Bulldogs Close Road Slate At UIC
ROAD CLOSING: Butler will close out its
2010-11 regular season road slate and try to gain ground in a tough
Horizon League race when it visits UIC on Saturday, Feb. 19.
The game at the UIC Pavilion is scheduled for a 1 p.m. (CT, 2 p.m.
in Indianapolis) tip and will be televised on WNDY 23. The
two league foes will be meeting for the second time in two weeks,
with the Bulldogs taking the first meeting at Hinkle Fieldhouse,
72-65, on Feb. 7. Butler is riding a five-game winning streak
and is currently tied with Milwaukee for third place in the league
standings, a half game behind second place Valparaiso and a game
behind league-leading Cleveland State. The Bulldogs improved
to 19-9 on the season and 11-5 in league play with a 64-62 victory
at Green Bay on Tuesday (Feb. 15). UIC (7-21, 2-14 HL) fell
at home in overtime to Loyola, 67-66, in its last outing on
Wednesday (Feb.
16).
WARMING TREND: Butler has won its last five
games, after losing three straight contests for the first time
under head coach Brad Stevens. The five-game winning streak
is Butler’s second-longest of the season, trailing the
team’s six-game winning streak in December and early
January. The Bulldogs have out-scored their last five
opponents by 44 points (+8.8), while shooting .470 from the field
and .770 from the free throw line.
Butler has had nine win streaks of at least five games under
Brad Stevens.
LEAGUE SPOTLIGHT: Butler’s visit to
UIC will be the lone contest impacting the hottest Horizon League
race in recent annals. The remaining eight league teams all
will be participating in non-league, BracketBusters’
games. Cleveland State has climbed back on top of the league
standings with a 12-4 record, while Valparaiso sits a half game
back at 11-4. Butler and Milwaukee are tied for third at
11-5. The top two teams in the final regular season standings
get a bye to the semifinals of the league tournament, which will be
held at the home site of the regular season champ.
Butler is 3-1 against the top two teams in the Horizon League
standings.
LAST TIME OUT: Senior Matt
Howard turned in the biggest play of the game when he
drove the lane for a slam dunk with 0:01.8 remaining to lift Butler to a
64-62 victory at Green Bay on Tuesday (Feb. 15).
Howard’s dramatic play rescued the Bulldogs, who had
surrendered a five-point lead in the final two minutes.
Butler never trailed after taking a 10-8 lead four-and-a-half
minutes into the game, but the two teams were never separated by
more than eight points. The Bulldogs were on top, 62-57, with
1:59 left, but a three-point field goal by Green Bay’s Steve
Baker and a pair of free throws by 7-0 center Alec Brown tied the
game at 62-62 with 0:24 left. Butler had the final possession
and, following a time-out with 0:04 left, Howard took an inbounds
pass at the top of the key and drove the lane for the game-winning
shot.
CLUTCH PERFORMANCE: Senior Matt
Howard made sure the Bulldogs would prevail at Green Bay,
and his effort started well before and after his game-winning
dunk. The 6-8 Butler forward led all players in scoring with
22 points, and he shared Butler’s rebounding lead with eight
in 38 minutes of action. He sealed the game’s outcome,
following his dunk in the closing seconds, by intercepting Green
Bay’s final pass halfcourt pass. Howard has led the
Bulldogs in scoring in 14 games this season, and he’s had the
team’s top rebounding total in 19 contests.
Matt Howard has 22 career games of 20 or more points.
HALF DONE: Butler scoring and rebounding
leader Matt Howard only played one half against UIC two weeks
ago. The 6-8 forward suffered a blow to the head right before
halftime and left the court covered in blood. He need eight
stitches to close a wound above his right eye, and he did not
return to the court in the second half. Howard, who had nine
points and five rebounds in the first 20 minutes against the
Flames, sat out Butler’s next game against Wright State with
a mild concussion. It was the first game he missed during his
Butler career.
Matt Howard is second all-time in games played at Butler with
131.
SCORING STREAK: Junior Shelvin Mack posted
his 12th consecutive double-figures scoring performance with 13
points in Butler’s victory at Green Bay. He scored nine
of his 13 points in the second half to help Butler secure the
win. During the Bulldogs’ past 12 games, the 6-3 guard
has averaged 17.3 points and led the Bulldogs in scoring six
times. Mack, who had 17 points against UIC two weeks ago, has
averaged 18.6 points during Butler’s current five-game
winning streak.
Shelvin Mack has led Butler in scoring in four of the past six
games.
