Bulldogs Close Regular Season At Valparaiso
ROAD CLOSING: Butler, having already
clinched the Horizon League regular season championship and the No.
1 seed in the league tournament, can add to its resume when it
visits Valparaiso on Friday, Feb. 26, to close out the regular
season. The game at Valparaiso’s Athletics-Recreation
Center will start at 9 p.m. (ET) and will be televised on
ESPNU. The Bulldogs (25-4) are bidding to become only the
fourth team in Horizon League history to complete an unbeaten
league season and the first to record an 18-0 mark. Green Bay
posted a 16-0 record in 1995-96, Xavier was 14-0 in 1994-95 and
Loyola was 5-0 in the league’s first season, 1979-80.
This year’s Butler squad already owns the record for most
league wins (17) in a season. The Bulldogs also are looking
to extend a school-record, 17-game winning streak, which is
currently tied with Murray State for the longest in the nation, and
seeking to reach 26 victories for the sixth time in nine
seasons. The game at Valparaiso (15-15, 10-7 HL) will be
Butler’s final test until the league tournament semifinals on
March 6 at Hinkle
Fieldhouse.
The Bulldogs have won 19 straight Horizon League regular season
games.
TRAVEL TESTED: The Bulldogs are tied for
second in the nation in road wins with a league-best 11-1 record,
one win shy of national leader Vermont. Butler has won eight
consecutive road games since dropping it’s lone road contest
at UAB on Dec. 22.
NATIONAL LOOK: Butler climbed to No. 10 in
the ESPN/USA Today national poll and to No. 15 in the
Associated Press (A. P.) “Top 25,” following wins over
UIC and Siena last week. The Bulldogs were ranked in both
polls for the first seven weeks of the season and have been ranked
in the ESPN/USA Today poll for 15 straight weeks. Butler has
been ranked in the “Top 25” each year since
2006-07.
20 SOMETHING: The Bulldogs, owning a 20-win
season for the fifth consecutive year and for the 12th time in the
past 14 years, have the sixth-highest single season win total in
school history with 25 victories. The Bulldogs are the only
team in Horizon League history to record five or more consecutive
20-win seasons and they’ve done it twice (1997-2003,
2006-2010)!
LAST TIME OUT: Sophomores Shelvin Mack and
Gordon Hayward combined for 38 points to lead the Bulldogs to a
70-53 victory over Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference leader Siena
in a much-anticipated BracketBusters match-up at Hinkle
Fieldhouse. Butler trailed by three points, 31-28, at
halftime, but out-scored the visitors, 42-22, in the final 20
minutes to claim the nationally-televised victory! Mack
sparked the second half comeback with 15 of his game-high 23
points, while Hayward added seven of his 15 points in the final
period. Hayward broke a 34-34 tie and gave the Bulldogs the
lead for good with a free throw at 15:45. The Bulldogs shot a
crisp 61% (14-23) after intermission, including four of seven (57%)
from beyond the three-point
arc.
Butler was unbeaten at home during the regular season for the
first time since 2002-03.
SENIOR DAY: Senior Willie Veasley did not
play against Siena on “Senior Day”, because of a
sprained left knee. His absence from the lineup ended a
streak of 60 consecutive starts and 91 consecutive games
played. The 6-3 forward is expected to play this week.
Seniors Avery Jukes and Nick Rodgers both were given their first
collegiate start in the game, and Jukes scored Butler’s first
points off an assist from Rodgers.
Willie Veasley and Nick Rodgers, both four-year players, have
helped Butler to a school-record 110 victories.
TOP DOG: Sophomore Shelvin Mack posted his
first 20-point scoring performance since Jan. 16 with a team-high
23 points against Siena. Mack had just one double-figures
scoring performance in Butler’s previous three games, and
that was 11 points at Cleveland State. His 23 points against
Siena were the third-most of his Butler career! He added six
rebounds and a steal against the Saints.
Shelvin Mack has 10 career 20-point scoring
performances.
DOUBLE TIME: Sophomore Gordon Hayward
finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds against Siena. It was
his fourth consecutive double-double for the Bulldogs and the 14th
of his young Butler career. The four straight double-doubles
are the most by a Butler player in more than a quarter of
century!
