Butler Basketball: Takeaways from home loss to Seton Hall

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JANUARY 15: Shavar Reynolds #33 of the Seton Hall Pirates battles for a loose ball against Jordan Tucker #1 of the Butler Bulldogs in the second half of the game at Hinkle Fieldhouse on January 15, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Seton Hall defeated Butler 78-70. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – JANUARY 04: Thompson of the Bulldogs handles. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

1. Backcourt play is a strength…and a weakness.

Aaron Thompson and Kamar Baldwin make up one of the best backcourts in the entire country. I’m dead serious. They share the court extremely well with great chemistry and understand how to function as a duo. Head coach LaVall Jordan uses his tandem quite well while putting them in positions to succeed while on the floor. Thompson and Baldwin have the potential to be dangerous on both ends and could carry Butler to a very special season over the next two months.

In order for that to happen, though, they need to stay on the court.

Over the past two weeks, Butler has surrendered big second-half runs to Big East opponents on two occasions and both occurred while the team was missing one of its key guards. Against St. John’s, Baldwin was held out most of the second half due to an injury before returning and willing the Dawgs to victory. In this particular matchup against The Hall, Thompson played just three minutes in the second half before fouling out. He was +7 in 19 minutes as the only player with a significantly positive +/- for the game (Smits was +1).

It is no secret that Baldwin and Thompson are the engine that drive this team on both ends of the floor. Baldwin is the go-to scorer whenever the Dawgs need buckets and Thompson is the on-the-court coach on both ends of the floor. Having both of them on the floor during the second half of games is absolutely essential for Butler.

While I think that Khalif Battle supplied some solid minutes, playing the second half without Thompson took Butler out of its rhythm. He is simply so important to making this team go.