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Bulldogs Begin Final Homestand Against Loyola
Feb. 21, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format
STRETCH RUN: Butler will close out the regular season at home with two of the biggest games of the year. The Bulldogs, seeking the Horizon League regular season title, will open the two-game homestand against Loyola on Thursday, Feb. 22. The game at Hinkle Fieldhouse will be televised on ESPNU and will have a rare 9 p.m. (EDT) tip-off. Butler (25-4, 12-2 HL) can clinch at least a tie for the league championship with two wins. Loyola (19-9, 9-5) enters the game as one of the hottest teams in the Horizon League, boasting a six-game winning streak and a four-game road winning streak. Butler defeated the Ramblers, 70-66 in overtime, earlier this season in Chicago. The Bulldogs' regular season finale will be at 2 p.m., on Saturday, Feb. 24, against Detroit. The Bulldogs have won 16 straight league games in Hinkle Fieldhouse. BLUE THURSDAY: The Bulldogs will pay tribute to the 2007 Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts at halftime of the Loyola game on Thursday. Head coach Tony Dungy and Colts' team president Bill Polian will be Butler's special guests at the game, and the Vince Lombardi Trophy will be on display for fans. POLL WATCH: Butler slipped slightly in both the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today national polls released on Monday (Feb. 19). The Bulldogs fell from No. 12 to No. 15 in the ESPN/USA Today poll and from No. 13 to No. 15 in the Associated Press poll. Butler has been ranked in the "Top 20" of the two major Division I polls for a school-record 13 consecutive weeks, including a stint in the "Top 10" in both polls during the week of Feb. 5!
RATINGS GAME: The Bulldogs, who held the No. 1 spot in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) for more than three weeks in November and early December, currently sit in 26th place in the computer ranking (as of Feb. 17). Butler was in the "Top 10" of the RPI for nine straight weeks. The Bulldogs are 13th in the Sagarin ratings. BEST MARK: The Bulldogs (25-4) have matched the best 29-game record in Butler basketball history. Butler's 2001-02 and 2002-03 teams also posted a 25-4 mark under head coach Todd Lickliter. Only two teams in Butler history have won more than 25 games and both were coached by Todd Lickliter. IN THE `HOUSE: Butler had a 22-game homecourt winning streak snapped by Southern Illinois in the Bracket Buster event. The Bulldogs are 132-18 in Hinkle Fieldhouse over the past decade (1996-present). Butler is 69-12 in Hinkle Fieldhouse under head coach Todd Lickliter. LEAGUE RACE: Butler's loss at Wright State on Feb. 10 knocked the Bulldogs out of first place in the Horizon League race for the first time since Jan. 20 and for only the second time this season. It also snapped Butler's nine-game winning streak, the team's second-longest streak this season. Wright State, leading the league by a half game, has one league contest remaining (Feb. 22 at Youngstown State), while the Bulldogs have two league games left (Feb. 22 vs. Loyola and Feb. 24 vs. Detroit). The regular season champ earns the right to host the quarterfinals and semifinals of the Horizon League tournament. TWO-MINUTE DRILL: Junior forward Pete Campbell came off the bench and scored nine points in 1:55 of the second half to help spark the Bulldogs past UW-Green Bay. The 6-7 forward hit a three-point field goal to give Butler the lead for good at 41-39 and then added another three-point field goal 30 seconds later to make it 44-39. His third three-pointer made it 47-40 and put the Bulldogs in the driver's seat. Campbell finished with 11 points in 17 minutes, his fifth straight double-figures scoring performance. Pete Campbell leads the Horizon League in 3-point FG% (.524). ANSWER MAN: UW-Green Bay cut Butler's lead to two points twice in the final three minutes. And both times, Butler junior A. J. Graves responded. Graves hit two free throws to stretch a 56-54 advantage to 58-54, and then following a pair of free throws by UW-Green Bay's Ryan Evanochko, the Butler guard nailed a long three-point field goal to give the Bulldogs a 61-56 lead. The Phoenix never recovered. Graves finished with a game-high 20 points, his 11th 20-point scoring performance this season. CAPTAIN'S CHOICE: Senior Brandon Crone continued his strong stretch run with 17 points and a team-high six rebounds at UW-Green Bay. The Butler team captain has scored in double-figures in five straight games for the Bulldogs, his longest stretch of double-figures scoring performances this season. Crone has averaged 14.2 points and 6.2 points over Butler's last five games. HANDLE WITH CARE: Butler committed a season-low six turnovers for the second consecutive game in the win at UW-Green Bay. The Bulldogs have committed fewer than 10 turnovers in 11 of the past 14 games and in 18 games overall this season. Butler has averaged 8.0 turnovers over the past 10 games! Butler leads the NCAA Division I in fewest turnovers per game (9.3). BEST DEFENSE: Butler continues to lead the Horizon League in team scoring defense (56.9). The Bulldogs lead the league field goal percentage defense (.400) and rank second in three-point field goal percentage defense (.328). Butler is 18-0 when holding an opponent below 60 points. BULLDOG BITS: •Junior guard A. J. Graves has been named to the Wooden Award Midseason All-America Team. The 30 players selected are the top candidates for the 2006-07 John R. Wooden Award, presented to the nation's top player. •A. J. Graves became the 31st Butler player to score 1,000 career points during Butler's win at UW-Milwaukee. He currently stands in 19th place on Butler's all-time scoring list with 1,235 career points, eight points shy of Gerry Williams, 1960-63, in 18th place. •Junior A. J. Graves has slipped to second the NCAA Division I lead in free throw shooting (.952), after leading the nation for most of the current season. He trails Derek Ravaio of Gonzaga (.958). •A. J. Graves ranks fourth in the Horizon League in scoring (17.2). He leads the league in three-point field goals (2.93). •A. J. Graves has moved into third place on Butler's all-time list for three-point field goals with 192 career three-pointers. •A. J. Graves stands sixth on Butler's single season list for three-point field goals with 82, two three-pointers behind Bruce Horan (2004-05) in fifth place. •Junior Mike Green has averaged 15.7 points and 6.6 rebounds over Butler's last 10 games. The 6-0 guard scored in double-figures in nine straight games. •Mike Green has led the Bulldogs in rebounding in six of the last eight games and in a team-high 11 games overall this season. •Mike Green ranks third in the Horizon League in assists (4.07), fourth in defensive rebounds (4.59), seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.40), ninth in steals (1.21), 11th in scoring (14.2) and rebounding (5.7), and 12th in free throw shooting (.740). •Junior Pete Campbell has come off the bench with 14 double-figures scoring performances in Butler's last 15 games. Campbell has averaged 15.1 points in Butler's last 10 games. •Pete Campbell has hit 56 of 95 (.589) three-point field goal attempts in Butler's last 15 games. •Pete Campbell has moved into a tie (with assistant coach LaVall Jordan, 2000-01) for 11th place on Butler's single season list for three-point field goals (65). •Drew Streicher is shooting .800 from the field in Horizon League games. •Freshman Willie Veasley, who came off the bench and scored a career-high 10 points in Butler's victory over Florida Gulf Coast, has made his last 11 field goal attempts and 13 of his last 14 shots. •Butler leads the Horizon League in scoring margin (+12.4), three-point field goals (9.07), turnover margin (+4.17), and assist/turnover margin (1.34). The Bulldogs are second in free throw shooting (.756) and third in scoring offense (69.3). •Butler is the all-time leader in Horizon League victories. The Bulldogs have 214 league victories since 1979. Detroit is second with 177 league wins. |
