Butler's NCAA tournament hopes were likely hanging in the balance heading into Saturday's game against Seton Hall, making the Bulldogs' poor start against the Pirates so completely head scratching.

Turnovers put the Dawgs behind by 13 points in the first half, before the 3-point shot brought them back into the game.

Butler got within four points, but an ice cold second half allowed Seton Hall to pull away for the 76-64 win.

'We've got to get back up and fight.' Has Butler's bubble popped after 4th straight loss?

The loss is Butler's fourth in a row. The Bulldogs were one of the last four teams out of the tournament before the game. Now they'll likely need to win out and go on an extended run in the Big East tournament to reach the Big Dance.

Jalen Thomas led Butler with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Here are three observations from Butler's loss to Seton Hall.

3-pointers close gap, can't save the Bulldogs

Just like Butler's loss to Creighton, the Bulldogs seemed content to fire away from deep without using ball movement to create better looks from the perimeter. Butler started 2-for-9 from 3 in the first half, with both makes coming from Posh Alexander, the second-lowest percentage shooter in the starting lineup.

Alexander's points were critical, because the rest of the starting five was invisible to start the game. Players not named Alexander started 0-for-11 from the field. The first bucket not from Alexander came with 9:30 left in the first. Then the offense found its rhythm.

The Bulldogs finished the first half 5-of-11 from 3, making four consecutive treys and cutting its deficit to four with 2:28 left in the first. Butler continued to launch from deep, but it could not maintain its hot shooting. The Dawgs shot 4-for-13 from 3 in the second half.

Butler fixes turnover problems too late

Butler dug itself into a 13-point deficit because of its inability to hold onto the ball. The Dawgs committed eight turnovers in the first 12 minutes of the game. Many of the miscues were unforced due to balls bouncing off of a player's foot or a poorly timed pass. After the slow start, the Dawgs did not commit a turnover the rest of the first half.

The usually surehanded Alexander committed four first-half turnovers. Sophomore Landon Moore spelled Alexander at the point and helped settle down the offense. Moore scored three of his nine points in the first half, but most importantly, he dished out four first-half assists to just one turnover.

Butler's turnover problem re-appeared in the second half. Seton Hall turned eight Butler turnovers into five points in the second. For the game, the Pirates scored 18 points off 16 turnovers.

Second half woes doom Dawgs

Butler continues to struggle after halftime. Against Creighton the Dawgs didn't record a field goal for the final 5:39. Against Villanova, the Dawgs had a 3-minute, 48 second scoring drought to end the game.

Butler's offense fell flat in the second half once again, as a nearly eight-minute scoring drought allowed Seton Hall to ice the game. Butler shot 38.9% in the second half. Thirty-three of its 54 field goal attempts were 3-pointers.

Butler couldn't connect from deep, but Seton Hall deserves credit for keeping the Dawgs out of the paint. Big-bodied forwards Dre Davis and Jaden Bediako had the strength to prevent Jahmyl Telfort from getting to the low block and running the offense. Telfort is a master at backing his defender down and finishing or kicking out to the perimeter for an open 3. The open 3s weren't falling, and neither was Telfort's patented jump hook.

There are no secrets at this point of the season. Every team is familiar with its opponent's best sets. But Butler has to do something to help its top scorers break out of their shooting slumps.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 3 reasons Butler basketball lost to Seton Hall, hurt NCAA hopes