Maxwell Ray

March 6, 2017

Sports Journalism

Butler Big East Overview

After a successful regular season by the Butler Bulldogs, they have finished second overall in the Big East with a record of 23-7 (12-6 within conference). They came in well ahead of the four trailers with an in-conference record of 10-8 (Creighton, Seton Hall, Providence, and Marquette), but fell behind Villanova who led the league with a 15-3 record. Villanova will definitely be their biggest competitor in the Big East Tournament, a likely matchup in the final game this Saturday. But Butler has shown this season that they can defeat Villanova without issue. During their two showings this season, Butler came out on top in both games with scores of 66-58 and 74-66.

As they are seeded #2 in the Big East, they have a bye during the first round and will face either DePaul (#10) or Xavier (#7) both of which Butler has defeated twice during the regular season. There is no doubt that they can beat either team once again and move on to the semifinals.

But they will have more trouble during the Semifinals when they face off against either Creighton (#6) or Providence (#3). They’ve had troubles against both teams so far this year,

a 1-1 record against Providence and an 0-2 record with Creighton.

In my mind, their biggest competitors will come during the semis and if they can make it through then they will have a great chance of beating their opponent in the finals on Saturday. As aforementioned, Butler has topped Villanova during their two games this season, but Villanova will still be tough to beat in the finals during the tournament. They are the reigning champions of the Big East and they continued their domination of the league this year. A big effort will be needed by the entire team to win the tournament and their usual point scorers such as Kelan Martin and Andrew Chrabascz must perform well in every game. They have shown that they can beat any team in the league, with at least one win against every team except Creighton.

Butler is currently being led by Kelan Martin (#30 F) a junior from Louisville, Kentucky. He’s averaging at 16.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. Martin has led the team in points in 13 of their 30 games this season, 11 of which were wins for Butler. He’s also led the team in rebounds in 14 of their 30 games, 10 of which were wins.

But among the team there are no players who stand out much within the league. The only “league leader” that Butler has is Tyler Lewis who is averaging 4.0 assists per game which puts him fourth overall in the league. Ways behind assist leader K. Cartwright from Providence who averages 6.8 assists per game.

Last year the Bulldogs had a disappointing appearance in the Big East tournament. They came into the tournament as the fifth seed and faced Providence as the fourth seed during their first game in the quarterfinals. Both teams came into the tournament with a 10-8 in-conference record so the game was expected to be close. But Butler didn’t show up ready to play and took a crushing 74-60 defeat which is sure to leave a bad taste in their mouth that will carry over to this year’s tournament. Hopefully it will fuel the fire that is needed for them to win the tournament, but it will be tough to overcome Villanova who could continue their domination through the Big East.