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Now seven years removed from an NCAA Tournament appearance—Butler’s longest drought in two decades—Thad Matta has struggled through his first three seasons in his return to Butler. However, this year’s team looks like his best so far. After the veteran coach was quoted this offseason as saying he was “tired of getting his ass kicked,” not in a defeated way but with the hunger the best coaches have year in and year out, Butler has shown real signs of progress.
At Ohio State, Matta coached some of the better defensive teams in the country, especially in the early 2010s, when the Buckeyes had a three-season span as a top-ten defensive program. Defense, however, has been Matta’s biggest issue at Butler. Last season, Butler had very good size, which helped its perimeter defense, but the Bulldogs were far too soft guarding penetrating guards and wings and struggled with help defense against skilled bigs. This season, Butler is more athletic and gritty, and the early analytics are promising. The team ranks in the 90th percentile nationally in both A/FGM prevention (44.3%) and 3PA/FGA (31.7%), while improving its opponent two-point percentage from 51.5% (206th nationally) to 47.6% (64th nationally).
Offensively, Matta’s Butler teams have been consistently solid, typically built around physical half-court execution that emphasizes spacing, screening, and playing through skilled forwards. Matta values ball security and shot selection, often using motion principles and set plays to create post touches and inside-out threes. An added improvement this season is pace: Butler has jumped from 287th nationally to 28th, while its offensive rebounding has soared from an awful 290th last season to 10th this year. The increased tempo has made Butler one of the most potent volume-scoring teams in the nation, averaging 90 points per game.
Long story short, with a mostly new roster, Butler is significantly better this season. The combination of returning junior combo guard Finley Bizjack and Gonzaga transfer power forward Michael Ajayi leads the way, as the duo accounts for roughly 40% of the team’s scoring.
Bizjack has quickly become one of the most exciting guards in the country, blending electric creativity and unpredictability with smart, efficient play and hard-working, two-way gumption. He is a true three-level scorer who can score in a variety of ways. Starting point guard Jalen Jackson—Butler’s best backcourt defender and the Horizon League leader last season in usage rate and fouls drawn—has been sidelined with an aggravated ankle injury, giving Bizjack more opportunities to play on the ball as a score-first point guard who excels at kicking out to generate wide-open, efficient three-point looks for his teammates.
Jackson’s absence has also opened the door for Ajayi to return not only to the double-double, high-flying potential he showed as a freshman at Pepperdine—after a lower-usage bench role at Gonzaga last year—but also to reach career highs in assist rate, with his overall usage ranking third in the Big East. The athletic power forward is Butler’s two-way star, best bucket-attacker, and top foul-drawer, and he shoots well enough from the outside to be a true inside-out weapon, similar to Texas power forward Dillon Mitchell. Ajayi has also long been one of the best pound-for-pound rebounders in the nation.
After missing all of last season with an ankle injury, redshirt sophomore transfer Jamie Kaiser has stepped up as a low-usage but high-efficiency offensive weapon (45th nationally in offensive rating). He can score at all three levels, slash, and get to the line. Best described as a small forward, Kaiser also has the strength and athleticism to guard positions one through four and is currently one of Butler’s best healthy backcourt defenders.
With Jackson out, Indianapolis native Azavier Robinson—Butler’s top prospect from its five-man 2025 freshman class—has taken over as the starting point guard. A hyper-competitive defender who hunts steals and pushes the pace offensively, Robinson has functioned more as an interior facilitator despite starting the season with strong three-point shooting. As a freshman, he is more passer than shooter, but like Bizjack, he has clear star potential as he matures and continues to be coached.
Last season, I was not a fan of Butler’s bigs, but so far, South Carolina State transfer Drayton Jones is, in my view, the best big Matta has had during his Butler tenure. In his first two seasons in the MEAC, Jones ranked in the top 100 nationally in block rate and posted excellent rebounding numbers. All of his scoring comes within eight feet of the basket, but he is also an underrated low-post passer (including eight assists against Providence). Most importantly, Matta loves Jones’ energy and effort. He currently ranks as Butler’s top defender and has the length and girth to battle elite opponents without fouling (2.0 fouls per 40 minutes).
With Jackson sidelined and Jack McCaffery recently out following an emergency procedure that is not serious, Butler’s rotation is mostly eight-deep unless one or both players return.
Backing up Jones is SMU transfer and former five-star recruit Yohan Traore, who, despite a strong sophomore season at UC Santa Barbara, has underwhelmed as a platoon big at his three high-major stops. Athletic, long, and comfortable on the perimeter and in transition, Traore has consistently been a poor defender, ranking as Butler’s worst defender and grading out similarly at Auburn and SMU.
Drexel graduate transfer Yame Butler brings experience and scoring ability, but his role has diminished as Matta has leaned more heavily on Butler’s underclassmen guards.
Returning sophomore Evan Haywood currently owns the 33rd-best offensive rating in the nation thanks to elite three-point shooting and low turnover rates. Long term, Matta sees Haywood as an all-around scorer, but for now, he serves as Butler’s primary floor-spacer off the bench, though he remains a liability on the defensive end.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Canadian freshman Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor, a big wing whom Matta calls a “freak athlete” and “a havoc on defense.” He made his debut three games ago, backing up at both the three and four. Offensively, he is still limited in half-court sets, but he has been deployed as a defensive-first, versatile piece when weaker defenders like Haywood or Traore are on the floor.
