Men’s basketball plays in their first game of the season on Monday, Nov. 4 against Missouri State. Photo by Ben Holmes.
SARAH HOHMAN | MANAGING EDITOR | shohman@butler.edu
It is basketball season once again, and the Dawgs will officially open up their season on Monday night against Missouri State.
Here is what you need to know before Butler tips off against Missouri State:
Who: Butler vs. Missouri State
When: Nov. 3, 6:45 p.m.
Where: Hinkle Fieldhouse
How to watch: Fox Sports 1
The match-up
The Bears and the Bulldogs have met four previous times; the Dawgs lead the series 3-1. Missouri State will debut its new head coach in Cuonzo Martin, the coach who led the Bears to their only MVC regular-season championship.
Missouri State is coming off of a 17-16 season with only one returner in sophomore guard Tommy Pinegar. The Bears have 11 transfers coming in — two of whom have connections to Indiana. Senior guard Chase Martin played in 27 games in four seasons for Matt Painter at Purdue and was a part of the Boilermakers’ run to the 2024 NCAA Championship Game. Junior guard Vincent Brady II was a four-year starter at Cathedral High School and played two seasons at IU Indianapolis.
It should be interesting to see how the Bears play together in their first game of the season with this much turnover.
First game expectations
On the other side, the Dawgs have eight returners who all look to put together an improved season after a 9-11 conference performance last season.
Butler impressed from multiple angles in their exhibition game against Illinois Wesleyan. Although the offense got off to a leisurely start, the bench showed their strengths and the Bulldogs went up and never looked back.
The Dawgs’ returning bigs all split time relatively equally. Fifth-year Andre Screen, sophomore Boden Kapke and sophomore Augusto Cassia seem to all be fighting for their spots, so be on the lookout for Matta’s rotation.
Butler fans saw new faces on the court as transfers Patrick McCaffery and Kolby King put on the Bulldog uniform for the first time. Both saw just over 19 minutes of playing time with McCaffery starting and King coming off the bench. McCaffery went 6-10 from the field, helping the Dawgs get started on offense. King racked up 10 rebounds and a block on the night.
The combination of a solid group of returning players and new pieces to the rotation may be the recipe head coach Thad Matta needs to compete in the Big East.
The Dawgs have historically shown up for their season openers. Now it is more of a question of if the team will show up for the whole season. It all starts in Hinkle on Nov. 4.
