Busting Brackets
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Butler Basketball: Keys to success at Xavier in 2019-20

By Lukas Harkins

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 12: Kamar Baldwin #3 of the Butler Bulldogs handles the ball against Zach Freemantle #32 of the Xavier Musketeers in the first half of a game at Hinkle Fieldhouse on February 12, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 12: Kamar Baldwin #3 of the Butler Bulldogs handles the ball against Zach Freemantle #32 of the Xavier Musketeers in the first half of a game at Hinkle Fieldhouse on February 12, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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NEWARK, NJ – FEBRUARY 19: Thompson fights. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ – FEBRUARY 19: Thompson fights. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

1. Win the possession battle.

Winning away from home is never easy. It’s even more difficult when that road game comes against an intra-conference rival that is also celebrating its Senior Night. That is what Butler will be facing for this contest against Xavier, though, and the biggest key will be finding a way to establish a rhythm. To me, this centers around winning the turnover and rebounding battles – two areas in which these two teams are extremely evenly matched on paper.

As an overview, here is where Xavier and Butler rank with regard to rebounding and turnover rates heading into their final regular-season game.

Xavier Rebounding: 32.3% offensive (51st), 72.7% defensive (142nd)

Xavier Turnovers: 19.9% offensive (247th), 18.6% defensive (190th)

Butler Rebounding: 29.1% offensive (139th),75.0% defensive (51st

Butler Turnovers: 17.3% offensive (66th), 17.8% defensive (237th)

The only major advantage among these numbers is that Butler does not traditionally turn the ball over much. Giveaways have been a bit of an issue in conference play compared to earlier in the season for the Dawgs, but that number has been mostly rock-solid with a healthy Aaron Thompson leading the offense.

Xavier will come out with a ton of energy in this game and Butler will need to stay under control and disciplined. Building a possession advantage could help take an excellent home crowd out of the game a bit.