The Big East—and college basketball as a whole—is more fun when Butler is good. The 8–2 Bulldogs want a high-paced track meet that best suits their athleticism from positions one through four. If the game slows down, it still plays into the defensive strengths of Jones and Ajayi. While Butler is not at its full potential without Jackson, when fully healthy, this group clearly has NCAA Tournament aspirations.
At Ohio State, Matta coached some of the better defensive teams in the country, especially in the early 2010s, when the Buckeyes had a three-season span as a top-ten defensive program. Defense, however, has been Matta’s biggest issue at Butler. Last season, Butler had very good size, which helped its perimeter defense, but the Bulldogs were far too soft guarding penetrating guards and wings and struggled with help defense against skilled bigs. This season, Butler is more athletic and gritty, and the early analytics are promising. The team ranks in the 90th percentile nationally in both A/FGM prevention (44.3%) and 3PA/FGA (31.7%), while improving its opponent two-point percentage from 51.5% (206th nationally) to 47.6% (64th nationally).
Offensively, Matta’s Butler teams have been consistently solid, typically built around physical half-court execution that emphasizes spacing, screening, and playing through skilled forwards. Matta values ball security and shot selection, often using motion principles and set plays to create post touches and inside-out threes. An added improvement this season is pace: Butler has jumped from 287th nationally to 28th, while its offensive rebounding has soared from an awful 290th last season to 10th this year. The increased tempo has made Butler one of the most potent volume-scoring teams in the nation, averaging 90 points per game.
Long story short, with a mostly new roster, Butler is significantly better this season. The combination of returning junior combo guard Finley Bizjack and Gonzaga transfer power forward Michael Ajayi leads the way, as the duo accounts for roughly 40% of the team’s scoring.
Bizjack has quickly become one of the most exciting guards in the country, blending electric creativity and unpredictability with smart, efficient play and hard-working, two-way gumption. He is a true three-level scorer who can score in a variety of ways. Starting point guard Jalen Jackson—Butler’s best backcourt defender and the Horizon League leader last season in usage rate and fouls drawn—has been sidelined with an aggravated ankle injury, giving Bizjack more opportunities to play on the ball as a score-first point guard who excels at kicking out to generate wide-open, efficient three-point looks for his teammates.
Jackson’s absence has also opened the door for Ajayi to return not only to the double-double, high-flying potential he showed as a freshman at Pepperdine—after a lower-usage bench role at Gonzaga last year—but also to reach career highs in assist rate, with his overall usage ranking third in the Big East. The athletic power forward is Butler’s two-way star, best bucket-attacker, and top foul-drawer, and he shoots well enough from the outside to be a true inside-out weapon, similar to Texas power forward Dillon Mitchell. Ajayi has also long been one of the best pound-for-pound rebounders in the nation.
After missing all of last season with an ankle injury, redshirt sophomore transfer Jamie Kaiser has stepped up as a low-usage but high-efficiency offensive weapon (45th nationally in offensive rating). He can score at all three levels, slash, and get to the line. Best described as a small forward, Kaiser also has the strength and athleticism to guard positions one through four and is currently one of Butler’s best healthy backcourt defenders.
With Jackson out, Indianapolis native Azavier Robinson—Butler’s top prospect from its five-man 2025 freshman class—has taken over as the starting point guard. A hyper-competitive defender who hunts steals and pushes the pace offensively, Robinson has functioned more as an interior facilitator despite starting the season with strong three-point shooting. As a freshman, he is more passer than shooter, but like Bizjack, he has clear star potential as he matures and continues to be coached.
Last season, I was not a fan of Butler’s bigs, but so far, South Carolina State transfer Drayton Jones is, in my view, the best big Matta has had during his Butler tenure. In his first two seasons in the MEAC, Jones ranked in the top 100 nationally in block rate and posted excellent rebounding numbers. All of his scoring comes within eight feet of the basket, but he is also an underrated low-post passer (including eight assists against Providence). Most importantly, Matta loves Jones’ energy and effort. He currently ranks as Butler’s top defender and has the length and girth to battle elite opponents without fouling (2.0 fouls per 40 minutes).
With Jackson sidelined and Jack McCaffery recently out following an emergency procedure that is not serious, Butler’s rotation is mostly eight-deep unless one or both players return.
Backing up Jones is SMU transfer and former five-star recruit Yohan Traore, who, despite a strong sophomore season at UC Santa Barbara, has underwhelmed as a platoon big at his three high-major stops. Athletic, long, and comfortable on the perimeter and in transition, Traore has consistently been a poor defender, ranking as Butler’s worst defender and grading out similarly at Auburn and SMU.
Drexel graduate transfer Yame Butler brings experience and scoring ability, but his role has diminished as Matta has leaned more heavily on Butler’s underclassmen guards.
Returning sophomore Evan Haywood currently owns the 33rd-best offensive rating in the nation thanks to elite three-point shooting and low turnover rates. Long term, Matta sees Haywood as an all-around scorer, but for now, he serves as Butler’s primary floor-spacer off the bench, though he remains a liability on the defensive end.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Canadian freshman Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor, a big wing whom Matta calls a “freak athlete” and “a havoc on defense.” He made his debut three games ago, backing up at both the three and four. Offensively, he is still limited in half-court sets, but he has been deployed as a defensive-first, versatile piece when weaker defenders like Haywood or Traore are on the floor.
The Big East—and college basketball as a whole—is more fun when Butler is good. The 8–2 Bulldogs want a high-paced track meet that best suits their athleticism from positions one through four. If the game slows down, it still plays into the defensive strengths of Jones and Ajayi. While Butler is not at its full potential without Jackson, when fully healthy, this group clearly has NCAA Tournament aspirations.
