2023-24 Big East Basketball power rankings ahead of conference play

6. Butler Bulldogs

The biggest surprise of the season for the Big East was the Butler Bulldogs of Indianapolis. A team thought to be closer to the bottom of the conference has now put together a 9-2 start to the year, and is in position to play for a tournament bid come March.

Their two losses are also very quality, with Michigan State and FAU defeating the Bulldogs earlier in the year. This team has gotten hot though, winning their last six games, including two overtime victories along the way. This is a scrappy team that just finds a way to win, whether they have to claw it out in overtime, or they need to outmuscle their opponent down the stretch.

The Bulldogs have guards galore, with Pierre Brooks putting up 16.8 points per game, and Jahmyl Telfort playing well with 15.6 points per game. This is starting to become one of the best guard duos in the entire conference, which can get you far in college basketball. Posh Alexander transferring in from St. John’s has been a huge get for this team as well, and he has played quite well in the past few games with double-digit scoring.

The main concern with Butler is that their strength of schedule has not been as great as their other Big East peers. However, winning is undeniable so this is an innocent until proven guilty situation. Until we see this team fall off, they have shown they can compete and win games, Big East play will tell the story.

For now, we just enjoy the great ride Butler is on, they start conference play with Georgetown, St. John’s, and Providence, which are all winnable games for this team. This team could either be a flash in the pan or a true contender, but we will find out soon enough.