Marquette’s dominance, In-state showdowns among Big East storylines for the week

1. Butler continues to impress

There is always a big surprise when it comes to the Big East Conference, and that surprise has been the Butler Bulldogs. This team is very much capitalizing on their opportunity to win some games before conference play, and while they have not been easy, they still sit with an 8-2 record.

The Bulldogs got a solid win against Buffalo on Tuesday, and on Saturday they had a matchup against Cal that was similar to their victory over Texas Tech. The Golden Bears are an under .500 Pac-12 team, but this game would end up going to double overtime as Butler had opportunities to close it out, but let them hang around. The Bulldogs pulled away in that second overtime period though, and they now sit with some of the best teams in the Big East in terms of record.

Posh Alexander finished this one with 21 points and six assists, and Jahmyl Telfort had a strong outing with 20 points and four assists. This Bulldog team has some strong pieces, and is shaping up to be a formidable squad once conference play rolls around, but how formidable is the question.

This team’s losses came on the road against Michigan State, who has struggled, and a home loss to FAU who made the final four last season. They have also not had the strength of schedule that teams like UConn or Marquette have had, but wins are still wins at the end of the day.

Time will tell just how good Butler can be, but they have been impressive nonetheless. Should we expect them to finish near the top of the Big East Conference now? Probably not, but for a team that was supposed to be in a rebuild and have a down year, this is still something worth celebrating.