Bulldogs Close 2009 Against League-Leading Green Bay
LEAGUE RE-START: Butler returns to the
hardcourt after an eight-day layoff and resumes Horizon League play
when it hosts league-leading Green Bay on New Year’s
Eve. The final Butler game of 2009 will start at 7 p.m. (ET)
and will be televised locally on WNDY 23. Green Bay, picked
fifth in the league’s preseason poll, has jumped to 3-0
league start with wins over Loyola, UIC and Youngstown State.
The Phoenix boasts a league-best 10 wins overall, including an
overtime victory over No. 20-ranked Wisconsin shortly before
Christmas. Green Bay handed Butler one of three league
setbacks a year ago. The Bulldogs, who began Horizon League
play on Dec. 5 with a win over Valparaiso, are returning to action
for the first time since suffering a 67-57 setback at UAB three
days before Christmas. The loss was Butler’s fourth in
12 outings this season, all to teams ranked or receiving votes in
the “Top
25.”
Butler is 11-2 under head coach Brad Stevens in games following
a loss.
FIELD TESTED: The 2010 Pomeroy College
Basketball Ratings currently lists Butler’s schedule as the
fourth toughest in the nation. The Bulldogs played #16
Minnesota and #19 Clemson in a four-day period at the 76 Classic in
Anaheim, Calif., and #15/13 Georgetown at the Jimmy V Classic in
New York. Butler defeated #13/15 Ohio State and the Bulldogs
have faced Northwestern (10-1) and UAB (11-1), both currently
ranked in the “Top 25.”
Butler’s four losses have come to teams that currently
are a combined 40-7.
POLLING DATA: The Bulldogs have fallen from
the Associated Press (A.P.) “Top 25” for the first time
since last December, but remain in the ESPN/USA Today national poll
at No. 23. Butler has been ranked as high as No. 10 for the
second consecutive season. The Bulldogs have been ranked in
the “Top 25” each year since 2006-07.
MORE RANKINGS: Butler slipped to third
behind Northern Iowa and Gonzaga in the CollegeInsider.com
Mid-Major Top 25 this week. The Bulldogs held the top spot in the
CollegeInsider.com prior to the loss at UAB. Butler had been
ranked first or second in the Mid-Major poll for the first eight
weeks of the rankings.
HOME WORK: The Bulldogs were 15-2 at Hinkle
Fieldhouse last year, and they’ve won their first four home
games this season. Butler has been successful in 23 of its
last 25 home games and 61 of its last 67 in Hinkle
Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs are 129-17 (.884) on their homecourt
since 1999-2000.
Butler is 33-3 at Hinkle Fieldhouse under head coach Brad
Stevens.
LAST TIME OUT: Host UAB used a 10-2 scoring
run in the final two minutes to turn a two-point advantage into a
ten-point victory, 67-57, over the Bulldogs right before
Christmas. UAB scoring leader Elijah Millsap, held in check
for most of the game, sparked the decisive run. With the
Blazers holding on to a tenuous 57-55 lead, the 6-6 Millsap came up
with a steal and a free throw. A basket by Jamar Sanders and
another steal and three-point play by Millsap made it 63-55 with 30
seconds remaining and UAB out-scored Butler, 4-2, at the free throw
line to finish the game. Sanders led four Blazers in
double-figures with 18 points, while Millsap finished with 11,
nearly five points below his season average. Sophomore Gordon
Hayward topped the Bulldogs with 12 points.
The 10-point loss at UAB was Butler’s biggest margin of
defeat in the past 87 games.
DOUBLE VISION: Butler sophomore
Gordon Hayward recorded his second consecutive
double-double with a team-high 12 points and a career-high 15
rebounds against UAB. He became the first Butler player to
record 15 rebounds in a game since 1999, when Mike Marshall grabbed
15 caroms in a game against Green Bay! Hayward matched his
career-high with 12 defensive rebounds against the Blazers.
The 6-9 wing player, who had 22 points and 14 rebounds in his
previous outing against Xavier, has a league-high five
double-doubles this season, two more than he had all of last
season.
Gordon Hayward matched Detroit’s Eli Holman for the
highest single-game rebound total (15) this season.
