In recent news

Both Mike Green and A.J. Graves will be traveling to San Antonio this weekend, just not with the entire team. A.J. Graves will be participating in the 3-Point Championship on Thursday, April 3 on ESPN at 9 p.m. (ET). Green will take the court at the Alamodome on Friday, April 4, to play in the NABC All-Star Game. The game features two teams of college basketball's top seniors and will be played in the Men's Final Four venue for the first time. Tip-off for the NABC All-Star Game is 5:15 p.m. (CT) (all info posted on Athletics site).

In somewhat sadder news, one of the men's basketball players asked and was granted a release from the basketball team. Sophomore Elliot Engelmann was granted a release from the basketball team to transfer to another school. The school in which he will attend was neither given or hinted at there is one yet, in the press release. Career-wise, I must say this is a good move for him, because with the new freshman they are getting in along with the possible junior college player that they may get in for next season, he may not see that much playing time. This I am not sure about though, just a guess. I am somewhat sad to hear that he will be leaving though, best of luck to him in the future.

2007-2008 Season in Review

This was an incredible season for the Butler Bulldogs. Despite the sweet 16 run last season the Bulldogs were not ranked in the pre-season polls. The Dawgs started the season by defeating the Ball State Cardinals, Indiana State Sycamores and the Evansville Purple Aces. This year was the first time the Bulldogs defeated the Sycamores in at least 4 years.

The Bulldogs then proved that the deserved to be on the national stage by winning the Great Alaskan Shootout. They defeated Michigan, Virgina Tech (in OT) and Texas Tech. They did so by shooting the lights out at the tournament. While doing that they set a tournament 3 point record.

After the shootout the Dawgs battled Ohio State at Hinkle. This was a special game for many reasons. This was the first time a Big Ten team has come to Hinkle in over 10 years. The score at halftime was 30-20 in favor of Ohio State. The Dawgs shot 25.8% from the floor during the first half. At halftime Stevens talked about the law of averages meaning keep on shooting and eventually they will go in. To boost the player's confidence he had them crumble paper and throw it into a trashcan. The Dawgs came back and won 65-46. During the second half of the game Campbell was injured which kept him on the bench for a few weeks.

An early preview of league play began the next week. Butler barely escaped Detroit and then fell to Wright State in a nail bitter at the Nutter Center. After a week off for finals, the Bulldogs defeated Florida State at a Wooden Tradition Game at Conseco.

After the Ohio State game, Matt Howard was given the opportunity to start. During the games these games when Campbell was not available or was limited, Howard emerged as one of the teams stars. He presence at the post was one of the teams missing ingredient from last year. He proved corrected his play from earlier in the season by not getting into foul trouble. He started the rest of the year except for senior day when Campbell was given the starting job so all 5 seniors could start their final regular season game together.

The Bulldogs ended the calendar year by playing tough games at Florida Golf Coast and Southern Illinois. At the end of the Southern Illinois game Graves hit a shot from 28-30 feet away with defenders around him for the victory. This shot was described as the shot heard around the midwest. It was the top play on Sportscenter that night.

After the first of the year the Dawgs continued league play loosing only 1 of their remaining league games. This occurred was the game at Cleveland State. One of the highlights of this portion of the season has to be the game at Valpo which was televised on ESPN2 as part of ESPN's rivalry week games. The Bulldogs battled hard the entire game and game back from deficit. The Dawgs only lead for 17 seconds the entire game. At that point Campbell was left wide open and hit a trey for the win.

The Dawgs took a break from league play for the made for TV bracketbuster game in late February. This game turned out to be a battle of the Bulldogs as the Drake Bulldogs visited Hinkle. This was the premier game of Bracketbuster weekend as the both teams were ranked in the top 25. In fact, the Bulldogs were ranked 8th in both polls that week, their highest ranking ever. The Butler Bulldogs could not pull it out and lost 71-64. This was their only home last during the entire season.

The Bulldogs bounced back the following week and defeated Wright State 66-61 for the Horizon League regular season championship. After the game the Bulldogs cut down the nets in celebration. During that game Betko scored a career high 17 points. The win also secured home court advantage for the Horizon League Tournament.

The Bulldogs wrapped up the regular season against Detroit at Hinkle. Although the game was a blow out 65-31. All 5 seniors were honored after the game. In this era of college basketball it is very unusual to have a team with five incredible seniors on it.

The Dawgs defeated UIC and Cleveland State in the Horizon League Tournament. After the Cleveland State the Bulldogs cut down the nets in the celebration. This was the first time since the league gave the regular season champion hosted the quarter, semi and finals of the league tournament that the Dawgs won the league tournament. This win gave the Dawgs the Horizon League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

One of the priceless moments came during the season came on Selection Sunday. The Dawgs were stunned and silent when they saw the were awarded a 7th seed in the NCAA tournament. This was a huge snub as the Dawgs play during the season earned them a 4th-6th seed.

The Dawgs played South Alabama in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Dawgs proved they should have been awarded a higher seed as they defeated the Jaguars 81-61 in their home state. Pete Campbell shot 8-10 form behind the arc and finished the game with 26 points.

Two days later the Dawgs played Tennessee. This was a rematch of the NIT Season Tip Off Tournament semi-final game from the previous season. The Tennessee Volunteers jumped out to a 13-2 lead, but the Dawgs never game up. In fact Tennessee had a 13 point lead at the 11:27 mark of the first half. The Dawgs battled back and tied the game at the end of regulation, but game up short at the end and lost 76-71. The Bulldogs left everything on the court which is all anyone can ever ask.

The Bulldogs finished the year with a 30-4 record. This was the most a Butler team has achieved in school history. This was an incredible season one that I will remember for a long time. This was an incredible team to watch as they truly know how to play as a team.

This also ends my posts for the season. I want to thank Josh for giving me the opportunity to write on this blog. Thank you to everyone who has read and commented on this blog throughout the season. I have enjoyed writing for this blog. I will continue to post during the off-season as news comes out and I look forward to blogging during the 2008-2009 season.

BU-TLE-aRe you a Bulldog? HELL YEAH!

Young Gunz

Hopefully we'll see another tough Butler team like this in the near future. Shawn Vanzant is reminding me more and more of Mike Green with his tough overall game. Zach Hahn has the shot strength and poise to fill Graves' shoes if he develops. Matt Howard is already a bona fide beast. How many years of eligibility does Jukes have left? Veasley is tough off the bench but did not get a chance to develop much this year. I don't think that I will ever be attached more to another Butler team since I am a senior and most of our best players are seniors as well, but thanks to these last two years I am a Butler fan for life! It was too bad to see an Elite Eight quality team fall so early in the tournament, but what a great game. Go Dawgs!

Tough game

Tennessee is damn lucky that we didn't play our best game. We tried, but things just wouldn't go our way.

I just wish it wasn't over. I'll really miss watching our five seniors play.

Thanks for everything fellas.

And young guys, you have some very big shoes to fill. Good luck, and I can't wait to see you progress in your time here too.

Hell yeah

B-U... T-L-E... R you a Bulldog?

Hell yeah!

Birmingham: The City

The NCAA assigns each to a hotel. Butler was assigned to the Wynfrey hotel, rated 4 diamonds by AAA, in one of Birmingham's suburbs. The hotel is located in a retail area. The hotel is connected to the main shopping mall in this part of town. The mall is average sized, but some stores have 2 locations. There are additional restaurants around the hotel/mall including Olive Garden and California Pizza Kitchen. At last year's first and second round site in Buffalo, NY there was absolutely nothing around the hotel which was also in a suburban area.

The cheerleading coach arranged a trip to the Birmingham Zoo for the band and cheerleaders. The zoo is located in a suburban area in the woods which gave the feeling it is away from everything. It is smaller than other zoos I have been to, but it was a nice way to get out of the hotel.

The weather here has been awesome. The sun has been out and the high has been in the low 70s. Due to the clear sky at night the lows are in the upper 40s to low 50s. Many people here are getting a slight tan. I am not getting used to it because I have heard that it is cold and snowy in Indiana.

To beat the Vols...

... We have to keep them from running up and down the court. Tennessee can play stifling defense. They're very physical and the refs let them play that way against American. So there's no reason to think that they'll be any less physical against us.

We have to body up against them on offense then. I hesitate to say the same for defense, because Howard in foul prone and he could get in trouble quick. Green was in foul trouble yesterday, so he might be a little gun-shy. If we play our style of defense, we should do fine. We haven't let teams get up and down on us or control the tempo -- except in the Drake game, and I'm sure we've learned from that experience.

Our biggest problem will be scoring. The Vols are big and fast. We're going to have to hit our jump shots. I doubt Howard will be a factor unless he draws a lot of fouls. We're going to need Veasley and Jukes to contribute to our points in the paint when they play. They're definitely strong and fast enough to battle the UT defenders. Sadly, Green probably won't be able to penetrate and score. So, we're going to need to reign down from 3-point land. If Graves and Campbell aren't hitting, we're screwed.

But, we have an X-factor. His name is Julian Betko, and he won't let this team underachieve.

I'm definitely nervous about this game, but American exposed the Vols' weaknesses and the Dawgs will definitely benefit from that. We played this team last year in the Pre-season NIT. Graves and Streicher played against Bruce Pearl when they were freshmen. We know what to expect. We just have to play our game, which relies on our excellent jump shooting.

