CBB analyst reveals his pick for "Sleeper team in the Big East"
College basketball insider/analyst Jon Rothstein recently offered his pick for the Big East team that he believes could surprise a few heading into the new season. Rothstein named the Butler Bulldogs are a squad to keep an eye on.
On Saturday, the renowned CBS Sports analyst singled out Thad Matta's team as the "Sleeper team in the Big East."
"Well embedded moles in Indy have sent word that Butler plans on going by committee at PG this season with Kolby King, Landon Moore, & Finley Bizjack all taking turns. Bulldogs return two double-figure scorers in Jahmyl Telfort & Pierre Brooks. The sleeper team in the Big East," Rothstein wrote on X.
Butler finished eighth in the conference standings last season and ended the season with an overall 18-15 record. They made it into the first round but lost to Minnesota by a single point.
For the upcoming campaign, the Bulldogs lost six players including their main center Jalen Thomas, guard Posh Alexander and forward Connor Turnbull.
However, Mike Decourcy, a columnist at The Sporting News believes Butler was a good program in the past than it is today.
"For Butler, we have seen a relative decline in their performance since they joined the Big East," Mike said on SporsGrid. "They had some success early on and after Chris Holtman left they've had some struggle to get back there."
"It was a great program, I don't have a problem with them as a Big East program, but as a Horizon League program, there was something extraordinary there."
Butler reached back-to-back national championship games in 2010-11 during Brad Stevens' coaching era while they were still in the Horizon League.
Can Butler Bulldogs bounce back in the Big East?
The Bulldogs have reached the NCAA tournament five times since joining the Big East in 2013. However, they have not made it past the Sweet Sixteen in that span.
Coach Thad Matta, who replaced LaVall Jordan, will enter his third season at the helm and will be tasked with guiding Butler back to being a legitimate contender. After six departures from the previous season, they have added three players from the transfer portal including Iowa forward Patrick McCaffery.
Similarly, two three-star recruits also joined the Bulldogs ahead of the new season. The return of Jahmyl Telfort and Pierre Brooks is expected to be massive as they were phenomenal last season.
In their conference schedule, Butler will face the national champion UConn twice, on Dec. 21 and Jan. 21. They will conclude the regular season with a trip to Creighton on Mar. 8.