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Butler Basketball: Keys to success vs. Georgetown in 2019-20

By Lukas Harkins

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 28: Kamar Baldwin #3 of the Butler Bulldogs dribbles by Jagan Mosely #4 of the Georgetown Hoyas in the second half during a college basketball game at the Capital One Arena on January 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 28: Kamar Baldwin #3 of the Butler Bulldogs dribbles by Jagan Mosely #4 of the Georgetown Hoyas in the second half during a college basketball game at the Capital One Arena on January 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 28: Ewing and Jordan talk. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 28: Ewing and Jordan talk. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Butler basketball picked up a solid home win over Xavier in its last game. How can the Dawgs put together another strong performance against Georgetown?

Butler basketball has widely been considered to be mired in a slump for the past few weeks. While this has definitely been the case with regard to the eye test, the Dawgs have actually managed to win four of their last six games and will be favored in their upcoming contest against Georgetown. The team has not looked especially dominant in conference play by any stretch but it has treaded water as a Top 25 unit poised for a strong seed in the NCAA Tournament with a good finish to the season.

That finish hopefully started earlier this week when Butler was able to defend its home court against Xavier. The Dawgs seemed to return to their earlier form on the defensive end in that contest and also moved the ball quite well while Aaron Thompson was dictating the offense. Thompson did suffer an injury that caused him to miss most of the second half, though, and is currently listed as day-to-day. The same can also be said about reserve big man Derrik Smits, who reinjured his knee.

Butler won’t be the only team dinged up during its upcoming matchup with Georgetown this weekend, though. The Hoyas have had this entire week off to prepare but neither Mac McClung nor Omer Yurtseven has taken the court in practice. Georgetown’s two leading scorers are also listed as day-to-day with their statuses up in the air for this contest. The Hoyas will enter this contest sitting on the wrong side of the projected bracketology cutline with a 14-10 (4-7 BE) record.

This matchup between Butler nad Georgetown will take place on Feb. 15th in Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Dawgs took the first meeting between these two teams a couple of weeks ago in the nation’s capital. Thompson missed that game with an injury while Smits, McClung, and Yurtseven all played.

Even though each team could be playing without two of its normal rotation pieces, let’s dive into a bit of a preview for this contest. This article will break down three potential keys to success for Butler and then include a pregame edition of the Hark’s Bark.