Fifth-year forward Jahmyl Telfort and senior guard Pierre Brooks combined for 49 points for the Dawgs against North Dakota State. Photo by Andrew Buckley.
SARAH HOHMAN | MANAGING EDITOR | shohman@butler.edu
The Bulldogs look to bounce back after an agitating loss at home to North Dakota State (NDSU) on Tuesday as they travel 20 minutes south to play No. 20 Wisconsin. This matchup is game two of the Indy Classic, played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
This will be Butler’s third matchup against a ranked opponent. The Dawgs beat Mississippi State 87-77 but fell to Houston 79-51.
Here’s what you need to know as the Dawgs face off against the Badgers.
Who: Butler vs. Wisconsin
When: Dec. 13, 2:30 p.m.
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse
How to watch: Big Ten Network
Bouncing back
Head coach Thad Matta’s squad has certainly gone through adversity before; just this season, they lost their second game to Austin Peay. The Dawgs showed resilience after and won six straight — even hoisting the Arizona Tip-Off championship trophy.
As Butler gets deeper into the season, it might be harder to bounce back from a loss like that against NDSU, but conference play has not started yet. Butler has a chance to bounce back from the loss in a big way.
In order for this to happen, the dynamic duo of fifth-year forward Jahmyl Telfort and senior guard Pierre Brooks have to both be on. Brooks tied his career high against NDSU with 26 points on the night, while Telfort collected 23. Others will have to contribute too, such as graduate Patrick McCaffery, who surprisingly only had seven points against NDSU and junior guard Kolby King, who has brought contagious energy off the bench this season.
Not only do the Dawgs need to collect themselves on offense, but they also need to continue limiting turnovers and be more aggressive in defending the perimeter.
Wisconsin scouting report
After winning their first eight games of the season, the Badgers have dropped three straight to Michigan, Marquette and Illinois — all tough and close matchups.
Graduate guard John Tonje is the leading scorer for the Badgers, averaging 20.8 per game. Tonje joined Wisconsin as a sixth-year transfer after playing at Missouri and Colorado State. Sophomore guard John Blackwell and senior guard Max Klesmit also average double figures in scoring for the Badgers.
Wisconsin leads the country in free throw shooting at 84%. If the Dawgs want to keep up, they can not send too many Badgers to the line.
Butler has the chance to do something exciting in downtown Indianapolis on Saturday and what better way to go into Big East play then to beat a ranked opponent.
