Butler Basketball: 2024-25 season preview for the Bulldogs

Season Outlook

By the time March rolls around this season, it will mark seven years since Butler last made the NCAA Tournament back in 2018. Last February, Butler was 16-8 overall with a 7-6 Big East and projected to be in the NCAA Tournament. However, they struggled down the stretch, losing five of their last seven regular season games and ultimately ended up in the NIT.

Much of that team that showed NCAA Tournament potential for a good portion of the season is back this year, and they will hope to avoid a similar late season falloff. Butler has a solid non-conference schedule with multiple power conference opponents that includes a true road game against a top 5 Houston team. Additionally, the matchups against Wisconsin, Northwestern, and potentially Mississippi State all present opportunities for quality wins.

This bodes well for Butler given that the March Madness selection committee has emphasized non-conference strength of schedule lately, and often select teams that had a stronger non-conference schedule for their final at-large picks. In the past few seasons, Butler has often had a strong non-conference record that includes multiple wins over power conference opponents, and there's reasons to believe the can do that again this year.

Their overall Big East play has often been the Bulldogs' downfall over the past few seasons, as Butler has not finished .500 or better in Big East play since the 2019-20 season, a year that they would've easily made the NCAA Tournament. Given the depth of the Big East this year, a .500 record in conference play could be enough for Butler to make the NCAA Tournament assuming they had a solid non-conference showing. Should Butler finish above .500 in Big East play, their postseason outlook will likely be a positive one.

While there's plenty of returning faces, it will be crucial for the returners and newcomers to build chemistry as a group and be on the same page when they're sharing the floor. There are still a few question marks that are yet to be answered, including what their starting lineup and rotation may look like. In Butler's 88-47 exhibition win over Illinois Wesleyan on October 30, the team as a whole showed plenty of promise, in particular a handful of players who look set to take on elevates roles this year.

Given the current projections, Butler's starting lineup should have plenty of size across the board and they could have one of the tallest lineups in the conference when it comes to average height. That being said, their frontcourt depth is rather shallow with only Boden Kapke and Augusto Cassia really having the size to play in the paint. However, both looked impressive in Butler's exhibition game, so it is possible that depth may not be that much of an issue barring any significant injuries.

The floor for this Butler team would likely see the Dawgs take a bit of a step down this year, partially due to the Big East getting stronger in the offseason. That could result in something like 6-7 Big East wins with the potential to finish under .500 and end up around 9th place in the Big East. On the other hand, this team could have a rather high ceiling. This particular group will certainly benefit from being among the most experienced units in the conference that also includes many returners. If this group can find plenty of consistency, they could easily end up finishing in the top 5 in the Big East and reach the NCAA Tournament without a stressful Selection Sunday.

With all this in mind, this is a solid group that shares plenty of similarities with last year's team and will likely mirror some of the things they did last year, with perhaps a few little improvements. Looking at the non-conference schedule, this team should be able to match last year's 9-2 non-conference record and 9-11 Big East record. That being said, this team should have enough to hit 20 total wins this year, with double digit Big East wins, likely with 10 or 11 wins to complement a 9-2 non-conference record, and finish around 6th or 7th place in the Big East. The Bulldogs will be right in the thick of the tournament bubble, and it will be a stressful Selection Sunday for Butler, but they ultimately should find themselves in the field of 68, potentially headed to Dayton for a first four matchup.