OFF THE GLASS: The Bulldogs, led by senior
Matt Howard and sophomore Andrew Smith, finished with a 32-29
rebounding advantage over Green Bay. Howard and Smith shared
the team lead with eight rebounds apiece. It was the seventh
time in the last eight games that Butler has out-rebounded its
opponent. The only team to out-rebound the Bulldogs in the
past eight outings was Wright State, which had a 25-24 advantage.
Butler is second in the Horizon League in rebounding margin
(+3.4).
20 SOMETHING: Butler is bidding for its
sixth consecutive 20-win season and its 13th 20-win ledger in the
past 15 campaigns. The Bulldogs set a school and Horizon
League record with 33 wins a year ago. Butler’s current
seniors have averaged 27 wins during their four seasons, including
two campaigns of 30 or more victories. The Bulldogs own the
longest active streak of 20-win seasons in the Horizon League.
BULLDOG BITS:
•Matt Howard has been named one of 10 finalists for the
Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, presented for notable achievement
in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and
competition.
•Matt Howard was named to the five-player Capital One Academic
All-District V Team for the third consecutive year. Howard is
a two-time Academic All-American.
•Matt Howard needs one more starting assignment to tie the
Butler career record of 124 starts held by former teammate A. J.
Graves (2004-08). Howard is three games away from the Butler
career record for games played (134), held by Willie Veasley
(2006-10).
•Matt Howard stands in fifth place on Butler’s all-time
scoring list with 1,790 career points. He’s third on
Butler’s all-time rebounding list with 813 career
rebounds.
•Matt Howard is the first player in Butler basketball history
to score 1,500 career points and grab 800 career rebounds.
•Matt Howard ranks third in the Horizon League in both scoring
(17.0) and rebounding (7.9). He’s ninth in the league
in blocked shots (0.7).
•Matt Howard has averaged 11.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in
eight career games against UIC. He’s never had a
double-figures scoring performance against the Flames in the UIC
Pavilion.
•Matt Howard is second in the Horizon League in 3-point field
goal shooting (.458). Howard has hit 22 of his last 45 (.489)
shots from the 3-point arc.
•Junior Shelvin Mack has moved into 15th place on
Butler’s all-time scoring list with 1,348 career
points. He’s trails Rylan Hainje (1998-2002) in the No.
14 spot on the Bulldogs’ all-time chart by 40 points.
•Shelvin Mack has moved into fifth place on Butler’s
all-time list for three-point field goals with 185.
He’s four three-pointers shy of Brandon Miller (2000-03) in
the No. 4 position.
•Shelvin Mack is tied for 4th in the Horizon League in
three-point field goals (2.0).
•Shelvin Mack stands in fifth place on Butler’s all-time
assist chart with 328 career assists.
•Shelvin Mark ranks fifth in the Horizon League in assists
(3.6).
•Shelvin Mack has made his last 22 free throw attempts.
He’s moved into seventh place in the Horizon League in free
throw shooting (.803).
•Senior Shawn Vanzant has posted three consecutive
double-figures scoring performances for the first time in his
Butler career. He had 12 points at Green Bay, after scoring
12 against Detroit and 15 against Wright State.
•Shawn Vanzant has averaged 11.2 points over Butler’s
five-game winning streak.
•Shawn Vanzant is shooting .550 (22-40) over Butler’s
last five games.
•Shawn Vanzant is 10th in the Horizon League in
assist/turnover ratio (1.6). Vanzant has had 11 assists and
just five turnovers in Butler’s last five games.
•Junior Ronald Nored, who has two steals at Green Bay, has
moved into 10th place in the Horizon League in steals (1.3).
•Ronald Nored has moved into 11th place on Butler’s
all-time assist chart with 286 career assists.
•Sophomore Andrew Smith continues to lead the Horizon League
in field goal shooting (.631). He’s shooting .677
(62-93) against league foes.
•Andrew Smith is averaging 9.4 points and 6.6 rebounds over
Butler’s five-game winning streak.
•Butler has hit 39 of 49 (.796) shots from the charity stripe
in the past three wins. The Bulldogs are second in the
Horizon League in team free throw shooting (.737).
•The Bulldogs are second in the Horizon League in 3-point
field goals (7.5) and third in 3-point field goal percentage
(.365).
•The Bulldogs are 46-3 under head coach Brad Stevens when
hitting nine or more three-pointers.
•Butler has won 26 of its last 27 games when yielding fewer
than 60 points.
