Finley Bizjack is a former Big East All-Freshman selection and was Butler’s fourth-leading scorer last season at 10.3 points per game.
But this year, Bizjack has risen to the top of opponents’ scouting reports and still reached double figures seven times in the Bulldogs’ first eight games.
The junior guard looks to stay hot on Saturday when Butler (7-1) hosts Boise State (5-3) in Indianapolis.
Bizjack, averaging 19.0 points per game and shooting a Big East-best 45.6% from 3-point range, said he gets a boost of confidence from his coach, Thad Matta, when game time rolls around.
“On game days, coach Matta looks at me (to say) the rim’s looking big,” Bizjack said. “It’s like our thing now, every time he does it, I hit a couple. But I’m working every day to make sure the results come, and it’s coming right now.”
There’s no doubt about that. Bizjack has scored 20 or more in his last three games, including 29 in an 84-68 win over Eastern Michigan on Tuesday.
He drilled six 3-pointers, matching his career best, and was only a point off his career high of 30, which, interestingly enough, happened in a 100-93 loss to Boise State on April 2 in the College Basketball Crown..
Boise State hasn’t played since Nov. 26 when it beat Chaminade 102-76 in the Maui Invitational. The Broncos got a historic effort from Drew Fielder, who scored a career-high 27 points and pulled down a career-best 14 rebounds while making 12 of 13 shots from the floor.
The junior post player is believed to be the first in Mountain West history to tally at least 25 points and 14 rebounds while shooting at least 90% from the field. The Georgetown transfer has scored in double figures five times and averages 12.1 points per game.
The Broncos ended a two-game losing streak with the win over Chaminade and are playing their first true road game of the season when they take on Butler.
Head coach Leon Rice said his team is ready to learn from the experience in Maui and continue to improve.
“They’ll absorb stuff from this tournament. … We’ll have a lot of film, spend a lot of time doing that, and we’re still figuring out how the parts fit together and all that kind of thing,” Rice said.
