Seton Hall’s great stretch, Bryce Hopkins’ injury among Big East Basketball storylines
By John Makuch
1. Butler is back to reality
The Butler Bulldogs were in position to be in position heading into Big East play, but they were unable to pick up some major wins early in the year. Now they sit at 1-3 and when it comes to conference play they need to pick up some wins over their next three. They have a road matchup against Marquette, a home game against Seton Hall, and a road game against Xavier, so they can realistically lose all of those games based on their recent losses.
Butler took a healthy Providence to overtime but lost by 10, they were blown out by St. John’s and lost to UConn by seven. They were in a position to win a couple of these games but just could not get it done, and their season is on the line over their next stretch. This was a team that saw a potential NCAA Tournament position after a great nonconference stretch, and while that dream is not done yet, it is starting to become less likely.
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The Bulldogs have plenty of talent, and their strong guard play is going to keep them competitive, but they have to find some consistency and at the very least need to beat one of Seton Hall or Xavier. Butler is a team that can find themselves fighting to stay at the top of the conference or will need to fight to stay out of the bottom, it is up to them which fight they want to face.