When the Georgetown Hoyas step into Hinkle Fieldhouse, they will be facing a Butler team that doesn’t resemble the team from the year before.
The Bulldogs offense has been humming most of the season sans there 20-point loss to Michigan State.
Per KenPom, Butler ranks in the top 50 in Adj. Efficiency, Effective FG%, Turnover %, 2P%, FT%, and Non-Steal TO%.
Butler is currently on a six -game winning streak that includes wins over Penn State, Texas Tech (OT), and Cal (2OT).
Thad Matta’s offense has shown it can score in the paint and from the three-point line. Pierre Brooks leads the Bulldogs in scoring at 16.8 points a game. Brooks is one of four Bulldogs that average in double-digits.
Brooks might lead the team in scoring but the most dangerous offensive player is Jahmyl Telfort is their most dangerous player. Telfort shoots 49% from the field including an impressive 42.4% from three.
The assumption is Georgetown will be without leading scorer, Jayden Epps, again.
That means Ed Cooley’s crew will need the type of balanced scoring that helped the Hoyas get its best road win of the season, a 72-68 win at Notre Dame.
Keys:
Wall Up Telfort: Telfort is an efficient midrange scorer, shooting 48.1% on two point jumpers. Where you see a dip in Telfort is when he tries to finish at the rim where he’s an unimpressive 54.3%. How should the Hoyas deal with him? Make Telfort put the ball on the floor and make a play. As impressive as Telfort is from the three-point line it comes when he has space. Hence 90% of his made threes have come assisted.
Heath and Massoud Must Be Snipers: If there’s one thing you know playing the Butler team is that you will need to score points. Without having Epps, that means Jay Heath and Ismael Massoud must be efficient from the three-point line. Heath’s 36.2% from the three-point doesn’t reflect what type of three-point shooter he can be and Massoud has been streaky since coming back from his hand injury.
Turnovers: Because this could be a high possession game and Georgetown doesn’t have the weapons Butler has, the Hoyas cannot turn the ball over. It’s a big ask for this group. The Hoyas rank 275th in Turnover %.
