Before National Marquette Day on Saturday, Marquette (17-3, 8-1 Big East) will travel to Indianapolis Tuesday night to take on the Butler Bulldogs (9-11, 2-7 Big East) at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The first matchup
The Golden Eagles took down the Bulldogs 80-70 at Fiserv Forum on Dec. 18 behind a robust performance from senior guard Kam Jones, who scored 23 points while adding seven rebounds and five assists.
In their first meeting, Marquette attempted 28 more shots than Butler (75-47), its season-best in out-attempting the opponent. It was also Butler’s season worst in getting out-attempted.
Marquette won the turnover battle 14-2, a season-low in turnovers for the Golden Eagles.
The Golden Eagles outrebounded the Bulldogs 38-27 and grabbed 20 offensive rebounds to Butler’s 23 defensive rebounds, good for a 46.5 (20/43) offensive rebounding rate (season average of 30.5 offensive rebounding percentage).
Butler’s record is deceiving
Butler has lost 10 of its last 12 contests, including seven of nine losses in Big East play. However, eight of the Bulldogs’ 11 losses have come by single digits and four by four points or less.
Even though Butler has a losing record, it still ranks 83rd in online computer rankings like KenPom.
The Bulldogs’ roster is constructed with big scorers like 6-foot-7 forward Jahmyl Telfort, 6-foot-6 forward Pierre Brooks and 6-foot-9 forward Patrick McCaffery, who combined to score 40 of the Bulldogs’ 70 points in Milwaukee.
Butler uses its size to create fouls with 17.5 free throw attempts per game. It is also among the nation’s best at keeping its opponents off the foul line, giving up 11.2 opponent free throw attempts per game.
What to watch for
While Butler has size, it lacks lateral quickness, which makes the Bulldog defense vulnerable. Look for Marquette to exploit 1-on-1 matchups with Kam Jones, Chase Ross and Stevie Mitchell to get into the paint and create open shots for others or quick baskets for themselves.
The Bulldogs and Golden Eagles have similar shooting percentages, both averaging 52.5 effective field goal percentage.
Marquette will look to create extra possessions and shot attempts by winning the turnover margin (+7.1 season average) and by outrebounding Butler, who has a slight edge on the glass over the Golden Eagles this season.
Butler will look to get Marquette’s best players in foul trouble while simultaneously getting free points at the charity stripe (74.4%).
Implications
Marquette is in the hunt for the Big East regular season title, currently tied at the top of league 8-1 with St. John’s, whom the Golden Eagles have yet to play. The Golden Eagles are looking to get a top 2 seed in the NCAA tournament in March.
Meanwhile, Butler sits at ninth in the conference, and a win against a top 10 team would be ideal for its lacking resume.
Where to follow the game
Watch: Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CST. Fox Sports 1 will have the national television broadcast with Jeff Levering (play-by-play) and LaPhonso Ellie (analyst) calling the matchup.
Live updates: Follow @MatthewBaltzMU and @MUWireSports on Twitter/X.
Listen: 94.5 ESPN Milwaukee and Sirius XM.
This article was written by Max Mullin. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @MullinMax.
