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Butler
Feb 28, 2008 23:25:52 GMT -5
Post by Tipp City Raider on Feb 28, 2008 23:25:52 GMT -5
Great game. We just came up short. I know everyone's disappointed, but we all need to remember we are supposed to be in a rebuilding year.
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Butler
Feb 28, 2008 23:28:40 GMT -5
Post by Class of '83 on Feb 28, 2008 23:28:40 GMT -5
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Butler
Feb 28, 2008 23:29:20 GMT -5
Post by Pauley on Feb 28, 2008 23:29:20 GMT -5
Butler's definitely beatable at Hinkle. We lost by 5 points and barely made half of our FTs and turned the ballover twice as many times as Butler. If we improve those areas the next game, we can win. And, I don't expect Betko to shoot like that the next time.
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Butler
Feb 28, 2008 23:31:03 GMT -5
Post by Jazzfan on Feb 28, 2008 23:31:03 GMT -5
Betko leads Butler over Wright St. 66-61 to clinch Horizon By STEVE HERMAN, AP Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—Julian Betko scored a career-high 17 points, all in the first half, and No. 14 Butler held off Wright State 66-61 Thursday night to clinch the No. 1 seed in next week’s Horizon League tournament. The 6-foot-6 senior from Slovakia topped his previous career high of 15 points in 14 minutes in the first half and missed his only attempt in the second period. Mike Green had nine of his 15 points in the second half, and Matt Howard added 12 points for the Bulldogs. Vaughn Duggins led Wright State with 17 points. Butler (26-3, 15-2), which had lost its past three games against Wright State, finishes the regular season against last-place Detroit on Saturday. The Bulldogs had already clinched at least a tie for the regular-season title, and the win assured them of the top seed and a bye into the conference tournament semifinals at Butler on March 8. Wright State (20-8, 13-5) would get the No. 2 seed and a spot in the semifinals by beating Valparaiso on Saturday. But a loss to the Crusaders could drop the Raiders to the third seed and force them to play a first-round game at home on Tuesday. Betko, whose previous high this season was 14 points in a 43-42 loss at Wright State in December, bettered his career best against Tennessee last year with his fifth straight 3-pointer of the first half. That basket completed a seven-point run and gave the Bulldogs a 36-29 lead with under two minutes left in the period. Butler, which led by eight early in the game, had a chance for a 10-point lead before Betko’s first miss. A 3-pointer by Duggins that bounced on the rim and dropped in at the buzzer cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 36-32 at the half. Wright State cut the lead to one twice midway through the second period. But six straight free throws and a 3-point basket by Green helped the Bulldogs pad the lead, and the Raiders never caught up. Both teams were coming off losses, with Butler ‘s 71-64 loss to Drake snapping a nine-game winning streak, and Wright State’s 54-46 setback to Illinois State snapping an 11-game win streak. The Raiders fell behind early because of the hot shooting by Betko and came back only after his first trip to the bench for a breather. A 3-pointer by Duggins gave Wright State its first lead at 21-19, but Betko returned and immediately hit two more 3-pointers to put Butler back in front. There were two more ties before Butler’s late run put it ahead for good. sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/recap?gid=200802280067
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Butler
Feb 28, 2008 23:31:22 GMT -5
Post by SilkySouthpaw on Feb 28, 2008 23:31:22 GMT -5
I don't think we played our best game, and yet we still had a great chance to win. We had some bad turnovers, missed way too many free throws to win on the road, and some questionable shots. It shows you the talent and composure of this team!
Butler fans are saying that we played the best game we could play and that every time an HL team plays Butler, it is there national championship. What idiots! I mean don't get me wrong, I think we played real well, but not as good as we could've. Real good effort though.
Go Raiders!!!!
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Butler
Feb 28, 2008 23:33:36 GMT -5
Post by wsu97 on Feb 28, 2008 23:33:36 GMT -5
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Butler
Feb 28, 2008 23:40:29 GMT -5
Post by Pauley on Feb 28, 2008 23:40:29 GMT -5
Agree SS. This was definitely not our "A" game, by any means. BB will address these areas of concern when we beat Valpo and win in the HL semifinals. I'm actually quite encouraged.