HOMECOMING: Sophomore Ronald Nored returned
to his home area in Alabama when the Bulldogs played at UAB, and
the 6-0 guard had a large contingent of fans from his hometown
(Homewood, Ala.) and church in attendance at the game. Nored
connected on a career-best six of six free throws in the contest
and matched his season-scoring high with eight points against the
Blazers. He added two rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes
of action. The game was Nored’s first in Alabama since
he led Homewood to the Class 6A state finals in 2008.
MOVING UP: Junior Matt Howard became the
32nd Butler player to score 1,000 career points with his first
field goal against Ohio State. His six points against UAB,
boosted his career scoring total to 1,029 points in 78 career games
and moved him into 29th place on Butler’s all-time scoring
list. The 6-8 forward trails Avery Sheets (2002-06) in 28th
place on the all-time list by 57 points. Howard is
Butler’s first 1,000-point scorer since former teammate A. J.
Graves turned the trick as a junior in 2006-07.
CHARITY WORK: The Bulldogs connected on 14
of 17 (.824) free throws at UAB, including eight of eight in the
second half. But the 17 attempts were the fewest in the last
six Butler games. The Bulldogs entered the game against UAB
averaging nearly 27 free throw attempts per game through the first
11 contests. Butler has out-scored its opponents, 234-152, at
the line this year.
ADDED VALUE: Senior Willie Veasley posted
his third consecutive double-figures scoring performance with 10
points at UAB. It marked just the second time in his
collegiate career that he’s hit for twin-digits in three
straight games. The 6-3 Butler forward also matched his
career-high with three steals against the Blazers, and he continued
to enhance his defensive resume by helping limit UAB scoring-leader
Elijah Millsap to 11 points.
BULLDOG BITS:
•The Bulldogs are 18-1 against Horizon League foes in Hinkle
Fieldhouse under head coach Brad Stevens.
•Junior Matt Howard has averaged 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds
in four previous games against Green Bay. He had 22 points
and nine rebounds in his first meeting with the Phoenix as a
freshman.
•Matt Howard had a career-high five blocked shots against the
Phoenix in the game at Green Bay last year.
•Matt Howard was held to season-lows of six points and two
rebounds at UAB. He didn’t shoot a free throw in the
game for only the second time this season. Howard also scored
just six points against UCLA.
•Sophomore Gordon Hayward is the lone player to rank in the
“Top 3” in the Horizon League in both scoring and
rebounding. Hayward is third in the league in scoring (16.9)
and in rebounding (9.3).
•Gordon Hayward is currently tied for eighth in the Horizon
League in blocked shots (0.8), and he’s 10th in the league in
three-point field goals (1.8). He’s tied for first in
the league in defensive rebounds (6.5), ranks fifth in the league
in offensive rebounds (2.8) and he’s fifth in minutes played
(33.9).
•Gordon Hayward is the only Butler player to score in
double-figures in each game this season. He’s had 13
consecutive double-figures scoring performances, dating back to
last year.
•Gordon Hayward leads the Horizon League in free throws made
with 64, one ahead of teammate Matt Howard. Hayward stands
second in the league in free throw percentage (.877), while Howard
is ninth (.808).
•Gordon Hayward has hit 23 of 24 (.958) free throws at Hinkle
Fieldhouse this year.
•Gordon Hayward is averaging 20.3 points in four games at
Hinkle Fieldhouse this season. He did not have a 20-point
scoring performance at the Fieldhouse last year.
•Shelvin Mack has had 11 straight games in double-figures,
after opening the season with just seven points against
Davidson. Mack has scored at least 15 points in six games
this season.
•Shelvin Mack had a career-high eight assists in each of
Butler’s two games against Green Bay last season.
•Senior Willie Veasley is averaging 14.5 points in four games
at Hinkle Fieldhouse this season. He’s hit his
season-high of 15 points in three of the four home games.
•Sophomore Ronald Nored ranks sixth in the Horizon League in
steals (1.8). He’s had 12 steals in Butler’s last
five games,
•Freshman Andrew Smith scored his first collegiate points with
a pair of free throws in a brief reserve stint at UAB.
•Redshirt freshman Chase Stigall has been sidelined since
suffering a sprained right knee in Butler’s win at Ball
State. He’s expected back for this week’s
games.