I expect a low scoring game in the 60s, and I'll bet that Butler is with Tennessee up to the end. If we win this game, there's no reason we can't beat anyone in the country. We could be the George Mason of this tournament.

Let's hold our breaths and pray to the basketball gods for this one.

Take that Selection Committee

#10 South Alabama 61
#7 Butler 81

What a victory for the Dawgs they definitely proved they should have gotten a seed higher than 7. Here are my quick thoughts about the game.

The big difference in the game was the shooting percentage from behind the arc. The Bulldogs shot 15-28 (53.6%). It seems like they have not shot that well since the Great Alaskan Shootout. Much of this spectacular shooting is due to Pete Campbell. He hit 8 of 10 treys.

The Bulldogs were able to build up much of the lead while Green was on the bench. He was charged with 2 fouls early in the first half. Stevens replaced Green by Vanzant during that time.

During the first half South Alabama was able given many second half opportunities by offensive rebounds. During the second half Butler was much better off the boards. At the end of the game South Alabama had 30 rebounds and Butler had 28.

South Alabama started to press during the second half. The Dawgs were able to get passed it. This gave Butler a preview of there next opponent.

Butler players were also about to adjust to the refs during the second half. During the first half the Dawgs were charged with fouls putting South Alabama midway through the first half.

There was on section of South Alabama fans at the game so it was not much of a home game for them. The areana seats about 18,000. There were 14,420 at the session that Butler's game was played in.

Next up: Butler vs. Tennessee
This is a rematch of last year's NIT Season Tip Off last year. During the game Butler came back from a 12 point deficit to win. Tennessee will likely want revenge from last year's lost, but at the same time the Dawgs no they can beat them.

Keys to the Game

Key #1: Quick Offensive Start
During the season the Bulldogs have gotten off to a slow start. For example, the Bulldogs slow start almost cost them the game at Valpo. Keep in mind that the Bulldogs only lead the game during the last 17 seconds of the contest. An essential element to a win against Southern Alabama is to start the game like the Horizon League Championship and keep the Jaguars behind

Key #2: Rebound offensively and defensively
Southern Alabama is a great rebounding times. One of the problems during the regular season was allowing opponents to get rebounds which they turned into second chance points.

Other Stuff

Videos
Brad Stevens on ESPN's First Take
Gary Parrish's game preview
Bill Raftery's site preview

David Woods is in Alabama and has posted his first update from Birmingham on his blog.

WISH-TV is sending their top sports anchor, Anthony Calhoun, to Birmingham. He did the play-by-play of the Ohio State game on ESPNU and was the sideline reporter for the Wooden Tradition game which was on WNDY and HDNet.
The game is 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Tennessee vs. American game which tips off at 12:15 (Butler's game will likely start at 2:45). Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery are calling the game. Click here to see where the game is available.

Final Note
I am leaving for Alabama tomorrow morning. I will post while I am there if I have Internet access.

Lunardi = idiot

So according to Lunardi at ESPN, he simply believes that South Alabama is going all the way, even past Tennessee. And funniest of all, he believes UCLA is going to win overall. He also has Georgia falling to Xavier - which I mean, I do think that Georgia got luck and home-court advantage on their side in the SEC tournament, but honestly, Xavier? He called Vanderbilt the most overrated in the field, which as much as I love 'em, they are only a little overrated, not the most overrated. I agree a 4-seed was too high for them, but I think they can make it out of the first round, giving they play like they did against Kentucky at Memorial Gymnasium. At least I am glad to see he thinks Drake will be out first round.

Check out his other hilarious prediction here

Preview for Southern Alabama

So according to Mr. Bracketology himself who broke down each team in a video on ESPN, he thinks that South Alabama has a better shot in this game than we do - in that they are underestimated and it is practically a home game for them....since when did we become the designated losing team? With all the negative going against us thus far, now is the time that the Bulldogs fans need to show their pride!

As far as statistics go for the Jaguars - besides the fact that they clearly have the advantage in this game only being 3 hours from Birmingham (in Mobile), the Jaguars finished second in their conference (the Sun Belt), next to Western Kentucky. They are 16-2 in conference, having lost to Middle Tennessee State twice (11-7, 17-15) and North Texas (10-8, 20-11). So it's easy to say that they are in a similar conference as we are with the numerous mid-major teams. The only other non-conference losses they sustained this season were to Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Miami (Ohio). So I suppose one can deduct that they had a relatively good season, so how most sport's analysts can deduct that they are a "sleeper" team is beyond me. Granted I have not seen them play, so this argument could mean nothing right now, but in my general opinion, I feel like sport's analysts tag the name of "sleeper" or underestimated to just about any team they please. I think they are just trying to create upsets.

They do seem to have several strengths on the team, especially on offense as ESPN describes their season, but does not say much about defense. So sleeper team or not, I am not sure, but I know that they better not underestimate us.

My perspective

If you're interested in my opinion about the Bulldogs' NCAA tourney seeding, check out these blog entries that I've written for CollegeFanz.com.

http://www.collegefanz.com/blogs/DawgnetJosh/2008/03/17/the-bulldogs-tourney-resume

http://www.collegefanz.com/blogs/DawgnetJosh/2008/03/17/on-to-why-the-committee-is-composed-of-dunces

Dawgnet Article

Check out my opinion article on how we got snubbed.

okay sorry, one more

I just found another person who believes that we should have been in the top-5 seeds. Click here Read the ESPN Take about their season and it concludes with "These Bulldogs once again should be a top-five seed and very well could find themselves threatening another 1-seed in the Sweet 16."

At least he agrees with us....

The more people I talk to, and the video that Tim mentioned before from WishTv - Click here, the more it makes you realize that we aren't the only ones upset by this seeding. Although the ESPN reporter that claims to know everything about sports (I think it was Andy Katz according to David Woods) said that a Horizon League Champion does not deserve higher than a 6 seed, David Woods himself (the beat writer for the Bulldogs) agrees completely that Butler once again got snubbed. Clearly our exceptional record this year (better than last year's I might add) was not enough and that loss to Drake hurt us more than we think. I am honestly not surprised by the team's reaction of 'silence'. They really can't say anything. They already knew that they were in and the seeding was completely unexpected. They won't say that this will affect them in the long run, because I do not believe it will. Like David Woods' says in his blog, I am hoping they will use this as fuel for fire and make it even more impossible for South Alabama (I am almost completely shocked at the fact that they are practically playing a home game, thanks selection committee for sucking) to win. So here is the link to David Woods' blog, it made me somewhat happier to hear him say that this isn't right.

NCAA Tournament

I just saw a video on WISH TV of the teams reaction after seeing the announcement on CBS. The Bulldogs were stunned and silent. If WISH TV posts videos about Butler I will post links.

I am also extremely disappointed that Butler got shafted in the seeding process. I will post a link to a Dawgnet article with my thoughts when its posted.

2008 NCAA Tournament

Although I am somewhat disappointed in the seed we received, we are a 7 seed playing in Birmingham, AL on Friday -

Our bracket (east)in Birmingham:

(7)Butler
(10) South Alabama

(2)Tennessee
(15) American

oh well, at least this means that I get to pass through my hometown (NASHVILLE) and possibly see some people from high school (if we play Tennessee).

Bulldogs to be a No. 7 seed

I don't want to cry about it, but I guess that being No. 10 in the country isn't good enough anymore. Any thoughts?

Most importantly

Watch CBS today at 6 p.m. for the announcement of the NCAA tournament pairings (and seedings).

Championship Videos

Check out this You Tube video of highlights from the UIC and Cleveland State games.

The Horizon League Network also has a highlight video and has archived the postgame show that was streamed after the game. The postgame show has both press conferences, and interview with Graves and an interview with Streicher.

Green on the season thus far

"Hey. Your correct, things have been going well for us thus far this year. All the individual accolades are cool honors to have but it has always been about championships with us. We have three of the possible four and we are aware of what's at stake. Therefore we are working to get better so we can make a run at our ultimate goal, NCAA champions."

Mike Green

We are the Champions!!!

Unlike most game Butler started out on fire. At the 13:24 mark Butler led 20-6. Cleveland State got back into the game and tied the game with 1:50 remaining in the first half. It was all Butler in the second half.

Cleveland State tried to shut Matt Howard down throughout the game. Whenever they did he was fouled. Of the his 16 points, 10 were scored by free throws.

Butler needs 3 players to score a majority of the points in order to win. Last night Green scored 24, Howard scored 16 and Streicher scored 11.

After the game and Horizon League Awards ceremony the players and coaches cut down the nets. There was a lot less ceremonial than when they were cut down after the Wright State game.

This victory combined with Drakes winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament repairs the damage that was caused by the Drake loss. The have likely secured a 5th seed, but could depending on how other teams play go as high as a 4th seed.

Green was named Tournament MVP. Howard and Streicher joined Green on the all tournament team.

Next up: NCAA Tournament 1st Round Game. This will be announced on Sunday during the selection show on CBS starting at 6:00 PM.

Check out quotes from players and coaches about the game.

Check out these videos:
Stevens on ESPN's First Take from Today's show
ESPN's highlight video

Rankings

AP: 12
Coaches: 10

Complete rankings are are available here.

The Bulldogs can credit their rise to solid victory over UIC and losses by several teams ahead or near them including Stanford (two losses, Xavier, Louisville and Connecticut.

