No. 11 Butler braces for rematch with Georgetown (Jan 28, 2017)
Butler's depth has proven too much for most opponents. The team's reserves have outscored the opposition in 18 of 21 games, including all nine Big East games.
The No. 11 Bulldogs (18-3, 7-2 Big East), who have won seven of their last eight games, play host to Georgetown (11-10, 2-6) at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
"Everyone that comes in is a good player and everyone produces," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said.
Butler coach Chris Holtmann said his starting lineup and rotation can fluctuate from game to game.
"Some of it is matchups and what we've seen on film," Holtmann said. "We'd like to continue with the rotation we're playing and I expect some guys will get more minutes on a given night. I like the depth we have."
Holtmann said he is not worried about limiting minutes.
"We're really just focused on improving from one game to the next and one week to the next," Holtmann said. "We're trying to prepare our team to be its best come February and March. If we earn the right to get in the (NCAA) tournament, we'll keep playing from there.
"Our guys have not logged a ton of minutes outside of Andrew (Chrabascz), and Kamar (Baldwin) has played a ton here of late. The other guys have not averaged a ton of minutes."
Senior Kethan Savage, a transfer from George Washington, is averaging 12.6 points in conference play after averaging just 2.3 points in non-league action.
Butler needed overtime to beat the host Hoyas 85-76 on Jan. 7. Holtmann said the Hoyas' record is deceptive.
"We're playing one of the hottest teams in the league right now and how they've played well," Holtmann said. "They've beaten some good teams and played a really good Xavier team down to the wire (at Xavier). We understand the challenge ahead of us."
Host Georgetown upset No. 16 Creighton 71-51 on Wednesday.
"To say it was much needed would be an understatement," Thompson said. "I thought we played well at both ends of the court for most of the game. We are facing one of the best teams in the country right now in one of the toughest venues to play in the country. We're going to have to duplicate what we did Wednesday on Saturday."
Georgetown has lost its last eight Big East road games, including 0-3 this season.
"I'm not going to tell our team we haven't won a Big East game on the road in more than a year," Thompson said. "There are plenty of opportunities to get better and take advantage of the opportunities in front of us."
The Bulldogs have captured 14 consecutive games at home, including 11 this season.
"There is so much parity in our league," Holtmann said. "I think most people understand on any given night if you don't perform well, you can lose. This league is deep and talented with good coaches and excellent players. I think it's going to remain a balanced league."
Junior forward Kelan Martin leads the Bulldogs with a 16.3 scoring average. However, his shooting percentage has dropped to 40.4 percent overall and 33.6 from 3-point range because of recent struggles.
"I'm confident his offense will come around and he'll begin to shoot it at a higher level and be more efficient," Holtmann said. "In particular against Seton Hall, I was pleased with his defense and his rebounding and that has to continue."