Go RAIDERS!!
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Butler
Feb 28, 2008 23:42:15 GMT -5
Post by rock70 on Feb 28, 2008 23:42:15 GMT -5
Butler fans are saying that we played the best game That is interesting that we would make only 12-21 free throws and Butler fans think that was our best effort? I would think that most Butler fans realize if we make our free throws we could have won this game. Oh, did I mention that we had 11 turnover. Again if they consider that a good effort they are confused.
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Butler
Feb 29, 2008 0:11:21 GMT -5
Post by Willie on Feb 29, 2008 0:11:21 GMT -5
Classy post from Butler's board.......... Didn't play our best tonight but still won by five so can't be too upset. Hinkle was rockin and it was awesome to shut up those d*#%ks from Dayton...also...glad we cut down the nets at the end...nice touch... buhoops.yuku.com/topic/1184?page=5I can't wait another 11 days to rain on their parade. ![](http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f169/BigDWSU/thpissing.gif) ![](http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f169/BigDWSU/Butlerway.gif)
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Butler
Feb 29, 2008 0:31:36 GMT -5
Post by Glory Days on Feb 29, 2008 0:31:36 GMT -5
Bulldogs clinch Horizon crownBy Marc Katz Staff Writer Friday, February 29, 2008 INDIANAPOLIS — It was set up for a One-derful finish, just like many of those other Wright State games this Horizon League season. Only it didn't end up One-derful for the Raiders, only wonderful for No. 14 Butler, which clinched an outright league championship Thursday night, Feb. 28, at Hinkle Fieldhouse. For the One-derful Raiders, who won six previous games by one point, it was just another close loss, 66-61, although another miracle finish with just more than a dozen seconds left could have left them with a one-point victory. Not only did the Raiders lose, they still haven't clinched a No. 2 seed for the tournament with one regular-season game to go, Saturday, March 1, at Valparaiso. "We were a couple of possessions, a loose ball away," said sophomore guard Vaughn Duggins, who led the Raiders with 17 points and made three foul shots and a 3-point basket within a minute-and-a-half, pushing the score to 60-56 after the Raiders trailed, 57-50. The score was 64-59 with less than 20 seconds to play when a Todd Brown shot was blocked. The Raiders did score to cut Butler's lead to 64-61, but WSU had to foul A.J. Graves with 3.5 seconds left, and he drained two free throws. "We played extremely hard," WSU coach Brad Brownell said, but when you play teams as good as Butler, you can't play really well. You've got to play great." Four Bulldogs scored in double figures, including Julian Betko, a senior who made five of seven 3-point shots, all in the first half. Wright State fell behind early, 14-6, then closed the gap and briefly took the lead. Duggins' 3-point shot at the halftime buzzer bounced three times on the rim before falling in, leaving the Raiders behind just 36-32 and with some momentum. Now, the Raiders face a must-win situation at Valpo. "It's no more pressure than when we were 2-4 (after the first six league games)," Graham said. "We're going to try to play the same game at Valpo." www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/college/wsu/2008/02/29/ddn022908wsubb.html
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Butler
Feb 29, 2008 0:33:29 GMT -5
Post by Glory Days on Feb 29, 2008 0:33:29 GMT -5
Cheers and chants can't save WSUBy Marc Katz Friday, February 29, 2008 INDIANAPOLIS — Wright State certainly had a good following on hand for Thursday night's Horizon League game at Butler on Feb. 28. More than four bus loads of fans attended the game (three student buses, one for alumni), and after the Raiders finished an initial warm-up four minutes before game time, many of those fans cheered, yelling, "Go Raiders" as the team walked off the court, some of them waving at the fans. When the Raiders returned to the floor, the fans — mostly students — began a "Let's Go Raiders" cheer, drowning out the Butler students and their pep band. No lead, no victoryWright State never took the lead in the second half, despite coming close. The Raiders trailed 46-37 before running off eight straight points, then struggled on the way to a 66-61 loss. When WSU junior Will Graham went to the line for three foul shots with 21.6 seconds to play