Butler vs. Wright State Highlights

Check out this You Tube video of highlights from the Wright State game.

Horizon League Semifinals

Semifinals Game 1:
Valpo 73
Cleveland State 78

Valpo was very inconsistent throughout the game. They scored most of their points in runs. These runs prevented Cleveland State from pulling away. Cleveland State looked very good throughout the entire game. Their players hit several NBA treys.

It was great to see the large contingent of Valpo fans in the building. The weather in Ohio must have kept Cleveland State fans away.

One final note, for being the first year in the Horizon League Valpo made a statement they belong in the league. Valpo finessed the season 21-13 (9-9). They have the potential to do really well in this league in the future.

Semifinals Game 2:
UIC 50
Butler 66

Just like previous games that Butler has played after a long break between games (7 days in this case). The Bulldogs started off extremely slow. This forced Stevens to use a timeout at the 18:36 mark. In the next 5:16 Graves hit 3 treys and Green had a 2 point layup. This set the stage for the rest of the game.

The one problem the Bulldogs had during the game is rebounding. The Bulldogs were out rebounded 20-12 in the first half. The dawgs caught up during the second half and only trailed in the final talley by 5, 37-32. UIC definitely took advantage of the extra opportunities by scoring 26 second chance points. Butler only scored 4 second chance points.

One a bright note, the Dawgs were 12-27 (44.4%) for trey. Observers have noted that if the Dawgs make 8 or more treys in the game, they win.

During the game Stevens substituted more than he usually does. Veasley got 23 minutes and Campbell got 25 minutes of action. Betko only got 14 minutes of playing time and Howard only got 20 minutes of playing time. Betko was injured near the end of the season. This leads me to ask has the injury come back?

Once the Dawgs built up a big lead, Stevens put in 4 bench players and 1 starter. During this time some of the lead was surrendered. Stevens made the correct response by putting more starters in the game.

My key to the game was not allowing Josh Mayo to score. The Dawgs held him to 5 points (one 2 point basket and 1 trey).

Next up": Cleveland State plays Butler on Tuesday 9:00 at Hinkle for the Horizon League Tournament Championship. The game will be televised on ESPN.

Dawgs to face UIC

Quarterfinals Game 2:
University of Illinois-Chicago 60
Loyola 49

The Dawgs beat UIC twice during the regular season. One January 26th the dawgs defeated UIC 73-57 at home. On February 20th, the dawgs defeated UIC 51-46 at UIC's gym. The best player on UIC's roster is Josh Mayo. He is small, athletic and a good shooter. If the Dawgs shut him down, they will win without a problem.

HL Tourney Update

Quarterfinals Game 1:
Valpo 72
Wright State 67

I watched parts of the game on the Horizon League Network. This was a very competitive game. Valpo did not secure the victory until the end of the game. Valpo will play Cleveland State tomorrow at 4:30 at Hinkle.


Looking ahead I will be rooting for Cleveland State tomorrow in the first game. My biggest reason is that Cleveland State is farther away from Hinkle than Valpo. This will decrease the chance that the opposing school will be able to fill the Fieldhouse with students. Since we (Butler students) are now on spring break, I am expecting there to be significantly fewer Butler students at the game(s). Of course, the Dawgs must win tomorrow otherwise what I just wrote is meaningless. The Dawgs play the winner of the UIC/Loyola game tomorrow at 6:30 or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Cleveland State vs. Valpo Game. Tomorrow's games are being televised on ESPNU.

Go, Dawgs!!!

Dawgs racking up the honors

Mike Green received the Horizon League Player of the Year award

Matt Howard got the HL Newcomer of the Year award

Julian Betko was named HL Scholar-Athlete of the Week

Drew Streicher was named HL Scholar-Athlete of the Month

Horizon League Bracket

Wright State - Wright State
Detroit

Valpo - Valpo
Green Bay

UIC - UIC
Youngstown State

Milwaukee - Loyola
Loyola

Friday, 2nd Round at Hinkle
Wright State vs. Valpo (6 p.m.)
UIC vs. Loyola (8 p.m.)

Candyce Brown on remainder of season

"Our last game against Cleveland State was a very big win for us! We now have the opportunity to tie for third place in the Horizon League and host some games in our conference tournament. We have one regular season game left against Valpo this Saturday. This game is very important to our team because it is the final regular season home game for our two senior players Cassie Freeman, Candace Bain, and our team manager Stacey Jackson. This game is also very important because with a win, we can clinch our third place finish in conference. We would appreciate everyone coming out to support the Lady Bulldogs and our seniors to get a big win this weekend!"

- Candyce Brown

Looking past Horizon League Tournament....

I know it is a little early to think about NCAA Tournament games (but not much) but right now, I have high hopes for both teams...more specifically, the men I know are going to win the Horizon League Championship. If they play like they did in the Detroit game, having something to play for and with a lot of passion, they will blow that game out of the water. But anyway, back to the point, who does everything think we are going to be matched with in the first round of the NCAA tournament? I am still holding onto to the dream that Vanderbilt and Butler will play each other, I really want to know who is better (and in case your wondering, I will cheer for both sides but I really want Butler to win). I still love Vandy, don't worry Josh, I will always love them. Give me some feedback though, who does everyone want to see us play, what seed should we or are we going to get? How far do you think we'll go? I know this is early to think about it, but still, I am pumped for March Madness! The ultimate question, who will be the NCAA Champion this year? (pretty sure it won't be Florida). My bet is on....mmmmmh, Memphis.

Reaction from Senior Drew Streicher...

"The game against Wright State was great. The crowd was electric and the Dawg Pound was extremely loud. We really appreciated their support. It was very gratifying to win the conference outright at home and to be able to cut down the nets in Hinkle.

Senior Day was really fun. Once again, we had a great crowd and we played pretty well. Detroit came out and tried to really slow the game down but we played with poise and guarded very well. Of course, Pete shot it really well, too! I thought everyone contributed to the win.

It was nice to win the regular season league title but that is only one of our goals for the season. The team is excited to take on the next challenge of winning the conference tournament. It is something that no one on our team has done so we are going to get to work this week at practice and prepare for next Saturday."

Drew Streicher

2008 Horizon League Tournament

First Round -- Tuesday, March 4 (games played at home of higher-seeded teams)

Game 1: (#10 seed) Detroit (7-22, 3-15) at (#3 seed) Wright State (20-9, 12-6), 7 p.m. ET (Horizon League Network)

Game 2: (#7 seed) Green Bay (15-14, 9-9) at (#6 seed) Valparaiso (19-12, 9-9), 8 p.m. ET (Horizon League Network)

Game 3: (#9 seed) Youngstown State (9-20, 5-13) at (#4 seed) UIC (16-14, 9-9), 8 p.m. ET (Horizon League Network)

Game 4: (#8 seed) Loyola (11-18, 6-12) at (#5 seed) Milwaukee (14-15, 9-9), 8 p.m. ET (Horizon League Network)

Second Round -- Friday, March 7 (at Hinkle Fieldhouse)

Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m. ET (Horizon League Network)

Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 8 p.m. ET (Horizon League Network)

Semifinals -- Saturday, March 8 (at Indianapolis / Hinkle Fieldhouse)

Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. (#2 seed) Cleveland State (20-11, 12-6), 4:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

Game 8: Game 6 winner vs. (#1 seed) Butler (27-3, 16-2), 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

Championship -- Tuesday, March 11 (at home of higher-remaining seed)

Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Last thoughts....

I just want to say that I am proud of all five seniors (as well as the rest of the team) and the wonderful season they had - and the future great games in the tournament. They had a great season and deserved it!

Finally...

... the Dawgs put a smack down on an HL team and returned to the form that we saw after the Great Alaska Shootout.

The Dawgs shot 41 percent from behind the arc with 12 3-pointers, while completely dominating the last-place Detroit Titans.

What made the win even more special was that the team shined on Senior Day in Hinkle. I can't even begin to explain how much these five guys have given us. Looking back on my first two years here, I always knew that we could be a good team, seeing how we advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2003. But we couldn't rise to another level to emerge at the top of the Horizon League in those first two years.

I've seen a lot of great Butler players in my four years at BU -- Bruce Horan, Avery Sheets, Brandon Polk and Brandon Crone. But our guys this year have really taken us on a special journey. I thought we could be good, but I would never have guessed that we'd be as good as a 2007 Sweet 16 team and now a record setting 2007-08 team.

These guys have pushed further and risen higher than I think most of us would have ever expected, and they've given us so much joy, fun and excitement over the past two years. There's also been heartbreak. We've lost some crushing games, and said 'goodbye' to some of our favorite players -- Crone, Brian Ligon and Marcus Nellums. But, our seniors this year have carried on our dream and it's really been an incredible ride to this point.

Through it all, we've had A.J. Graves along with us -- all of us seniors who've been here, just not on the basketball team -- for the entire ride. He was so much fun to watch as a freshman, but I'll bet most of us, myself included, didn't realize how good he was going to be. He's defied gravity and the realm of the imagination with the incredible shots and plays that he's pulled out of his back pocket just when the team's needed him the most. I can't explain to him how much fun he's been to watch.

