Butler Basketball: Takeaways from road loss to Villanova

VILLANOVA, PA - JANUARY 21: Bryce Nze #10 of the Butler Bulldogs looks on against the Villanova Wildcats in the second half at Finneran Pavilion on January 21, 2020 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The Villanova Wildcats defeated the Butler Bulldogs 76-61. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

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VILLANOVA, PA – JANUARY 21: Thompson of the Bulldogs dribbles. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

1. Butler returned to limiting turnovers.

Butler will never be a high-powered offensive juggernaut this season. The team just doesn’t feature enough firepower on that end of the floor. Kamar Baldwin is an awesome scorer but he is the only player that can be relied on for self-created buckets. That often makes it difficult for him as defenses can completely look to stop him. Baldwin did still manage to score 21 points on 9-for-21 shooting during this past game.

Jordan Tucker is the most-likely secondary candidate to score on his own but he is far less consistent and struggles around the rim. With that said, though, the Dawgs were still quite efficient offensively through the first two months of the season because they consistently took care of the ball and worked as a team. Simply getting shots up rather than wasting opportunities helped Butler

During most of conference play, Butler deviated from its normal play as opponents consistently forced turnovers. Aaron Thompson (1st), Bryce Nze (2nd), and Tucker (8th) were the biggest culprits in this category as they all ranked in the Top 10 in individual turnover rates through the first five conference games. In this particular matchup, though, those three players combined for just one turnover as the team’s turnover rate of 7.7% was the lowest of the entire season.

Additionally, the Dawgs recorded assists on 50% of made field goals. That mark is still below the team’s season-long percentage of 53.2% but is a substantial improvement over the other conference games. Aaron Thompson looking like himself on both ends of the floor again is a major reason for that and his resurgence will hopefully continue to breathe life into the team. Thompson recorded five assists in this game while limiting Collin Gillespie to poor shooting numbers.

Was Butler’s offense great in this game? No, but there were some definite signs of returning to what was the norm through the first two months of the season. In fact, one might even say the offense was just a few shots away from operating at a high level…