The cause of Butler's struggles involve Gordon Hayward, just not the way you think

Butler is not the same team that they were last season.

That much became clear with the Bulldog's struggles early in the season. If a title in the Diamond Head Classic over Christmas made you think Butler could bounce back, Monday night's 24 point loss to Milwaukee (a team that lost by 23 to Horizon League rival Cleveland State) set you straight. With every loss suffered by Louisville, Xavier, Evansville, Florida State, and Washington State, that notion gets reinforced.

In other words, Butler is going to have to win the Horizon League Tournament if they want to go dancing. And, as Milwaukee proved last night in ending Butler's 22 game Horizon winning streak, that is no guarantee.

So why is Butler struggling?


Well, the easy answer is that Gordon Hayward is on the Utah Jazz.

And, obviously, losing a player of that caliber will be detrimental to any program, let alone a team like Butler that doesn't have a(nother) high school all-american waiting in the wings.

Hayward was Butler's best offensive weapon last season, but the Bulldogs are actually better offensively this season. At least so sayeth Kenpom. In terms of efficiency, the Bulldogs were 50th in the country last year with a 110.2 offensive rating. This season they ranked 33rd with a rating of 112.5.

When you look at the numbers, its not difficult to see why. Shelvin Mack was the preseason all-american on this team, but his numbers are essentially the same as last year. Matt Howard, on the other hand, has developed into the weapon we all expected him to become last year. He's a serious threat on the low-block, he's hitting threes, and he's attacking the glass as well as he ever has. Combine that with the emergence of Andrew Smith as a second low post threat, and Butler has made up for the loss of Hayward at that end quite effectively.

The difference has been on the defensive side of the ball.

Last year, Butler ranked in the top five of defensive efficiency. This year they are 78th, allowing an increase of 8.3 points per 100 possessions. They are allowing teams to shoot a higher eFG%, they aren't rebounding on the defensive end of the floor nearly as well, and the number of turnovers that they force and shots that they block are way down.

Hayward's ability on the offensive end isn't what is hurting Butler this season.

Is the the defensive versatility they lost with Willie Veasley's graduation.

Veasley stood all of 6'3" on a good day, but he was your typical junkyard dog. He could defend any position on the floor, and I don't say that lightly. He's quick enough and athletic enough to defend point guards, but his strength and his understanding of positioning and leverage allowed him to defend the opponent's best post player is he had to.

With Hayward, Howard, and defensive specialist Ronald Nored on the floor together, it allowed head coach Brad Stevens a multitude of looks he could throw out defensively and helped nullify the disadvantage Butler was at from a size and athleticism perspective.

This year, that versatility is gone. Of Butler's top six, four players are shorter than 6'3" (with Nored, Zach Hahn, and Shawn Vanzant all generously listed over 6'0") and the other two are Matt Howard and Andrew Smith, neither of whom you want defending out on the perimeter.

Gordon Hayward's early departure to the NBA changed the expectations for Butler's 2010-2011 season.

But it was his effect on the defensive end combined with Willie Veasley's graduation that had the biggest effect.