What about Julian Betko, Pete Campbell and Mike Green -- they've been God-sends. I'm very confident in saying that we'd never have made it to the Sweet 16 or to 27 wins this season without these three guys. Green has elevated this basketball team to a new level of competition with his abilities to play and lead the offense. Betko is undeniably one of the most important leaders on this team, and has stepped up in so many games to provide the lift that we've needed. Campbell -- without his shooting Graves would get the double team every game. He has one of the purest shots I've ever seen, and it's been amazing to watch him knock down three and four 3-pointers in a row.

Last but certainly not the least, Drew Streicher. Drew, you have to know that every Bulldog fan out there loves you. You are the true underdog story that gives everyone hope that we can achieve our own dreams. Walking on as a freshman, you worked your way into the starting five and have proved to be one of the most vital role players. Without your defense, assists, rebounding and basketball knowledge we'd not be 27-3 today. Of course we want you to shoot and score more, but you've proven to be one of the most unselfish and key components of this team. You get lost in the shadow of Graves and Green, but you've also been here every day with me for the past four years, and it's been incredible to watch you rise right along with this team.

So, on behalf of the entire Bulldog nation, I want to thank you guys so much for making us one of the elite teams in the country -- giving way to the nature and attitude of our fans, that so many outside of our circle have to come to hate and fail to understand. Thank you for giving us reasons to scream hysterically and brag with glory, while having one of the most fun and exciting experiences of our college careers.

Thank you guys for everything. We're with you all the way, no matter what, and you'll always hold a special place in our hearts.

BU 65 UDM 31 Final

Butler sets school record for regular seasons wins (27-3) and ties Horizon League record for conference wins (16-2).

Green finishes with 11 points, 12 rebounds (ties career-high) and nine assists.

Campbell finishes with 24 points on eight 3-pointers (ties career-high)

Graves two points

Betko three points

Streicher four rebounds

Veasley eight points on 4-of-4 shooting with four rebounds

Howard and Vanzant four points each

Engelmann three points

Jukes, Hahn and Anglin two points each

The Dawgs will play at 6 p.m. next Saturday in Hinkle in the seminfinal round of the HL tourney

Dawgs vs. Detroit

BU 58 UDM 31 3:27 left

Green, Campbell and remaining seniors on the bench

Dawgs vs. Detroit

BU 56 UDM 29 6:52 left

Green 11 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists

Campbell 24 points, eight 3-pointers (one shy of new career-high)

Green and Campbell on the bench

Dawgs vs. Detroit

BU 45 UDM 27 11:34 left

Green eight rebounds, eight assists, 10 rebounds

Campbell tied career-high in 3-pointers with eight so far

Dawgs with six 3-pointers in the second half

Dawgs vs. Detroit

BU 40 UDM 22 14:45

Campbell seven 3-pointers, three to start the second half

Green eight points, seven assists, nine rebounds

Dawgs vs. Detroit

BU 25 UDM 18 halftime

Pete Campbell -- 12 points on 4-of-7 3-pointers

Mike Green -- five points, four assists and nine rebounds (possible triple-double today)

A.J. Graves -- two points on 1-of-5 shooting

Willie Veasley -- six points on 3-of-3 shooting

Detroit Game

Butler plays Detroit to close out the regular season. Although the game is meaningless in the Horizon League standings it is meaningful in other ways. The Bulldogs need to continue to win to repair the damage caused by the Drake loss. Any other loss especially to a team that is struggling could drop Butler to a 6th or 7th seed in the NCAA Tournament. Detroit record is 7-21 (3-14). Also, the Bulldogs will have a week off. A win will help carry momentum into the Horizon League semifinal game. Hopefully the bench players will get to play to give the starters a break.

Go, Dawgs!!!

Pics from WSU game last night

Willie Veasley

Avery Jukes

Matt Howard

Mike Green

A.J. Graves


Photos by Liz Goerlitz, Dawgnet photographer


For more pictures, check out Dawgnetnews.com and www.collegefanz.com

Lady Dawgs win in Youngstown

The Bulldogs defeated Youngstown State on the road 61-60 last night to improve their Horizon League record to 8-8. The Dawgs are currently sitting at fifth in the conference and have played one more game than the four teams in front of them.

They have two games to try to improve their tournament seeding, including a road game against Cleveland State on Saturday. Green Bay has already clinched the HL regular season championship, but Milwaukee and Cleveland State possess 9-6 records with three games left.

Let's hope they do better in Cleveland than our guys did.

Go Dawgs!

W2U game

It feels sooooo good to beat Wright State for the HL regular season championship. Over the past two years I've developed quite an intolerance for that team and their fans. Thank you Dawgs for finally shutting them up.

Now we just have to make it through the HL tournament.

ESPN stuff

ESPN asked me to manage a blog about Butler basketball on www.collegefanz.com. So, when you're done reading our glorious posts here, stop over and give me some support on the other blog.

Big Game Tongiht & Blue II Videos

The Butler Bulldogs play Wright State tonight at 9:00 at Hinkle. This is a huge game for several reasons. One, the Bulldogs need to make a statement after the Saturday's loss to Drake. Two, the Wright State is the only team in the Horizon League the Bulldogs have not beat this season. Third, a victory tonight will guarantee the Horizon League Tournament quarterfinals and semifinals will take place in Hinkle. Butler has already secured the #2 seed in the Horizon League tournament and thus has a bye until the semifinal round.

Blue II Videos
1. Destroys a Wright State Raider
2. Destroys a cardboard box with Spike, the Drake Bulldog in it

Mike Green

Q. WSU has beaten you three out of the last four games and took the HL tournament last year. So, is there any extra importance with this game for you, especially to win the HL regular season? Will the game be a vindication for the Drake loss and past losses to WSU?

"The game on Thursday is very important for both teams, with a win we can clinch first place in the conference. In my opinion this is the most important game of the year. We all made goals at the beginning of the year, and winning conference was at the top of the list. This game would bring us another step closer."
Mike Green

If it makes you feel better....

Drake lost tonight to Missouri State (86-83)

BracketBuster Thoughts and Rankings

Check out my column on Dawgnet on the game and how the loss affects the team.

Rankings
AP: 14
Coaches: 13
Note: Drake dropped 4 spots in the AP poll and 2 spots in the coaches poll and now are ranked 20th in both polls.

In case anyone missed the e-mail...

"To The Butler Community:

Last Saturday we had an opportunity to showcase Butler University and Butler basketball to a national television audience. The environment at Hinkle Fieldhouse for the match-up of two “Top 25” teams was electric and the enthusiasm of the fans when the teams took the floor was breathtaking. Both teams played a very competitive game, and the effort of the players reflected positively on both institutions. Unfortunately, the actions by a few fans late in the game were less than positive. Throwing objects on the floor and yelling profanities is simply unacceptable. Those actions reflect poorly on our team, our athletic program and the university as a whole. Our team strives to represent Butler University in the best possible way, and our fans always have done the same. We want to hear you cheering, and we’re inspired by your support. But it’s important to do it in a first class manner that reflects positively on your team, on your school and on yourself. We have something special here. Let’s show that the Butler Way is more than a phrase with our actions. Please come out and pack Hinkle again this week and cheer for the Bulldogs in our final two regular season games against Wright State and Detroit.

Brad Stevens
Head Coach"

A Letter from Spike to the Officials

Dear Don Daily, Kip Kissinger and Jerry Heater,

Thank you for the excellent job you did on Saturday officiating the game. You had a mission to ensure that we, the Missouri Valley, team won the game and you did it perfectly. I was very impressed that you never changed course despite the abundant displeasure expressed by the sellout crowd. Without every single questionable call or no call going our way, I know we would not have won the game. I have sent a letter to the Missouri Valley Conference recommending that you receive a bonus for your fine work. I have also put each of you on my Christmas card list. I will be sending you a Christmas card with a $1,000 check in it to each of you later this year.

Love,

Spike
Mascot, Drake University



Note: This is for humor only.

Mike Green

"The atmosphere Saturday was great and it sucks to not be able to pull it out. Luckily for us that lost is not a set back toward what we are trying to accomplish. We are playing for a conference championship. That game for me personally will be hard to swallow because of the decision I made toward the end. I will go back and watch film and keep working to get better."

Mike Green

Heartbreak

Every time the Dawgs lose at home it breaks my heart. But, we played a good game. We stopped scoring for about a five-minute period in the last 10 minutes of the game, and you can't do that against top-ranked teams. Drake's an outstanding team, and they can go far in the NCAA tourney.

Hopefully we'll apply what we learned today in the upcoming Wright State game, and carry some momentum into the HL tourney.

On a side note, I really don't appreciate Butler fans swarming toward the exit with 30 seconds left in the game just because the team lost. Of course we want to beat the crowd out of the gates and try to get out of the parking lot, but in reality at a sold-out game, you're not going anywhere in a hurry. Those guys deserve better support from us. They've given us so much, it's the least that we could do for them.

I also don't like the sportsmanship that many Butler fans are displaying. I realize that we want to intimidate our opponents when they play in Hinkle, but throwing stuff on the court while the game's in progress, needing security guards and police officers to protect the Drake fans, and the chantings of "you suck" and all the booing that happened before the game even started really reflects poorly on our university. We can certainly intimidate our opponent without being assholes.

I wonder if there's any truth behind crusaderguy08's claims about the types of fans that the Butler team draws.

