Big East Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2022-23 season

9. Butler Bulldogs

Projected Lineup

G: Chuck Harris (Junior)

G: Jayden Taylor (Soph.)

G: Simas Lukosius (Soph.)

F: Ali Ali (Senior)

F: Myles Wilmoth (Junior)

The Butler Bulldogs surprised a lot of people last year in the Big East Tournament, upsetting Xavier and playing Providence down to the wire. It looked like they have a star in the making in Simas Lukosius as he pretty much singlehandedly carried the Bulldogs over the Musketeers.

Despite the promising performance in the conference tournament, head coach Lavall Jordan was relieved of his duties after five seasons at the helm. His replacement is none other than former Butler player and coach Thad Matta. Matta, the long-time Ohio State coach, started off his fourth stint with the Bulldogs program by ensuring that Lukosius would stay committed to the program after he had entered the transfer portal. Matta also secured the commitment of Akron transfer Ali Ali to solidify the wing position.

As things stand right now, the Bulldogs are very thin in the frontcourt, so Matta has some work to do in the portal. With a solid young backcourt trio of Lukosius, Chuck Harris, and Jayden Taylor, the recipe is there for Butler to return to the NCAA Tournament, but they still have a lot of hurdles to clear before they get there.