Butler Game Thread

[JacobPadilla]

Finished my game rewatch. Didn't chart every single shot they took, but I did take a note on most of them.

Going through, I broke things down to 9 mistakes or busts (not including the two 3-shot fouls), 5 shots you'll live with based on scheme and history (like the Kapke P&P 3s vs. the drop), 4 physical mismatch buckets where the Butler guy basically just bodied his defender for a rim finish, 6 floaters over Kalk contesting (typically a low-percentage shot they hit at a ridiculous rate on Friday) and 12 just ridiculously tough hits (contested pull-up 3s, contested fadeaways, Bizjack's stupid reverse around Kalk, etc.).

Here's what Mac said: “We probably didn't make many more mistakes than we would in a typical game, but in a game like that, that just really magnified. Butler displayed one of the best tough-shot-making games that I've ever been part of. Analytically we chart all that stuff, we have companies that help us; they made 8-out-of-14 closely guarded 3-point shots, which that's what we're trying to make them shoot. So you have to tip your hat to them; they shot it extremely well. It's just unfortunate that we burned such a good offensive performance ourselves and came out of it with a loss.”

Here's what Steven said: “I think defensively there just was some lapses in urgency and commitment on every single play and every Big East game is like that to where every possession matters and I think that as we watched the film back, there were just some of those clips where we maybe were resting, relaxing a little too much and then that's kind of what got us beat, and they made some really good plays as well.”

My take is they probably could have been more active and aggressive (without getting beyond what their scheme calls for) at times, and cutting down on just a few of those mistakes could have swung the game with how close it was. But for those that thought Mac just sat on his hands and didn't make any adjustments, you're wrong. Off the top of my head, in the second half they had Kalk show higher on a P&R at one point, they had him switch at one point, they tried doubling Telfort at one point, and none of it really worked. But Butler ran some really difficult actions to guard, especially considering the shots they were making. The way they defended also resulted in some bad misses on the same type of shots they hit, which probably contributed to the belief that they'd be better off sticking closer to what they normally do than dramatically changing things, especially considering many of the shots they hit were not things they'd shown they were capable of with any real volume prior to that game.

I thought the Butler game was a lot like the Iowa game except the Bulldogs sustained their shooting for the full 40 whereas Iowa tailed off a bit eventually.

[Angry Dan]

Thank you Jacob.

[Chicagojayfan]

...

I thought the Butler game was a lot like the Iowa game except the Bulldogs sustained their shooting for the full 40 whereas Iowa tailed off a bit eventually.

Nice breakdown. A big part of it for me is that I didn't think this indicated any sort of fatal flaw for us defensively other than don't run into a ridiculously hot team like that

In terms of this last bit - I don't think it's entirely a coincidence that both of these games (Iowa and Butler) were played at a very fast pace (2 fastest games of the year for us so far). I almost think we might have been better off making a concerted effort to pound the ball into Kalk every time down the court to slow things a bit. While it's hard to pass up all the great shots we were getting it might have slowed the game a bit, maybe taken them out of the rhythm they were in, and probably would have fouled out all of their big guys as well

[cujaysfan]

I miss the Fred from the Iowa game

[JacobPadilla]

I put together a film thread on Twitter highlighting the effectiveness at the rim for Scheierman and Ashworth in the Butler game in case anyone is interested. They combined for 10 buckets and six fouls drawn at the rim in that game, with both tying or setting season-highs in rim points.

[SDJay]

I put together a film thread on Twitter highlighting the effectiveness at the rim for Scheierman and Ashworth in the Butler game in case anyone is interested. They combined for 10 buckets and six fouls drawn at the rim in that game, with both tying or setting season-highs in rim points.

Great stuff, Jacob!

[vivid_dude]

Finished my game rewatch. Didn't chart every single shot they took...

What’s the point then?

Kidding. Obviously. As always, love your unemotional analysis. In the moment, watching live, some pretty strong opinions can be formed. Important to have a much less reactionary overview by drilling down. Appreciate it.