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NCAA Basketball: 5 biggest winners from 2021-22 preseason KenPom rankings

By Benjamin Zacher

DURHAM, NC - OCTOBER 30: Paolo Banchero #5 of the Duke Blue Devils looks on during their game against the Winston-Salem State Rams at Cameron Indoor Stadium on October 30, 2021 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 106-38. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC - OCTOBER 30: Paolo Banchero #5 of the Duke Blue Devils looks on during their game against the Winston-Salem State Rams at Cameron Indoor Stadium on October 30, 2021 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 106-38. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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Butler Bulldogs guard Chuck Harris NCAA Basketball Syndication The Indianapolis Star
Butler Bulldogs guard Chuck Harris NCAA Basketball Syndication The Indianapolis Star /

Butler

Few power conference teams will be as intriguing and potentially float around the bubble picture immediately like the Butler Bulldogs, who finished the 2020-21 season five games under .500 and 10th in the Big East, but knocked off Creighton in overtime and thrashed Villanova late in the season – all the while being swept by Marquette and losing a mid-December tilt to Southern Illinois.

The Bulldogs struggled mightily last season, recording sub-200 shooting clips from beyond and inside the arc and maintaining sub-200 defensive marks in both areas.  But there were a few bright spots for Butler that indicate a rebound season awaits the Bulldogs in 2021-22 – including a solid returning core that includes a budding star in sophomore Chuck Harris.

Entering his fifth season at the helm, LaVall Jordan will bring back all five of last season’s double-digit scorers, spearheaded by Harris, who averaged 12.9 points and 2.3 assists en route to being a unanimous selection to the Big East All-Freshman Team.  In addition, the Bulldogs will return Aaron Thompson, whose senior season was cut short halfway through February – and who impressed in his return in Butler’s October 30th exhibition against Div. II Tiffin, posting an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double.

And, with Harris sitting out due to disciplinary issues, other Bulldogs stepped up against the Dragons.  Bryce Nze, Butler’s second-leading scorer last season, also posted a double-double, going 11-15 from the floor to finish with 23 points and 10 points.  The Bulldog’s leading scorer, however, was Jayden Taylor, a 6-3 three-star newcomer who poured in 25 points on 8-11 shooting – including a deadly 4-6 mark from beyond the arc.

The Bulldogs have a swath of offensive firepower, but Butler’s success will rely on the potential of polishing their team production – both on the offensive end and defensive end.  Despite featuring so many weapons, Butler, with its sluggish offensive marks, struggled to put points on the board, averaging just 63.5 points and 0.85 points per possession – and never cracking the 80-point threshold once during the season.

But despite all of this, the Bulldogs will head into the 2021-22 campaign with high aspirations, having been slotted sixth in the preseason Big East poll, with Harris earning Preseason All-Big East Honorable Mention accolades.  In lieu, Butler received the most substantial jump of any team in the Big East, going from 120th to 55th – just one of three teams in the conference to receive a double-digit boost, and 25 spots better than Xavier’s 40-point jump.

There is obviously much potential for the Bulldogs to reach their first NCAA Tournament since 2018, and they will be one of college basketball’s most intriguing bubble candidates – but only if they can polish their play on both ends of the court.

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