Please don't take any of this personally, and let me know if you're seeing the same things that I am, or if you have a different perspective on this.

Now something fun...

I really don't have much to say about the team at this point in the season, but I was wondering who's everybody's favorite player?

Dawg Pounders, maybe you could work something out where we rally in groups for our favorite players during the Horizon Leagure tournament coming up... maybe have a group sitting together that goes bananas when A.J. hits a shot or makes a great play. I don't know, but we have some planning to do since the tourney's in our backyard.

On to business -- My favorite player has got to be Mike Green.

Before Mike, we really struggled for leadership within the offense and as a team. Avery Sheets was a great player, but he wasn't nearly as explosive and as clutch as Mike has proven to be in tough games. I'm sorry Avery. You were a great player, and I appreciate all the effort you left on the court.

Mike's also a great person... at least he appears to be from my limited interaction with him. When I approached him about the blog, he said 'sure' without a hesitation and has consistently responded every time I've asked him to. Every time I've talked with him one-on-one he's been great.

Brandon Crone also really grew on me last year with his great play late in the season, but I digress.

So, you have my two cents, give me yours! Who's your favorite? And the entire team is a great answer too.

Something of interest

Jon Burkett left this comment on Mike Green's post. Ya'll might find this interesting --

"Team DDB,

Amy Hyerczyk profiled Butler for us on Basketball University. Check it out:

http://mvn.com/basketballuniversity/2008/02/21/profiling-the-field-butler/

Would appreciate a plug plus your feedback on the site!"

Drew Streicher on First Take

Drew Streicher was the next player to be interviewed on ESPN 2's First Take. Along with a phone interview with Drake's Klayton Korver, both players were asked similar questions concerning their previous games, what they are looking forward to in Saturday's bracketbuster and their career thus far, in basketball.

Check out the video here

Preview for Saturday's game(s)

The girls play their Detroit(4-20, 1-12) this Saturday at noon for their fourth to last game of the season. They lost their last two games against UWisconsin-Green Bay and Wright State (last night's late in the second half loss 65-60). The team is 16-9 for the season, 6-8 in the Horizon League (putting them in seventh place).

The men, of course, are taking on the Drake Bulldogs for the Bracketbuster game at
5 p.m. on ESPN 2. The "battle of the bulldogs" is what the game has been called by many sports spectators. Drake and Butler have also been compared very similarly, they are both ranked mid-majors with similar game plans. The game will be without a doubt, a challenge. We are just lucky that we have home court advantage.

Mike Green

"I don't know anything about Drake, other than what everyone else knows. UIC is the next game and that's all I'm concerned with right now. As far as the season goes I haven't had much time to set back and reflect. Time is flying and all I seem to think about the end, which we all hope is April the 7th."

Mike Green

Dawgnet Article

Last Week I mentioned that I was writing an article for Dawgnet on an experiment that occurred last Thursday and again last Saturday. The athletic department started playing canned (recorded) music during 30 second timeouts. You can read my reaction to this experiment here. Please post your thoughts and reactions. Which is better, band or canned music?

Rankings

AP: 8
Coaches: 8

You can see the complete polls here.

Thought
Since the Bulldogs play in the Horizon League, the only way they will climb in the polls. They have also received help from teams above them by the other teams loosing.

The highest ranked Big Ten team is Wisconsin at 10/11.

Saturday's Games

Men
Cleveland State 46
Butler 51
The Bulldogs managed to survive for the victory. During the last 9:03 of the game, the dawgs only scored nine points. The defense stepped up though and only allowed the Cleveland State Vikings to score 6 points in the last 14:32 of the game. Looking at the offensive statistics, the scored 40.5% of their shots, which is not that bad. Both teams committed a plethora of fouls. The Bulldogs had 19 and the Vikings had 23. The dawgs also committed 11 turnovers. Some of them were easy take aways. Overall the game was ugly, but a good game to get a W due to the fact they lost at Cleveland State earlier this season. The Bulldogs have secured at least the 2 seed in the conference tournament and have a 2 game lead over the second place team, Wright State.
Next Game: Wednesday 8:00 @ Illiniois-Chicago

Women
Butler 59
Green Bay 84
I knew after Butler played Green Bay that it was going to be a tough game for the Lady Bulldogs. Looking at the womens league standings the Green Bay has only one lost and the second place team, Cleveland State, is 4 games behind. After the game Butler is tied for 6th place. The big keys to Green Bay's victory were scoring 51 points in the first half and shooting 52.5% from the field.
Next Game: Thursday vs. Wright Sate 7:00 @ Hinkle

Thursday Nights Games

Men
Youngstown State 73
Butler 89
The men finally got a big win. This was important as it allowed the starters to sit our during most of the second half. The Bulldogs shot extremely well ending the game with a 62.3% shooting percentage. Since Butler had a big lead Stevens should have allowed the entire team to play. Engelmann and Leinendecker did get some playing time. Shamless plug, check out Dawgnet on Monday to read my passionate thoughts about the expiremented that occurred on Thursday night.
Next Game: Saturday vs. Cleveland State 2:00

Women
Butler 75
UW- Milwaukee 73
Next Game: Saturday at Green Bay. Tip is at 4:00 on ESPNU.

Campbell on First Take

The next Bulldog interviewed on ESPN 2's "First Take" was Pete Campbell after last night's overtime defeat against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Click Here for a link to the site

P.S. Look out for a new Bulldog to blog for us...

Green says...

Q. How is this team able to go on the road, play such a close game (and be losing in the final minutes like against Milwaukee and Valpo), and still find a way to come out with a win?

A. "This team had one goal in mind and that is to win ball games by all means. We are getting better as a team, on any giving night we can have 8 or 9 guys contribute one way or another. At the same time we thrive on adversity, the time is running out for some of us and we want the season to be memorable."

Mike Green

Wonderful night... for me

The Bulldogs won. Vandy won. I couldn't be happier.

Not only did the Dawgs win, but, for those of you who were in school when UWM used to dominate the Horizon League under Bruce Pearl in my freshman year and then following that up the next season... I always love beating UWM, especially at home and especially after the Horizon League championship two years ago.

As for my Dores, they handed Kentucky its worst loss in SEC play and finished with their largest margin of victory over the Cats at 41 points. Damn that felt good. Bring on the Vols and Bruce Pearl now! I just can't understand for the life of me how Vandy is a projected 10 seed for the NCAA tourney. WTF... how much do they pay analysts to be idiots? ... probably as much as they pay weather forecasters to be wrong.

No matter what, it's a good night for me. I would love to see Vandy and Butler meet in the Final Four or even the national championship... and on a night like tonight I can dream that dream.

For those of you who don't care about Vanderbilt, let me know who your favorite team(s) (outside of our beloved Dawgs) is and how they're doing.

P.S. I think Purdue and Indiana should schedule games against Butler. How can they claim to be the best in this state when neither will play the No.9 team in the country barely an hour away from each institution! Gotta be scurred.

Men against Milwaukee

The men's team is now ranked ninth (in AP poll), highest in school history. Tonight, they face a challenge against UW-Milwaukee. The game is at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU, so go check out a local bar that will be playing the game.

Campbell on Valpo

"About the game, I really feel like this was one of the biggest wins of the year for our team thus far. We knew that we were going to be in for a tough and ready valpo team but as everyone could see, we were not as ready to play as they were. It took a twelve to zero start to wake us up but eventually we responded like we needed to. The rest of the game was a battle of wills and it was tough playing in that kind of environment without Julian, and Mike and Matt being in foul trouble. I feel like the true character of our team came out during this game. We had all kinds of people step up and that started at halftime when we decided that no matter what the outcome was going to be, we were going to take a stand on the defensive end of the court. As they say the rest is history and in this case we played hard enough and stayed poised enough to pull out a tough conference win on the road. Now we move our focus even further north and go take on two of the hardest road challenges of the year. To come home with two wins is going to take the kind of effort and toughness we showed in the second half at valpo but this is why we play the game and I know we will be ready for the challenges ahead."

Pete Campbell

Side note

Dawgnet has started a new blog in our opinion section! The blog is dedicated to the 2008 political elections.

We just started it this week, so we have a few things to finalize. But, you can access the blog through the "Let It Out" feature under the Opinion section.

Also, I was in class earlier today and the professor posed the question, "What's going on on campus?" No one knew anything that was happening. If you want to get some "suck-up points" with your superiors, check out Dawgnet... we're publishing daily.

Opinion DogBlog

Update on Coach Lickliter

The Hawkeyes are 11-13 this season and 4-7 in the Big Ten. They beat Ohio State and Michigan State at home, but it's not looking too good for them right now.

Interestingly, Lickliter's team played Drake at home earlier this season and lost 56-51 to our bracketbuster opponent.

The Hawkeyes will play their next game at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9 at Minnesota (14-7, 4-5). I've always liked Tubby Smith, so I wouldn't mind seeing him get a home win in this one.

Women tonight against UIC

Well, despite the fact that apparently we are elitist and don't have fan support, let's try to prove that wrong with coming to the women's bball game tonight at 7 p.m. against UIC. The women play again on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Loyola while the men play Saturday evening away against UWGB. While I am very proud of each team, I feel like fan support for the women is lacking very much. The men could use more support too, although Hinkle is always mostly packed for their games. It is approaching March Madness and both teams could use all the fan support they can get. If you are proud to be a Bulldog, come show it!