Gordon Hayward leads the Horizon League with 11
double-doubles.
CHARITY FIRST: The Bulldogs have shot 75.4%
(285-378) from the free throw line during their current 17-game
winning streak. That effort has helped Butler take over the
top spot in the Horizon League in team free throw shooting
(.751). The Bulldogs, who currently rank 11th in the NCAA
Division I in free throw shooting, have topped 80% from the line in
five of the past seven games.
SMART CHOICE: For the second time in three
years, Butler has two men’s basketball players on the
Academic All-America team. Junior Matt Howard, a finance
major with a 3.77 grade point average, was named first team on the
2009-10 ESPN The Magazine University Division Academic All-America
squad, while sophomore Gordon Hayward, a computer engineering major
with a 3.31 GPA, was picked third team. Howard was a second
team Academic All-American a last season, and two years ago, Butler
was represented on the honor squad by A. J. Graves (second team)
and Drew Streicher (third team).
GRAND EFFORT: Junior Matt Howard became the
32nd Butler player to score 1,000 career points earlier this
season. His eight points against Siena boosted his career
scoring total to 1,236 points, good for 20th place on
Butler’s all-time scoring list. The 6-8 forward trails
Gerry Williams (1960-63) in 19th place by seven points.
QUICK START: Butler head coach Brad Stevens
has moved into a tie for first place on the NCAA Division I list
for Best Career Starts By Wins, 3 Seasons. Stevens picked up
his 81st career win against Siena, matching the three-season record
of Mark Fox (Nevada) and Mark Few (Gonzaga).
Brad Stevens already stands sixth on Butler’s all-time
list for coaching wins.
BULLDOG BITS:
•The Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 in the CollegeInsider.com
Mid-Major Top 25 for the fourth consecutive week. Butler was
ranked first or second in the poll for the first eight weeks of the
season.
•Butler is the only school in the Horizon League to have won
four consecutive regular season championships, and the Bulldogs
have done it twice (2000-03, 2007-10).
•Junior Matt Howard is shooting .526 from the field during the
month of February.
•Matt Howard stands fourth on Butler’s all-time list for
free throws made with 453. He’s nine free throws shy of
third place.
•Matt Howard leads the Horizon League in free throws made with
141, while teammate Gordon Hayward is second with 136.
Hayward is fifth in the league in free throw percentage (.840),
while Howard is ninth (.801).
•Gordon Hayward became the 11th Butler sophomore all-time to
score 400 points earlier this season. He’s fourth on
the Butler sophomores’ list with 459 points.
•Gordon Hayward has averaged a team-best 15.1 points during
the squad’s current 17-game winning streak. He scored
20 or more points four times during the streak.
•Gordon Hayward ranks fourth in the Horizon League in scoring
(15.8) and third in rebounding (8.5). He’s the
lone player in the league to rank in the “Top 5” in
both scoring and rebounding.
•Gordon Hayward has hit 30 of 33 (.909) free throws in
Butler’s last seven games.
•Gordon Hayward has averaged 17.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in
three career meetings with Valparaiso.
•Gordon Hayward has shot 51% and averaged 17.1 points and 8.7
rebounds on the road this season.
•Shelvin Mack became the 12th Butler sophomore to score 400
points with his effort against Siena. He enters this week
with 402 points this season.
•Butler is 22-4 when Shelvin Mack scores at least 14 points in
a game, and 15-1 when he leads the team in scoring.
•Junior Zach Hahn, who hit two key three-point field goals in
the second half against Siena, has shot .473 from the three-point
line during Butler’s current winning streak. He’s
second in the league in conference games only in three-point field
goal pct. (.472).
•Sophomore Ronald Nored, who had six assists and two turnovers
against Siena, continues to lead the Horizon League in
assist/turnover ratio (2.0). Nored has had 73 assists and 36
turnovers during Butler’s win streak.
•Butler has won its last 20 games when hitting at least nine
three-point field goals. The Bulldogs are 37-1 under head
coach Brad Stevens when hitting nine or more three-pointers in a
game.
•The Bulldogs rank ninth in the NCAA Division I in won-lost
percentage (.862). Butler is tied for sixth in the nation in
total wins (25).
