Big East Basketball Power Rankings: Should Villanova remain No. 1?

Record: 7-3

KenPom Rank: 86

NET Ranking: 132 (Q1: 1-2, Q2: 0-1, Q3: 0-0, Q4: 4-0)

Best non-conference win(s): at Oklahoma

Bad loss(es): None

I honestly don’t really know what to make of Butler because they are rarely at full strength. It seems like I’m watching a different team every game. Maybe because I kind of am.  Butler only has 3 players who have played in all 10 games. Not to mention they have been without Bo Hodges and freshman Pierce Thomas all season.

The Bulldogs cannot avoid the injury bug and yet still sit at 7-3. If the Bulldogs can’t get healthy they are in for a long season.

Chuck Harris (11.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.7 apg, 34.0% from three) was already going to be asked to do a lot for the Bulldogs this season, and he has. Somehow, he will have to do more. In order to beat Oklahoma, Harris scored a season-high 26 points. However, you can’t expect that from him every night. Aaron Thompson (6.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 4.6 apg, 33.3% from three)  is an adept facilitator, but Butler is not a great scoring team. Can Aaron Thompson provide more scoring? He might have to for this team.

Jair Bolden (11.4 ppg, 41.9% from three) is the best shooter on the team and has been more aggressive for the Bulldogs this year. He has had a couple off nights but has been one of Butler’s more reliable offensive weapons on a team that struggles on that end.

Bryce Golden (8.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg) is a solid big man, but the absence of Bryce Nze (6.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg) has disrupted the frontcourt for the Bulldogs. It’s not clear when Nze will return, but he hasn’t been practicing and that means the other guys need to fill his shoes. A tall order.

Can the freshmen take over? Jayden Taylor (10.2 ppg) has gotten the most run of the Bulldog freshmen class. He needs to value the basketball more, averaging nearly 2 turnovers a game, and play within himself a bit more. You can see the freshman is trying to do a little too much at times, but that is partially because the team needs options on offense. Are you seeing the theme emerge yet? It looks like DJ Hughes (2.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg) and Simas Lukosous (4.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 43.8% from three) might be the young players to step up. The freshmen will have to grow up fast though.

Overall, I’m obviously not very high on Butler. Harris can be a star, but he needs a couple other guys to play above their weight class. I’m just not sure who is going to do that for the Bulldogs though. They have plenty of solid role players, but injuries have hampered the team’s potential.