Attention Valpo: It's not over til' it's over

To all you Valpo fans chanting the goodbye song with under a minute left up by 3... That's just stupid. The Bulldogs are a top 10 team in the country, have two of the deadliest 3-point shooters in the nation, and you're going to chant the overused "nah-nah-nah- hey- hey-hey-goodbye"? It makes no sense.

The sad thing is, Tuesday nights game was far and away the best game the Crusaders played all season. They did it in front of a record crowd at the atheltics and recreation center, and that crowd was hostile. But guess what? The Crusaders still lost.

And that tough of a game was the best thing that has happened to Butler all year. It proved in front of a national audience that we can go into a conference opponents house and beat them, with our big man riding pine, and our leading scorer in foul trouble the entire game. That is something that schools from the six power conferences cannot do. For instance, Michigan St. going into Iowa, and getting beat by the Hawkeyes 62-39.

A.J. Graves looks to be back to his normal self, and Pete Campbell has developed into that third clutch player Butler needs. It's absolutely scary to think about how good the Dawgs would be if Howard's inside play, and the perimeter game clicked at the same time.

Tuesday's game was just the Bulldogs coming out party to the rest of the country. ESPN commentators Doug Gottlieb and Tom Brennan were impressed. They haven't seen a thing yet.

(Tuesday was Howards first game in the last 13 where he didn't score double figures. He only play 15 minutes, and scored 6 points and grabbed 2 rebounds)

Green on Valpo

"The win last night against Valpo was a statement game. It showed that this team can go into a tough environment, under any circumstance and fight. Matt and I didn't not play very much and our bench stepped in to fill that void. Pete and Aj in my opinion played their best games last night. As a team we answered the call. As far as the bracketbuster game goes its a great opportunity, but we have a lot on our plates before then."

Mike Green

Graves on First Take

ESPN2's first Take just showed highlights of last nights game. At the conclusion of the highlights, the host mentioned that AJ Graves will be on First Take tomorrow (Thursday). First Take airs from 10-Noon and repeats from Noon-2.

Also check out this unofficial site that has similar statements that are made about Chuck Norris except they are about Graves and basketball.

Valpo who??

You gotta win one to make it a rivalry! Hey crusaders, Indiana is Butler's holy land!

A.J. Graves played like a true senior tonight. Those drives to the hoop and fade-away shots were so clutch when we needed some offense.

Pete had to take that shot at the end too. He hits three's, that's what he does and he got a wide open look.

The Dawgs have the hearts of champions, maybe not in Ohio but we're done there for a while.

Damn they're fun to watch.

Butler vs. Valpo Tonight 9:00

Tonight's game is being televised on ESPN2 as part of rivalry week. My first reaction after hearing about this a long time ago was "Since when are Butler and Valpo rivals?" This is the first year Valpo is in the Horizon League; however, Butler and Valpo have been in the same football conference. This does have potential to be a rivalry now that Butler plays Valpo in basketball and football every year due to conference affiliations and how geographically close the sh schools are.

Go, Dawgs!!!

Battle of the Bulldogs

What: #15 Drake Bulldogs vs. #10 Butler Bulldogs
When: Saturday, February 23rd at a time to be announced Feb. 11th
Where: Hinkle Fieldhouse

The Drake Bulldogs and Butler Bulldogs have been Matched for the BracketBuster game. Drake has played really well lately so this is a great matchup. Fans will have to remember not to say "Bulldogs" though so cheers will be limited.

Rankings

AP: 10
Coaches: 11

Complete polls can be viewed here.

Saturday's Women's Game

Youngstown State 48
Butler 63

The Bulldogs got off to a rough start and trailed early in the games, but came back and won!

Next game: Thursday vs. Illinois- Chicago @ 7:00

Last Night's Cleveland State Game

Cleveland State 68
Illinois- Chicago 74

Cleveland State's loss now gives the dawgs a 1 game lead in the Horizon League standings. Here are the current standings (number to the right of the school indicates the number of games behind):
Butler
Cleveland State- 1
UW-Milwaukee- 1.5
Wright State- 2
Valparasio- 2.5
UW- Green Bay- 3
Illinois- Chicago- 3
Loyola- 4.5
Youngstown State- 5.5
Detroit- 7

Saturday's Key Games
Cleveland State @ Loyola
UW-Milwaukee @ Wright State

Thursday Night's Womens Game

Cleveland State 65
Butler 61

The Lady Bulldogs let one get away last night. The dawgs built had an 11 point lead at the 8:04 mark in the first half. Cleveland State made a basket that tied the game at 31 at the end of the first half. In second half the game was very competative. At :29 Susan Lester committed a personal foul and got a technical foul which gave Cleveland State 4 free throws (they made all 4) and a 62-59 lead. The women are now 13-6 (3-5). Their next game is Saturday vs. Youngstown State at 2:00.

Bulldogs and Snow

Although the men's team is not playing until next week and it is going to snow tonight, that doesn't mean you can't come support the women's basketball team. The Bulldogs (13-5, HL 3-4) take on Cleveland State (11-7, HL 5-2) tonight at 7 p.m. in Hinkle. It’s “That’s My Dawg!” night with voting for your favorite Bulldog. The Bulldog with the most votes will host a post game pizza party for her fans.

The girl's take on Youngstown State (9-9, HL 4-3) on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Polls

AP: 12
Coaches: 12

You can view the polls here.

Quick Thought
Because the Bulldogs are off this week other teams ranked ahead of them will determine their place next week's top 25. If teams ahead of the dawgs lose, they will move up. If team ahead of the dawgs win, they will remain where they are at.

Green on Valpo

"We haven't started to prepare for Valpo yet. We have 10 days before we play them, so I'm sure we will use this time to get better."

Mike Green

Was there an A.J. Graves sighting on Saturday?

It's been over a month, but we finally saw a glimpse of what Butler fans have become accustomed to over the last couple of years last Saturday afternoon. Well, in the first half anyway. A.J. Graves' 6-15, 16 point performance made fans forget about his dismal January where he has shot 27 percent, even worse than that behind the 3-point line.

Graves may be getting a hang of these Horizon League defenses. After all, isn't that what great players do, adjust. HIs adjustment worked out Saturday atleast.

What Bulldog fans must understand is that Graves' value goes far beyond his numbers in the scoring column. If someone were to tell you that Graves was averaging 14 points per game, shooting below 35 percent from the field, and under 85 percent from the foul line, coupled with the fact that Butler would be 19-2 heading into the season stretch run would you believe them? Probably not.

Everything happens for a reason, and Graves' low numbers have done something great for this team. It has allowed freshman Matt Howard to lead the team in scoring his last seven games. It has made Mike Green an All-American candidate as well drawn him some interest from the NBA. On top of that, name me one team in the nation that wouldn't love to have Graves as its third leading scorer.

The bottom line is that Graves is just being keyed on by defenses, opening things up for his teammates, and the Bulldogs are a much better team becasue of it. He has not been struggling.

Heading into February's stretch run, however, I dont think anybody in Bulldog country is going to complain if Graves returns to to his "normal" slot. At the top of the box score, routinely in double digits.

Men vs. UIC

University of Illinois- Chicago 57
Butler 73

Graves' Shooting Returns
Graves shooting returned during Saturday's game. Graves scored 16 points on 6-15 from the field. He started the game by shooting 4-4 and only made 2 more the rest of the game. From three point land Graves made 4 of 12 shots. Hopefully the 9 days off will not hurt the momentum/confidence he gained today. Graves also had 5 rebounds

Campbell/Betko
On Saturday Campbell only made 1 shot of the 6 he attempted for 3 points. That did not matter as Betko was 4-6 from the field and scored 11 points. One of the great things about this team is that someone will step up when another member is not performing well which is what Betko did.

Howard
Howard continued his spectacular playing. He led the Bulldogs with 20 points and only missed one field goal (he was 7-8) and made all 6 of the free throws he attempted. Howard can no longer be considered the typical freshman due to the experience he has this year. Howard has made significant progress this season. Earlier in the season, he was constantly in foul trouble which caused him to foul out of some games and could not be left in games for very long. I remember hearing Coach Stevens saying the staff was going to analyze the game tapes from Alaska to determine why he fouled so much.

UIC Threat
One of UICs players, Josh Mayo (#1), gave the dawgs a lot of trouble. He is quick, athletic and a very good shooter. He led UIC with 19 points. He shot 7-15 from the field (including 4-9 from 3 point land) and was 1-2 from the free throw line. When the dawgs go on the road to the UIC Pavillion this is a player they will have to defend otherwise they will be in that game

Attendance & Crowd participation
Saturday's official attendance was 4,952. Again this is pathetic. The Indianapolis community does not realize what they are missing or realize and do not care because ticket prices are so high. Today's crowd participation was also very weak. Hinkle needs to be a hostile environment.

Cleveland State Game
Cleveland State 71
UW-Milwaukee 79
This means Butler has a 1/2 of game lead in the Horizon League

Record: 19-2 (8-2)
Next Game: Feb. 5th @ Valpo 9:00 (The game will be televised on ESPN2)

Women vs. Wright State

Butler 65
Wright State 70

Record: 13-5 (3-4)
Next Game: Thursday vs. Cleveland State 7:00 @ Hinkle

Bracketbuster?

