The Transition to The Big East Has Been Tough for Butler

In their first season in the Big East, Butler is currently 10-7 overall with a conference record of 0-5. Butler has been the victim of tough luck this season as they have lost three conference games in overtime as they fell to Villanova, DePaul, and Georgetown respectively. All three overtime losses came at home at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis while they were blown out last night 88-60 in Omaha, Nebraska at the hands of Creighton.

During Stevens’ time with Butler, schools that were more prestigious and richer in basketball history than Butler such as UCLA came calling for his services, but he consistently turned them down. Stevens is a native of Indianapolis and you always wondered what it would take for him to leave his hometown? We finally found out what it would take last summer when the Boston Celtics of the NBA came calling and Stevens could not refuse them.

Once Stevens left, former Butler guard Brandon Miller was appointed as the school’s next men’s basketball head coach. The Bulldogs went 10-2 in non-conference play this season without a signature victory on their resume, but you still expected them to be a tough foe once Big East Conference play started. In three of their five conference losses Butler has trailed at halftime which has left them in chase mode in the second half.

Guard Kellen Dunham currently leads Butler in scoring at 18.4 points per game while forward Kyhle Marshall is second on the team at 15.6. But the team is just missing that leadership that was displayed from players such as former Butler guard Rotnei Clarke whom the team could always count on to make the big plays down the stretch last season. 

For Butler they must find a way to become a better scoring team as they are 193rd in the nation for field goal percentage and they are only shooting 32 percent from beyond the three-point arc which is only good for 211th in the country. The Bulldogs are not doing themselves any favors from the free throw line either where they are shooting 67 percent which is 253rd in the nation.

With 13 games remaining on their conference regular season slate, the time for Butler to get it going is now. Two of Butler’s next three games are at home as they will face Marquette and St. John’s respectively as neither team currently has a winning record within the Big East. Like Butler, Marquette and St. John’s were expected to be at the top of the Big East Conference coming into this season. But things have gone array as for them as well as they are both looking to turn it around which will make it that much tougher for Butler to secure victories over them. After that Butler will embark on a three-game road trip which will take them to Seton Hall, Marquette, and Georgetown. 

The next three weeks will tell the tale of this season for Butler. If the Bulldogs happen to stumble down the stretch, then their first trip to Madison Square Garden in New York City to participate in the Big East Tournament in March will lose some of its luster.