Butler moved into a first-place tie in the Big East last night thanks to a 61-54 win at Seton Hall. At the conference season's halfway point, the Bulldogs are tied with defending champ Villanova at 7-2 - a perfect 4-0 at Hinkle and 3-2 in league road games.
Their #11 ranking probably doesn't do their overall NCAA Tournament resume justice. Here are some of the impressive numbers, using virtually every metric available:
- 10-1 vs. the RPI Top 100 and 7-1 vs. RPI Top 50
- #3 overall in RPI (trailing only Baylor and Villanova)
- 14-1 vs. the KenPom Top 100
- 8-1 vs. the Sagarin Top 50
- 5-1 on road/neutral courts vs. KenPom Top 60
- 4-1 vs. teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25
- 4-0 vs. the BPI Top 25
- 18-3 record against the #5 (BPI), #8 (Sagarin), and #9 (RPI) schedule
Yes, they have two bad losses at St. John's and Indiana State, but they have perhaps the best collection of wins of anyone in the entire country.
DS