So the bracketbuster game is coming up at the end of next month and I am really curious as to who we will be playing....I am not even sure how they match teams up. One thing is for sure, what I want is to see my two favorite teams play each other - Butler vs. Vanderbilt. They have the highest graduation rate, according to the sweet sixteen poster that was in the west gym last night. They are similar teams, same size school although one is in a larger conference (SEC). Vanderbilt was undefeated until two unfortunate losses last week to Kentucky and Tennessee. Anyway, that's my wish. Let them battle it out and see whose better, but let me know what you think. Who do you think we will play?

Today's Games

Men vs. Loyola
Loyola 50
Butler 63

I was expecting the margin of victory to be larger as the dawgs beat the Loyola Ramblers earlier this season 66-55 at Loyola. One of the reasons that was not the case is that the Dawgs were unable to get defensive rebounds. This allowed Loyola to score on second and third chances. This also prevented the dawgs from putting the Ramblers away and allowed the Ramblers to hang around for most of the game as Butler was only able to sustain a 10 point lead.

At one point during the second half, the Ramblers were making shots while at the same time, Butler was unable to. The Ramblers cut the lead to single digits. Coach Stevens made a lineup change by going with a lineup of players that scorer. He took out Streicher and Betko and put in Campbell and Hahn. The other players on the floor were Graves, Green and Howard. The lineup worked as Campbell hit a 3 point shot right away. On the next possession he shot another trey, but missed it. However, a Bulldog got the rebound and scored on the second chance opportunity.

One decision that Stevens made that concerned me during the game is allowing Willie Veasley to play with 4 fouls. He committed his 4th foul with 8:16 left in the game. Before the Loyala player, J.R. Blount shot a free throw shot for the 3 point play, Stevens made a substitution. Veasley must have heard the horn as headed towards the bench. He looked surprised when he was not taken out the game. Veasley was in and out for the rest of the game, but did not commit foul number 5.

Graves continued to struggle. The Indy Star article about Graves' recent struggle shooting the basketball mentioned that he has played with a sore right foot this month and that the team is not providing anymore details. Perhaps they are doing that so that the opposing teams do not concentrate their defense on another player since Graves is still playing. Maybe the best thing for Graves is to sit out for a game or 2 so it to allow his foot to heal or come off the bench. It is clear that something is affecting his shooting. Tonight he was 2-11 from the filed including 1-8 from behind the 3 point arc for 5 points (he did not shoot any free throws). This adds to my argument why Campbell should start instead of Graves. Campbell scored 15 points including 3-6 from 3 point land. All the Bulldogs who shot more than one trey shot 33% or better. Overall the team was 7-23.

Tonight's official attendance was 3,822. Simply put, this is pathetic. Hinkle should be selling out for every game or at least much closer to a sell out. Coming into the tonight the team was 17-2. The team has also been in the top 25 most of the season. A lot of people have been complaining about the increase in ticket prices this season. This argument that ticket prices are too high was advanced tonight. 2 weeks ago, the dawgs played Green Bay at 9:00 at night there were only 3,226 fans at the game. Due to the start time and the fact that not all students were back from break it makes sense why that number is lower. I was expecting an increase of more than 596 fans for this game compared to the Green Bay game since it started at 7:00 and that classes are in progress. The athletic department needs to keep in mind that Butler is located in a major city where there people have a variety of choices to spend money on entrainment. Yes, a price increase on tickets is understandable considering it has been several years since prices have been increased, but they should not have been increased as much as they were.

The dawgs are now 18-2 (7-2 in the Horizon League.

Next Game: Saturday 2:00 vs. University of Illinois- Chicago at 2:00

Other Game of Note in the Horizon League
Cleveland State 50
UW- Green Bay 59
This means Butler is now a 1/2 game behind Cleveland State for the lead in the league.

Women at Detroit
Butler 72
Detroit 62

Lade Akande led the Bulldogs, who came back from an 11 point deficit, with 27 points. The dawgs are now 13-4 (3-3 in the Horizon League). Their next game is Saturday at Wright State. The game tips off at 1:00.

A full Thursday Night...

Instead of sitting around on the futon watching Grey's Anatomy, consider watching one of the basketball teams play tonight.

For the men, they face Loyola at home at 7 p.m.
The women go on the road to try to end their two-game losing streak when they take on Detroit at 7 p.m.

So either come support your men's team at Hinkle this evening, or if you don't feel like getting out in the freezing cold, consider watching the women's game online.

First Take on ESPN2

Butler has been selected as First Take's mid-major college basketball team. First Take airs from 10-12 and repeats from noon-2 weekdays on ESPN2. According to the Indy Star, the dawgs will be featured once a week, usually on Wednesdays. Last Wednesday they interviewed Coach Stevens. The interviewer asked terrible questions which is why I did not link to it to a video of it at the time. Today Mike Green was interviewed. Click here to see a see a video of it.

Men's Basketball Podcast

Hey everyone that loves Butler Basketball, Dawgnet has finally posted our men's basketball podcast. The podcast itself is about 10 minutes long. Several players were interviewed as well as the head coach. While unfortunately it is not a video, it is still really cool and gives you an insight of the men's basketball team. Here's the link to the site if you want to check it out. If you have any comments or suggestions about the podcast and future podcasts, please feel free to input.

Click here to check it out

Basketball Podcast!

Dawgnet has just uploaded a podcast, which features interviews with players and Coach Stevens about the Horizon League schedule.

You can click here or visit Dawgnetnews.com to check it out!

Games This Week

Men
Thursday 7:00 vs. Loyola
Saturday 2:00 vs. University of Illinois- Chicago

Women
Thursday 7:00 at Detroit
Saturday 1:00 at Wright State

Men's Rankings

AP: 15
Coaches: 14

Complete ranking are available here.

Saturday's Women's Game

EDIT: I apologize for posting this extremely late.

UW-Milwaukee 65
Butler 50

Green on YSU

"Any win is big, and its even more meaningful coming after a tough loss. We are still getting better as a team and trying to stay consistent. We are not worrying ourselves with what the rest of the league is doing because that out of our control. We just want to take care of our business. Everything else will fall into place."

Mike Green

Men's Game vs. Youngstown State

Butler 78
Youngstown State 69

Finally, the Dawgs win a road game in Ohio!

The Bulldogs dominated the first half and went into the locker room with an 18 point lead. During the first half, the Dawgs went inside to Howard, outside to Campbell and Green made free throws (he scored 7 of his 9 first half points at the charity stripe). During the first half the Bulldogs built a 20 point lead.

During the second half things changed. Youngstown State came out and went on a run right away in the second half and reduced the lead to single digits. They forced the Bulldogs to foul and were in the bonus for the last 12 minutes of the second half. Both Streicher and Betko made a three point shot that stopped the bleeding. Later in the half the Bulldogs lead by 8 points, but a 4 treys made by Campbell (2) and Graves (2) rebuilt the lead. Youngstown State chipped away at it for the rest of the game.

Pete Campbell has performed very during the past 3 games. His scoring has given me an indication that he is most likely over his injury. Last Saturday against Milwaukee he scored 15, on Thursday against Cleveland State he scored 15 and tonight he scored 19 points (7-10 from the field including 5-8 for trey). Tonight he also made several key defensive plays. He has 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Based on what I heard on the broadcast tonight, his defensive has improved significantly.

Graves scored 9 points in the game. He was 3-11 from the field including 3-8 from behind the 3 point arc. He also missed both shots from the free throw line. He did have 4 steals in the game. Based on his performance in the last few games, I think Graves is in a slump. If he continues to be in a slump, it could be detrimental to the team if other players do not step up.

One thought I would like your opinion on is the idea that Campbell should be back in the starting lineup. His numbers from the past three games make the case why he should back in the starting lineup. The problem is who should he replace? Howard has played extremely well since being put in the starting lineup. Betko and Streicher are excellent defenders and Green is an all around player. That leaves Graves, who as I mentioned, is in a slump, although he may have gotten out of it tonight. I am interested in reading your opinions about this. I have not fully thought through the pros and cons of the idea.

Next Game: Thursday vs. Loyola at 7:00

Men's Game vs. Youngstown State Halftime Update

Butler 40
Youngstown 22

Pete Campbell, Mike Green and Matt Howard have scored the majority of the points thus far. Campbell has scored 11 points off the bench, Howard has scored 16 and Mike Green has scored 9 thus far. Zach Hahn has grabbed 2 rebounds and has done other little things. Besides scoring Campbell has played great defense. Hopefully they will keep it up in the second half!

Green on CSU

"Tough game against Cleveland state, they were the aggressors from the start to the end. A typical road game in this conference. The game is a painful learning tool, but its all about how you bounce back and we look foward to doing that."

Mike Green

Loss to Cleveland State

The Dawgs lost to Cleveland State 56-52 tonight. It appears that this season Cleveland State is going to play the same role that Wright State played last season... challenging the Bulldogs for the Horizon League regular season championship.

The Vikings remain at the top of the Horizon League with a 6-0 conference record, while the Dawgs will maintain the second position at 5-2.

The good news is that we will get a chance to play the Vikings at Hinkle, and CSU still has to play an away game against Valpo, who's sitting in the third spot at 4-2.

The bad news is that we still have to play at Valpo.

