Butler Bulldogs go for exclamation point on perfect season
Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis will be rocking tonight. Can Wright State take the Butler crowd out of the game and spoil the Bulldogs' perfect season?
One thing is for certain as far as the Butler Bulldogs' mindset when they reach the NCAA Tournament next week: They will already be pressure-tested.
Brad Stevens and Butler look to top off a solid campaign Tuesday when the Bulldogs host the Wright St. Raiders for the Horizon League Championship. ESPN will broadcast the event starting at 9 p.m. (ET).
Butler (27-4) has been installed as a seven-point favorite by Bookmaker.com against Wright State (20-11, 12-6 Horizon).
The Bulldogs bring a 19-game win streak into Tuesday's contest, 17 of those part of their perfect 18-0 regular season record in the league. Ranked 12th in both of the latest polls just released on Monday, Butler is already assured of a seat at the college table of 65 beginning next week. You can bet that Stevens will be preaching against complacency and will treat this matchup like a do-or-die NCAA tourney game.
Win No. 19 in the string came last Saturday in Indianapolis against Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Bulldogs, favored by 14-14½, took the Panthers down by a 68-59 count and had the look of a team without much to play for early in the contest. Wisconsin-Milwaukee was up by 10 at one point early in the game, and put up a good fight against the absolute class of both the Horizon League and mid-majors in general.
Thwarted from long range where Butler was just 4-of-18, the Bulldogs also couldn't get many second-chance opportunities on an evening in which they shot 47.7 percent. Fortunately, the Panthers had a bit of foul trouble and couldn't pull off the upset after taking a slim one-point lead into halftime.
Junior forward Matt Howard led the Bulldogs with 18 points, hitting five of his seven field goals and 8-of-10 tosses from the charity stripe. Ronald Nored scored 13 and pulled in eight boards. Gordon Hayward had 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
The loss against the spread marked the third consecutive Horizon defeat at the window for Butler, who has not made many friends this year among its backers with a 12-19 ATS mark.
At 12-6 in Horizon games, Wright State was the closest league competition Butler had this season to give you an idea how dominant the Bulldogs were. Two of the Panthers' six losses came against Butler, with Wright State last beating the Bulldogs on Dec. 8, 2007, in a 43-42 contest at Nutter Center in Dayton. The two schools combined for 30 points in the second half with only 11 free throws attempted the entire game.
The Panthers reached Tuesday's championship by virtue of a 69-50 win over Detroit this past Saturday. Listed as 5 ½-point chalk, Wright State stormed out to a 39-18 halftime lead and never looked back. The Panthers drained over half of their 23 three-point attempts, with Ronnie Thomas and Troy Tabler each converting four bombs.
Butler's two wins over Wright State during the regular season also included covers against the spread. In the first meeting on Dec. 8, the Bulldogs 1 ½-point road pups and eased to a 77-65 triumph. The rematch on Butler's floor came Feb. 6, with the Bulldogs 7 ½-point favorites in a 74-62 victory.
February's battle also marked the fourth straight 'over' in the series, which will seem odd to those who think of defense being a forte for these two schools. Butler's 60.5 defensive scoring average is tied for 21st in the country with Wright State (60.6 ppg) just behind. The closing totals this season were 123 and 122½.
The Butler website is very quick to remind its readers about the Bulldogs' dominance at home. Brad Stevens' crew is a perfect 14-0 at Hinkle Fieldhouse this season, and 43-3 in Stevens' three seasons at the helm.
I've got my ticket aboard the train to Chalk City; Butler wins 68-59.
Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis will be rocking tonight. Can Wright State take the Butler crowd out of the game and spoil the Bulldogs' perfect season?
One thing is for certain as far as the Butler Bulldogs' mindset when they reach the NCAA Tournament next week: They will already be pressure-tested.
Brad Stevens and Butler look to top off a solid campaign Tuesday when the Bulldogs host the Wright St. Raiders for the Horizon League Championship. ESPN will broadcast the event starting at 9 p.m. (ET).
Butler (27-4) has been installed as a seven-point favorite by Bookmaker.com against Wright State (20-11, 12-6 Horizon).
The Bulldogs bring a 19-game win streak into Tuesday's contest, 17 of those part of their perfect 18-0 regular season record in the league. Ranked 12th in both of the latest polls just released on Monday, Butler is already assured of a seat at the college table of 65 beginning next week. You can bet that Stevens will be preaching against complacency and will treat this matchup like a do-or-die NCAA tourney game.
Win No. 19 in the string came last Saturday in Indianapolis against Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Bulldogs, favored by 14-14½, took the Panthers down by a 68-59 count and had the look of a team without much to play for early in the contest. Wisconsin-Milwaukee was up by 10 at one point early in the game, and put up a good fight against the absolute class of both the Horizon League and mid-majors in general.
Thwarted from long range where Butler was just 4-of-18, the Bulldogs also couldn't get many second-chance opportunities on an evening in which they shot 47.7 percent. Fortunately, the Panthers had a bit of foul trouble and couldn't pull off the upset after taking a slim one-point lead into halftime.
Junior forward Matt Howard led the Bulldogs with 18 points, hitting five of his seven field goals and 8-of-10 tosses from the charity stripe. Ronald Nored scored 13 and pulled in eight boards. Gordon Hayward had 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
The loss against the spread marked the third consecutive Horizon defeat at the window for Butler, who has not made many friends this year among its backers with a 12-19 ATS mark.
At 12-6 in Horizon games, Wright State was the closest league competition Butler had this season to give you an idea how dominant the Bulldogs were. Two of the Panthers' six losses came against Butler, with Wright State last beating the Bulldogs on Dec. 8, 2007, in a 43-42 contest at Nutter Center in Dayton. The two schools combined for 30 points in the second half with only 11 free throws attempted the entire game.
The Panthers reached Tuesday's championship by virtue of a 69-50 win over Detroit this past Saturday. Listed as 5 ½-point chalk, Wright State stormed out to a 39-18 halftime lead and never looked back. The Panthers drained over half of their 23 three-point attempts, with Ronnie Thomas and Troy Tabler each converting four bombs.
Butler's two wins over Wright State during the regular season also included covers against the spread. In the first meeting on Dec. 8, the Bulldogs 1 ½-point road pups and eased to a 77-65 triumph. The rematch on Butler's floor came Feb. 6, with the Bulldogs 7 ½-point favorites in a 74-62 victory.
February's battle also marked the fourth straight 'over' in the series, which will seem odd to those who think of defense being a forte for these two schools. Butler's 60.5 defensive scoring average is tied for 21st in the country with Wright State (60.6 ppg) just behind. The closing totals this season were 123 and 122½.
The Butler website is very quick to remind its readers about the Bulldogs' dominance at home. Brad Stevens' crew is a perfect 14-0 at Hinkle Fieldhouse this season, and 43-3 in Stevens' three seasons at the helm.
I've got my ticket aboard the train to Chalk City; Butler wins 68-59.