Story by
3 things that stood out from Butler basketball's season-opening win vs Lafayette
- Story by
- 3 things that stood out from Butler basketball's season-opening win vs Lafayette
Butler men's basketball opened its season with a 96-60 victory over Lafayette on Monday at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Star guard Jalen Jackson had 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. Freshman Asim Djulovic scored a team-high 19 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Center Drayton Jones had 10 points on perfect shooting with four blocks and a steal.
Advertisement
Here are three things that stood out in Ronald Nored 's first game as coach.
Drayton Jones sets the tone on defense
It took just 16 seconds for Jones to make his presence known. He opened the game with a block on Lafayette's first offensive possession. He picked up a steal with 19:04 remaining in the frame. His quick hands led to a Treyson Anderson 3 on the other end, giving the Dawgs a 5-0 lead. The 6-foot-11 center was named to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference All-Defensive Team in 2025. If he plays like he did Monday all season, he'll have a Big East All-Defensive Team award to put on his shelf. Jones finished the game with 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting and four blocks.
Freshman shines in debut
Djulovic had zero points and four fouls in Butler's exhibition loss to Indiana on Oct. 11 . Djulovic scored only eight points on 3-of-9 shooting over the next two preseason games. Nored still declared him an "important player," then an esoteric observation. Now it's understood among the Butler faithful.
Advertisement
The Serbian delivered quite the regular-season debut and seems to have settled into the American style of play. Djulovic scored 14 points on 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc and 5-of-5 shooting from the free-throw line in the first half. Eight of his points came during Butler's 16-5 run between 7:38 and 3:54 in the first half. His production came at the right time. Lafayette was on a 7-0 run and cut Butler's lead to six when Djulovic checked in with 8:49 left in the frame. Djulovic finished the game with 19 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3.
More: Butler basketball's Ronald Nored era begins. 5 things to know about the Bulldogs
Jalen Jackson leads impressive 3-point night for Butler
Jackson told IndyStar on Wednesday, "I owe it to Butler to give it my all." If Monday was his "all," then that's pretty good. Jackson capped a 13-point first half with a step-back buzzer-beater 3. He went 5 for 6 in the first half, including 3 for 4 from downtown. Butler went 11 for 26 from 3 in the first half. Butler's ability to stretch the floor with Anderson at center created open looks for Djulovic and freshman Samu Alder to hit outside shots during the crucial first-half run. Jackson, Djulovic and sophomore Jordan Ellerbee each had four 3s. Jackson registered 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting in his first regular-season game since December 2025 .
Advertisement
Joshua Heron covers college sports, the Fever and enterprise stories for IndyStar. Follow him on Twitter at @JoshEHeron .
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 3 things that stood out from Butler basketball's season-opening win vs Lafayette