It's not, however, time to panic... yet. We have matched last season's performance, a season that I might add culminated in a Sweet 16, through the first 18 games at 16-2. We still get a retaliation game against Wright State in Hinkle. And we're still one of the top 15 teams in the country, which is not likely to change despite tonight's loss.

Right now it appears that we just can't beat Ohio teams while playing in Ohio. We'd better figure out a way tomorrow though, because we will be in Youngstown for a 7 p.m. tip on Saturday. We need to find the offense that we left in Alaska.

It's rally time Dawgs!

Men's Game vs. Cleveland State

As you probably heard/seen by now, the Bulldogs lost 56-52. Since I was at the women's game and was only able to listen to the last 10 minutes of the game on the radio so my comments here are limited.

Just like in other recent loses, Green and Graves scoring was limited. Green shot 4-11 from the field including 0-2 from beyond the 3 point line and made all 4 of the free throws he attempted for 12 points. Green also sat on the bench for approximately 10 minutes during the first half due to foul trouble as his second foul was charged to him relatively early in the game. Graves shot 2-11 from the field including 1-6 for three and missed his only free throw for 5 points in the game.

The Bulldogs are 1.5 now games behind Cleveland State in the Horizon League. This was the first game Cleveland State won against a top 25 team. The loss makes the home game against Cleveland State a must win.

The Bulldogs play at Youngstown State on Saturday at 7:00.

Women's Game vs. Green Bay

Tonight the Lady Bulldogs lost at home 73-58 to University of Wisconsin- Green Bay.

First there was a Dawgpound section tonight. The section next to the band was full. The group next to a band did not cheer at all and sat the entire game. There was also a small group of students behind the basket including a couple of guys with body paint. I was honestly surprised that this many students came to the game especially since the men played a game that tipped off at 7:30. I expected many people to be watching the game on their computer or listening to it on the radio. On Saturday the women's game is at 2, so come out and support the Lady Bulldogs. There is no conflict with the men's game at Youngstown State as it starts at 7:00. One thing that I would like hear more is cheering, but in a blowout it is understandable why fans do not cheer as much.

Bulldog fans need to understand that Green Bay is a great basketball team. They came into Hinkle tonight with a 4-0 record in league play and a 12-3 overall record. There losses where at Illinois State, at home vs. Marquette, and at Wisconsin. Their last lost occurred on December 11th. According to a story on ESPN's website, Green Bay has won the Horizon League regular season championship the past 9 years. During that stretch they won the conference tournament 7 times and made 7 appearances in the NCAA tournament. Last year Green Bay was ranked #22 when they played Butler in the championship game. Green Bay won that game 91-64. Green Bay also won both games during the regular season.

Next Game: Saturday vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee at 2:00

Heading into a our seventh and to this date most important Horizon League basketball contest Tomorrow night against Cleveland State (12-5, 5-0) the mens basketball team is healthy, a number 12 ranking, and has arguably the most improved frontcourt in the country. And I STILL dont think that we have seen our best Butler basketball team on the hardwood yet.

A.J. Graves exploded early in the year in winning the Great Alaskan Shootout, all three games he scored at least 17 points in. He kept Butler in the game against Ohio St. with his timely 3-point shooting and 14 point effort. Against Florida St. and Bradley he put up 25 and 21 respecively. However, in six games of conference play, Graves has scored double figures in but TWO of them, his Horizon League high of 13 vs Wisc. Green Bay on January 10th. I'd like to hope that Graves is for real, and the NBA potential type player that many thought he was early in the season. I'd like to think that Horizon League opponents haven't figured his game out and the way to play night night and night in grueling conference play. So therefore, A.J. Graves has yet to put together his best basketball game this season. Once he can do that, and stops forcing his shot and lets the game come to him it will make everyone, including senior gaurd Mike Green (the teams leading scorer, rebounder and assist man) that much better. And that's a scary thought.

Butler, a 16-1 basketball team, does not yet have an identity. That's a scary thought too, considering we have four players in double figures. Are we an inside team or outside team. It seems that the Bulldogs have not put together a game yet in which one has stepped up and not the other. Recently it's been the play inside of freshman Matt Howard who has scored atleast 13 points the last eight games, and Mike Green who has seemed to knife through any defender that he wants to in the paint. To start the year it was all the outside shooting of Graves, Pete Campbell, and Julian Betko. All three have yet to be on the same page on the same night as well. Betko has scored only 11 points in the last five games.

The one thing that we could count on has always been our foul shooting though right? Saturday against Milwaukee the Bulldogs shot a woeful 8-15 from the line.

The good news is that we repeatedly are finding different ways to win a basketball game. And once the Bulldogs find that identity, the sky is the limit for this veteran team.

In response...

... to the previous comment on Tim Maurer's recent post. This blog will continue through the basketball season, which will end in April with Bulldog national championships (I hope).

In regards to the lack of recent posts and the previous comment, I would like to inform all of you who were not aware that for the past month Butler students, which include the DogBloggers, have been on winter break... a break which is a much needed time to relax, recharge and spend time with family and friends. So, I apologize on behalf of the Dawgnet staff for not being able to update regularly, but you'll have to forgive us for being human.

Now that classes have resumed and our publication can begin to get up and running again, the DogBlog and Dawgnet will be updated as often as possible. Please keep in mind that this is the first week of classes, however, so we are just getting back on our feet.

In absence of our posts, I encourage all of our readers to post their own observations, thoughts, criticisms, encouragements and questions.

The women's next games is this Thursday at 7 p.m. in Hinkle. The men's next game is this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against Cleveland State. You can watch the latter game by clicking here, signing into your account or making a new one. The process is easy and free.

I would suggest that readers should head down to Hinkle and show the women's team some support, and catch the men's highlights on DogBlog, Dawgnet and ESPN later that night.

Look for a return to continuous posting with these games. Until then, please forgive our humanity.

Catching Up

Sorry that I have not been posting lately. Here is an update from my perspective.

Men's Scores
Jan 5th
Valpo 73
Butler 65

Jan 7th
Butler 66
Loyola 55

Jan 10th
UW- Green Bay 74
Butler 65

Jan 12th
UW- Milwaukee 72
Butler 56

Women's Scores
Jan 5th
Butler 69
Valpo 77

Jan 10th
Butler 61
Loyola 50

Jan 12th
Butler 72
UIC 57

Men's Record: 16-1 (5-1)
This is the best start in school history!

Women's Record: 12-2 (2-1)

Thoughts
Matt Howard has played extremely well the past few games. He has earned a place in the starting lineup. In the Valpo game he scored 17 points in 12 minutes of action. In the Loyola game he scored 19 points in 20 minutes. In the Green Bay game he scored 22 points in 29 minutes. Last Saturday he scored 17 points in 22 minutes. Throughout this stretch Howard has started games out by scoring points in the paint. During the games Butler's offense has gotten away from passing the ball to him in the post. There are several possible reasons for this. One is that the his scoring has made open shots from beyond the arc. Another is that he has been taken out of the game to rest. Sometimes they never go back to this method of scoring and I wonder why. I should not complain thought since the dawgs are winning. Howard was also named Horizon League player of the week on Monday.

Zach Hahn has found has finally has scored points from three point range. Just like any shooter, it was simply a matter of time before he was going to make shots. A recent high point was scoring 8 points in the Green Bay victory. I think he will continue to improve as the season progresses.

The game at Loyola was more/less a home game for Butler. While I was watching the game on my computer, I noticed that a ton of Butler blue in the audience.

The crowd for the Green Bay game, last Thursday night, was only 3,226. The biggest reason for that was the start time 9:00. The game started late due to being televised on ESPNU. Very few people get that channel. I often reference the channel as ESPN U don't get it. Because of that it was not worth the late start time . If the game was on ESPN or ESPN2 a very good argument can be made that starting at 9:00 is worth it.

The men's team is ranked 12 in the AP and Coach's poll this week.

Tara Miller of the Butler's women's team currently leads the nation in assists to turnover ratio. She has 46 assists thus far and 13 turnovers for a ration of 3.54.

The men play Cleveland State Thursday night at 7:30. Cleveland State is currently the leader in the Horizon League with a 5-0 record in league play. The Bulldogs are 5-1 in league. Also on Thursday night the Women play Green Bay at Hinkle Feildhouse starting at 7:00.

Updates

Okay, so yes, no one has updated in awhile...but quickly I will give a brief of where each team is at. The men are now 16-1, having won their past 8 games. They are now ranked 12th in both the AP and the Coaches poll. Their next game is Thursday, 01/17 at Cleveland State (the league leader).

The women are now 12-2 having had their second loss handed to them by Valparaiso on 1/5 (77-69). Recently though, in their past two games against Loyola Chicago and Illinois Chicago, they have come out on top. Their next game is on Thursday 1/17 against Green Bay @ 7 p.m. in Hinkle.

If you are not doing anything tomorrow.....

The men are taking on Horizon League newcomer Valparaiso tomorrow (1/5) at 2 p.m. It's the team's first home conference game. The women on the other hand are taking on Valparaiso on the road at 2:35 p.m. This is the girl's first conference game.

Either game can be viewed on the Butler Athletics site.

Green on the first half of the season

"The non league games are scheduled to prepare us for the conference games and I believe they have done just that. We have played a bunch of road games and were fortunate enough to win. That half of the season is over and we look forward to the 2nd half which is conference."

Mike Green