Lamont Butler is more than just a defensive force. (Jordan Prather-Imagn Images)
This week, Tennessee is still No. 1, but is watching Auburn getting closer thanks to Johni Broome (although he had to come out early Tuesday because of a shoulder woe); South Carolina Upstate guard Brit Harris is out of hospital after suffering a scary fall on the weekend; and TCU has lost its top player with guard Frankie Collins done for the season thanks to a broken foot. And now, some other college basketball stories we’re following…
Lamont Butler Emerges as Scorer
The John Calipari era of Kentucky Wildcats’ basketball ended on a bit of down note as, despite a solid 23-win season in 2023-24, the club suffered a first round loss in the NCAA Tournament.
This season has been great so far with the team off to a 10-1 start under Mark Pope, who should get plenty of consideration for Coach of the Year.
On Saturday, the fourth-ranked Wildcats earned their third straight win, 93-85 over arch rival Louisville, spurred by a huge game from senior guard Lamont Butler. After missing the previous two games with an ankle woe, he showed no rust, going off for a career-high 33 points thanks to a perfect shooting night that included six treys — with three straight to open the second half. The performance earned him National Player of the Week honours.
Butler became just the fourth Wildcat ever to go perfect from the floor when taking 10 shots or more.
The Cardinals had no answer for him as he shattered his old high of 23 and has now scored 16 or more in three straight games. A transfer from San Diego State this season, Butler is jacking up more three-point tries despite seeing less PT, while doing a much better job of racking up points from the charity stripe. Even his rebounding work has been better, especially on the offensive end where he’s pulling down one O-board per game.
We knew Butler had the defensive side of things down pat considering he was an MWC Defensive Player of the Year, but he’s never shown this kind of offense before. However, that’s now the Kentucky way under Pope, and Butler has definitely shown an adaptability to a new system that will likely increase his draft stock.
Butler declared for the 2024 NBA draft, but withdrew and opted to head to UK. That looks like it’s going to be a very smart choice as he could work his way into second round consideration, or at the very least, get signed as an undrafted free agent.
Butler is a capable scorer off the dribble, but his shooting could use some work (in fairness, that weakness has been really addressed so far this season, even if it’s still too early to know if it’ll stick). We could be looking at a late bloomer who simply never got a big enough chance to show what he can do on offense.
Creighton Seeking to Turn Things Around
Since winning 22 games in 2020-21 — the start of a current four-year run of appearing in the NCAA tournament — the Creighton Bluejays have added exactly one win to their total each season. But at 7-4 so far this season, and with Big East conference play beginning Wednesday night, that run of incremental improvement is in jeopardy.
A three-game skid in late-November hurt, as has a current slump of four losses over the last seven games, yet the Bluejays are 4.5 point-favourites over Georgetown on Wednesday as per FanDuel.
On Saturday, Creighton was taken out 83-75 by seventh ranked Alabama despite a valiant comeback effort. Leading the charge was freshman forward Jackson McAndrew, who potted 13 of his career-high tying 16 points over the last six minutes. His PT has been inconsistent, therefore so has his production, but he’s showing signs of developing into something special with five double-digit scoring games out of 11 tries — despite relatively few minutes.
Once McAndrew starts regularly seeing 20 MPG or so, he could be a very useful player. He has NBA potential as a spot shooting power forward thanks to his nice touch and ability to can buckets from downtown. McAndrew could sneak into the second round in 2025, but his ceiling is likely capped as a role player.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
American jazz pianist Eddie Costa was born Edward James Costa. In 1958, with his quartet he released Guys and Dolls Like Vibes, which included songs the 1950 musical Guys and Dolls. The quartet’s version of “Adelaide,” is almost a bluesy number.