Butler vs Austin Peay Preview

The Butler Bulldogs opened the season with a win over Missouri State, 72-65. It wasn't the performance the Bulldogs were looking for, but they get a chance to right the ship against Austin Peay.

Finley Bizjack’s Return

Butler’s main struggle last game was at Point Guard. Nobody aside from Jahmyl Telfort was generating consistent offense, and as a result the offense struggled. Finley Bizjack returns after missing Monday's game due to injury, hoping to fill the void at guard. Butler had 12 assists to 19 turnovers in this game, which is just inexcusable. 

Missouri State was able to muck up the game, effectively clogging the lane which took Butlr out of their offense. Pierre Brooks has many offensive strengths, but one thing he has struggled with in his time at Butler is creating shots off the dribble, and that was evident Monday. Will returning Butler’s starting PG alleviate some of these concerns, or are the Bulldogs going to rely on Jahmyl Telfort to initiate offense all season long?

Butler's Defense

Missouri State is far from the most dynamic offensive team Butler will face this season. In fact, the guard who torched Butler last game, Dez White, was the sixth leading scorer at Austin Peay last year.

Coach Gipson’s offense thrives in not turning the ball over. The Governors had the sixth lowest turnover rate in the country last season, which led to them having the second best offense in ASUN Play last season. 

The Governors don’t turn the ball over, and they are good shooters from the outside. They don’t take many threes, but when they do, they are effective. In Coach Gipson’s two seasons as a Head Coach (One at Austin Peay, one at Northwestern State) his teams have shot over 35% from long distance in both seasons. Gipson’s teams play much slower, but play very solid basketball. Butler will have to remain solid defensively to walk out of Hinkle with the convincing win the fanbase is looking for.

Pace of Play

In the first few games of each season in Matta’s tenure, the Bulldogs have looked to push the pace. The tempo generally slows down as the year progresses, but that was not the case on Monday. Butler played a 68-possession game, which would have marked the third lowest total in a non-conference game last season. Butler is playing a much bigger lineup this season which could factor into the slower pace and makes this something to monitor.

Austin Peay looks to really halt the pace. Last season, the Governors played a bottom-50 pace in the country, and will look to control the game in the halfcourt. Butler’s halfcourt offense was a bright spot last season in the non conference, but really struggled Monday. Is this a game where Butler’s offense rounds back into form, or the Governors are able to out-execute a more talented opponent?

Names to Watch

For the Governors, Sai Witt is a name to watch. He took a back seat in the Governors first game against a D2 opponent, but averaged 12.8PPG and 5.6RPG for them last season, and won the ASUN Sixth Man of the Year Award. Witt does most of his work on the interior, though knocked down the first three of his Austin Peay career in their season debut. He’s a big-bodied 6’8” 270lb big man, with some legit faceup skill out to the high post. He’s a similar archetype to Michael Osei-Bonsu, but has more nuance to his game, where Osei-Bonsu is brute strength. 

The Governors started four guards around Witt in their first game: LJ Thomas, Isaac Haney, Quan Lax and Anton Brookshire. Thomas and Haney are two names to watch. Thomas started his career at NC State, before transferring to Austin Peay this season. He showed flashes in his time with the Wolfpack, but never saw consistent minutes. He has legitimate quickness at the guard position, which could cause the Butler wings some trouble. Thomas also shot a ridiculous 50% from three in his Wolfpack career, though only on 26 attempts in two years.

Haney meanwhile was a double-figure scorer for Coach Gipson at both Northwestern State and Austin Peay. He averaged 11.7PPG last season, shooting 37.8% from long distance. Haney led the team in scoring with 19-points in their season opening win over Union (TN). Butler will need to make him put the ball on the floor and prevent him from getting easy looks on the perimeter.

Another name Bulldog fans may be familiar with is G/F Hansel Emmanuel. Emmanuel led the Governors with eight rebounds in their season opening game, but is well-known for being one of only a handful of college basketball players with just one arm. He’s an excellent athlete and has a very impressive story to reach this point.

Game Prediction

Austin Peay was great offensively last season, but awful on the defensive end. I think Butler’s offense finds a rhythm, and puts on a performance that we were looking forward to after game one. Especially with so much size against a really small Austin Peay group.

On the other end, I think the Governors will find their opportunities. I don’t think Butler’s defense is all the way there yet, and I think the Governors will exploit some of those weaknesses. Even in a game that I don’t expect to get up-and-down too much, I think both offenses should be very efficient.

Final: Butler 86, Austin Peay 70