3. Dawgs need to limit opponent FTA.
Butler’s defense has remained relatively rock-solid in conference play when it is not sending its opponents to the free-throw line. Statistics back this up as well as teams are shooting just % from two and % from three against the Dawgs in conference play so far. The issue, though, is that the Dawgs are allowing their opposition to seemingly making a living at the charity stripe in every single game.
Opponents averaged 13.8 free-throw attempts per game against Butler during non-conference play but that number has absolutely ballooned to a ridiculous 22.0. The Dawgs do not play high-possession games, so surrendering this many “freebie” attempts is a real issue.
Additionally, Butler has not been particularly lucky as its conferences foes have connected on 80.3% of those attempts. For reference, the entire nation is shooting 70.2% this season and only three teams in the country shoot better than 80%.
While fans can blame referees as much as they want, the fact of the matter is that Butler’s defense needs to adapt when it is not allowed to play as physical as it wants to. I’m not sure what this adjustment will need to be (hence why I’m not a coach) but the team needs to be ready to change when defense is not being officiated in the fashion that it would like.
Referee variance is a real thing and there is very little consistency from game-to-game with regard to what is allowed and what isn’t. That’s just the nature of college basketball and it affects every team in one way or another. The Dawgs, though, have struggled this season when their defense has been taken out of its rhythm with foul calls.
There’s no simple answer to fixing this. But figuring out that solution should be a priority. Butler cannot expect to win conference games while exhibiting a huge negative disparity in FTA.