Butler
Feb 28, 2008 12:31:34 GMT -5
Post by dumbledore on Feb 28, 2008 12:31:34 GMT -5
Feb. 28, 2008
The Indianapolis Star
Many questions to be answered tonight by Raiders, Bulldogs
By David Woods
INDIANAPOLIS - Although this is the second-to-last-day of February, tonight's basketball game matching No. 14 Butler and Wright State has enough madness attached to affect March:
» Will the Bulldogs end their Wright State jinx? Butler has lost the past three meetings, all at Wright State.
» Will Butler wrap up the Horizon League? A victory would give the Bulldogs home-court advantage for the league tournament.
» Will Hinkle Fieldhouse fans behave themselves? Coach Brad Stevens sent a message to the Butler community this week, denouncing actions of a few fans during last week's loss to Drake.
» Will Brad Brownell be auditioning for the Indiana University job? The Wright State coach is being mentioned as a candidate.
Brownell, 39, has Hoosier ties. His father was a high school coach in Evansville, and he was a prep teammate of Indiana University great Calbert Cheaney. Brownell was 83-40 in four years at UNC Wilmington and is 43-17 in two years at Wright State.
"I don't talk about any of that stuff," Brownell said. "It's flattering to be mentioned for any kind of job, especially for one as prestigious as Indiana."
Brownell said the Raiders are focused on Butler. It goes without saying that Butler is focused on the Raiders.
Butler smashed Wright State 73-42 at Hinkle Fieldhouse last year. Since then, the Raiders have won 77-65, 60-55 (for the Horizon title) and 43-42.
In the Dec. 8 loss, the Bulldogs played without 3-point specialist Pete Campbell, who was sidelined with an injured knee.
"I'm just real thankful that I can be a part of it this time, don't have to sit and watch and be hurt," Campbell said. "When you're in slacks and a tie, you just feel pretty helpless out there."
The Bulldogs don't need help to decide their fate. With a 14-2 league record, they could secure the No. 1 seed for the Horizon tourney by winning. They would advance directly to the March 8 semifinals at Hinkle.
At 12-4, Wright State could secure No. 1 seed with victories over Butler and Valparaiso, plus a Butler loss to last-place Detroit.
Until losing Sunday at Illinois State, Wright State had won 11 in a row. Included in that stretch were four wins by one point, and seven by four or fewer points.
Of Butler's most recent six wins, four have been by five or fewer points or in overtime. Brownell said league opponents know each other so well that blowouts are uncommon.
"That's simply not going to happen," he said. "You could put a lot of high majors in our league, and they're not going to win by 15 or 20 on somebody's home court."
The Bulldogs have won 24 of their past 25 league home games, including eight in a row. They have gone 80 games without losing back-to-back.
The Indianapolis Star
Many questions to be answered tonight by Raiders, Bulldogs
By David Woods
INDIANAPOLIS - Although this is the second-to-last-day of February, tonight's basketball game matching No. 14 Butler and Wright State has enough madness attached to affect March:
» Will the Bulldogs end their Wright State jinx? Butler has lost the past three meetings, all at Wright State.
» Will Butler wrap up the Horizon League? A victory would give the Bulldogs home-court advantage for the league tournament.
» Will Hinkle Fieldhouse fans behave themselves? Coach Brad Stevens sent a message to the Butler community this week, denouncing actions of a few fans during last week's loss to Drake.
» Will Brad Brownell be auditioning for the Indiana University job? The Wright State coach is being mentioned as a candidate.
Brownell, 39, has Hoosier ties. His father was a high school coach in Evansville, and he was a prep teammate of Indiana University great Calbert Cheaney. Brownell was 83-40 in four years at UNC Wilmington and is 43-17 in two years at Wright State.
"I don't talk about any of that stuff," Brownell said. "It's flattering to be mentioned for any kind of job, especially for one as prestigious as Indiana."
Brownell said the Raiders are focused on Butler. It goes without saying that Butler is focused on the Raiders.
Butler smashed Wright State 73-42 at Hinkle Fieldhouse last year. Since then, the Raiders have won 77-65, 60-55 (for the Horizon title) and 43-42.
In the Dec. 8 loss, the Bulldogs played without 3-point specialist Pete Campbell, who was sidelined with an injured knee.
"I'm just real thankful that I can be a part of it this time, don't have to sit and watch and be hurt," Campbell said. "When you're in slacks and a tie, you just feel pretty helpless out there."
The Bulldogs don't need help to decide their fate. With a 14-2 league record, they could secure the No. 1 seed for the Horizon tourney by winning. They would advance directly to the March 8 semifinals at Hinkle.
At 12-4, Wright State could secure No. 1 seed with victories over Butler and Valparaiso, plus a Butler loss to last-place Detroit.
Until losing Sunday at Illinois State, Wright State had won 11 in a row. Included in that stretch were four wins by one point, and seven by four or fewer points.
Of Butler's most recent six wins, four have been by five or fewer points or in overtime. Brownell said league opponents know each other so well that blowouts are uncommon.
"That's simply not going to happen," he said. "You could put a lot of high majors in our league, and they're not going to win by 15 or 20 on somebody's home court."
The Bulldogs have won 24 of their past 25 league home games, including eight in a row. They have gone 80 games without losing back-to-back.