Xavier coach Chris Mack has stated the obvious on more than one occasion when talking about who owns the BIG EAST. He likes to say until someone takes down mighty Villanova, the conference belongs to the defending national champion Wildcats. Period. End of conversation.
But while injuries have helped short-circuit any hopes of Xavier or Creighton from preventing Villanova from clinching a fourth straight BIG EAST regular-season title, there just might be a new kid on the block who is ready to challenge Villanova for conference supremacy.
Meet the Butler Bulldogs. A team picked sixth in the BIG EAST coaches’ preseason poll and one that lost program stalwarts Kellen Dunham and Roosevelt Jones to graduation and all kinds of crazy statistical numbers that went out the door with them.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the bottom half of the BIG EAST standings for Butler. The Bulldogs defied the naysayers and simply began to pile up victories. Lots of them, and with a large portion of those wins coming against some of the elite programs in the country.
There were victories over then-No. 8 Arizona followed by wins over then-No. 22 Cincinnati, then-No. 9 Indiana and then-No. 15 Xavier. More importantly, they did what was thought to be impossible when they knocked off Villanova twice in the same season, just seven weeks apart, once taking down the Wildcats when they were ranked No. 1 in the land and, more recently, this past Wednesday night when Villanova stood at No. 2.
Ok, a show of hands. Who saw this coming from Butler, of the Bulldogs becoming the Big Dogs of the BIG EAST? (Spoiler alert: Chris Holtmann did not).
“I’d sound really smart if I said ‘yes’ but I’m not that smart,” said Holtmann, the head coach of these surprising Bulldogs. “I don’t think any of us did, but I think it speaks to the quality of the guys in the locker room and their willingness to blend. When six of your 11 guys are new and when you lose 65 percent of your scoring off a good team last year, and almost 60 percent of your rebounding (there are those crazy stats I told you about from Dunham and Jones), you have real question marks. And then when you add an influx of new players, you just aren’t sure what the chemistry is going to be like. But our guys have had really good chemistry and I think it speaks to these guys who have come in and they have responded with great chemistry.”
The numbers associated with this Butler team really catch your attention. The Bulldogs are currently 11th in the nation in RPI, are tied for the best record vs. Top 50 teams with a sterling 9-2 mark and also own the most victories against Top 100 programs with 16. After Wednesday night’s victory at Villanova, they added a few more prime numbers to their bloated resume as they ended the Wildcats 48-game winning streak at their cozy campus facility, The Pavilion, and also gave the Villanova senior class of Josh Hart, Kris Jenkins and Darryl Reynolds their first loss on campus in their careers.
Want another gem? Try this one. Prior to this season Butler had defeated just one team in its history ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 – that was an 88-86 win over No. 1 Indiana on Dec. 15, 2012. Now, thanks to sweeping the seasons series from Villanova, they defeated a No. 1 and a No. 2 in a span of 49 days.
There may not be any superstars dotting the Bulldogs roster, but they are the quintessential team-first team.
“It really helps when you have high-level kids, quality kids,” Holtmann said. “We talk a lot in recruiting about recruiting guys who kind of get over themselves. And I think when you have guys who can get over themselves and understand that they are a part of something, inevitably it does lead to good chemistry. We’ve been fortunate that we’re part of a program here where that had been the template for our success. These guys really embrace what we’re about. I’ve been really pleased with them and what it’s led to is a lot of great moments for them individually. But I think what they really sought after is our team being successful.”
Marquette is the only other program this year which can lay claim to knocking off Villanova. And though Butler has now done it twice, Holtmann said don’t expect the Bulldogs’ successes to go to their head.
“They’re pretty even and pretty measured in their approach, pretty even keeled,” Holtmann said. “We don’t want any one particular moment to define our season. We want it to be about growth and progress and moving forward. They were excited obviously (after beating Villanova). But they have experienced a lot of really good wins this year. Right now we’re just kind of focused on moving on.”
Holtmann paid tribute to Villanova, the reigning king of the BIG EAST, saying, “They are an elite program. Anytime you’re talking about 48 straight it’s phenomenal, it’s really beyond words. I think all of us in the league have the utmost respect or Villanova.”
But maybe the tide is turning and maybe other teams are beginning to look at Butler as a legitimate threat to Villanova’s throne. Maybe Butler and the Wildcats will meet up again, this time in the BIG EAST Tournament when it tips off March 8 at Madison Square Garden. Until then Butler has its two wins over the king and the utmost respect of its leader, Jay Wright, for the job Holtmann has turned in this season.
“I’m very impressed. (Chris) did a great job last year and I think he did an outstanding job (this year) of blending in two fifth-year guys as well as any coach I’ve ever seen,” Wright said. “Not just getting talented players but getting players that fit their system in (Avery) Woodson and (Kethan) Savage and adding them to a team where he developed younger guys. I think he is one of the best coaches in the country and he’d get my vote for coach of the year in the BIG EAST.”