and just four second-chance points), and you can be sure that Butler was tuned into that contest for film purposes on both teams (the Dawgs play Missouri on Monday).

This shouldn’t be a difficult key to accomplish for Butler but it is an important one nonetheless. The Dawgs will need to stay diligent in enforcing their advantage in the paint on both ends to create a possession disparity in their favor.