and his team trailing by six, Butler students began chanting, "NIT, NIT," toward the WSU fans. The chants referred to where the Raiders might play post-season as opposed to the NCAA. Graham missed two of the three. Gardner backSophomore guard John David Gardner took his first warm-ups since Jan. 10 against Youngstown State. Gardner, who missed the three games previous to that with an injury, suffered a hairline fracture in his foot and hasn't played since. He was cleared late Wednesday, Feb. 27, to play, but won't, despite his dressing and warming up. Gardner has yet to practice with the team since his injury, although he might go through some drills at Valparaiso today, Feb. 29, where the Raiders get ready for the Crusaders in a noon game Saturday, March 1, to finish the regular season. www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/college/wsu/2008/02/29/ddn022908wsunotes.html
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Butler
Feb 29, 2008 1:25:04 GMT -5
Post by nybuckeye on Feb 29, 2008 1:25:04 GMT -5
Our free throw shooting was poor tonight but to get to the line as many times as we did on the road shows that we were very aggressive and not settling only for jump shots. I really liked the way we attacked the basket and am encouraged even though we came up a little short in the end. The next two weeks should be exciting and hopefully that will lead to another post-season appearance for this young team.
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Butler
Feb 29, 2008 9:38:28 GMT -5
Post by dumbledore on Feb 29, 2008 9:38:28 GMT -5
I was at Hinkle last night - I have to tip my hat to Pleiman & Wilson. They banged all night with Howard, and held their ground. The kid is a beast under the hoop, and keeping him checked is one of many keys to Butler.
I don't know that anybody in the HL can really defend Mike Green - but Duggins & Brown did a commendable job (just like nobody could really defend DeShaun last year) trying to prevent him from going to the hoop and creating. Butler has been together so long, they can throw a lot of stuff at you. Young players really have a hard time with some of the things these guys do - they are all smart basketball players (not athletes - BASKETBALL players). To me - it was very apparent when Tabler, Land, Thomas & Horne were in the game. Young guys that just haven't been through the enough of the wars yet.
We can talk about Betko playing out of his mind (which he did!) But let's be honest - the way Butler works, you have to pick your poison. If it wasn't Betko, it could have been Campbell or Graves or Green. Somebody on that team gets hot and hurts you - that's how they have been able to stay Top 20 all year.
Bottomline is the young Raiders played well against a senior-led, ranked team. The Raiders are grinders - keep it close, and pull it out at the end. But like many people said earlier - you have to hit FT's to do that against good teams.
Personally - I'm encouraged. The Raiders have a young core. Coach Brownell is going to get his recruits in here and get his preferred style of game installed. The future is bright! But - first get the win at Valpo, secure the 2nd seed and get another shot at Butler in a few weeks!
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Butler
Feb 29, 2008 12:14:52 GMT -5
Post by Raider Fanatic on Feb 29, 2008 12:14:52 GMT -5
Gardner backSophomore guard John David Gardner took his first warm-ups since Jan. 10 against Youngstown State. Gardner, who missed the three games previous to that with an injury, suffered a hairline fracture in his foot and hasn't played since. He was cleared late Wednesday, Feb. 27, to play, but won't, despite his dressing and warming up. Gardner has yet to practice with the team since his injury, although he might go through some drills at Valparaiso today, Feb. 29, where the Raiders get ready for the Crusaders in a noon game Saturday, March 1, to finish the regular season. Best news I have heard in a long time. It would be great if he was available for a little spot duty during the HL tournament and post season.
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Butler
Feb 29, 2008 13:28:00 GMT -5
Post by dumbledore on Feb 29, 2008 13:28:00 GMT -5
Not sure how it works - but the papers are acting like a loss at Valpo would mean a #3 seed in the HL Tourney. Good news is you get home game until the semi's, bad news is the extra game.
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