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NYC Duke Fan
03-08-2010, 04:34 AM
A good friend of mine who lives in Indianapolis told me to watch out for Butler in this years tournament. He thinks that they could be a Final 4 team and if the chips fall in place could even win the whole thing.

I have never seen them play nor know nothing about them except to see their ranking.

Can anyone enlighten me on them ?

Thank you.

Bob Green
03-08-2010, 05:55 AM
Taking a look at their rankings:

Kenpom - 31, Sagarin - 28, RPI - 17

They are 26-4 overall and 18-0 in the Horizon Conference. Butler is riding a 19 game winning streak. Their four losses are:

Minnesota 82-73
Clemson 70-69
Georgetown 72-65
UAB 67-57

CDu
03-08-2010, 09:06 AM
A good friend of mine who lives in Indianapolis told me to watch out for Butler in this years tournament. He thinks that they could be a Final 4 team and if the chips fall in place could even win the whole thing.

I have never seen them play nor know nothing about them except to see their ranking.

Can anyone enlighten me on them ?

Thank you.

They're a good team that could/should make the second weekend of the tournament. They've beaten an OSU team without Evan Turner and they beat Xavier. Both games were close (though the OSU was at one point a 15-point game). That's about it. They lost to Minnesota, Clemson, and Georgetown on neutral sites, and they lost @UAB. Since then, they've mopped the floor (as usual) with their terrible conference.

They have basically the exact same team as they did last year, which is always a good thing come tournament time (assuming you had a decent team last year!). They're led by Heyward (kind of a poor man's Singler), Mack (a very strong guard at 6'3", 215), and Howard (a 6'8" forward who led them in scoring last year). And they're well-coached.

I think they're a good team that will probably get a #6-8 seed in the tournament. If they get a good seed and draw, they could maybe give a scare to an upper-tier team in the second weekend. Or, they could be out in the first round against a major conference bubble team.

They'd be a scary matchup for anybody in any particular game, but I just don't see them winning up more than one or two games against good major conference teams - let alone winning five or six.

tydotscott
03-08-2010, 10:33 AM
Hello all.

This is my first post here. I have been an active reader, but thought I could shed some light on Butler, seeing as I am a student there. I have seen almost every Butler game this year so I think I can give some objective information. I am, of course, a Duke fan first, but it has been a treat to be a student at Butler as they have solidified themselves as one of the premier mid-majors in the country.

The Horizon League is weak. Wright State and Cleveland State have had decent teams the last few years, but other than that, not much can be said about it. However, going undefeated in any conference when you are getting everyone's best shot is quite the accomplishment.

Gordon Hayward is the catalyst. Last year he was more of a perimeter player, but this year he has come into his own. He gets to the rim as well as anyone. He is surprisingly athletic, versatile, and has tremendous vision. He also leads the team in rebounds and blocked shots; he does everything.

Matt Howard is the X Factor for this Butler team. When he plays poorly, Butler plays poorly. Yes Hayward is the best player on the team, but Howard is the key to Butler winning games. He is EXTREMELY prone to getting into foul trouble. We have no other big men of his caliber (Avery Jukes is soft and often lost on the court), so when Howard rides the pine, Butler struggles. Howard has fouled out of 9 games this season, but a more important statistic may be the fact that he has fouled out in 3 of 4 of Butler's losses. He is vital to Butler's success, and if he can stay in the game, Butler can be dangerous.

The rest of the team is not great, but they should not be overlooked. Shelvin Mack was in a mid-season slump, but after his 23 point performance against Siena, he is starting to get his confidence back. Senior Willy Veasley has stepped up on occasion as well. What makes them good is their team chemistry and their ability to be coached. Everyone, including myself, was pretty worried when Todd Lickliter left for Iowa, but Brad Stephens has been unbelievable.

My final point is this. Butler will play any team in the tourney close. They do not blow anyone out, but they don't get blown out either. They may not go as deep as some anticipated in the pre-season, but they will certainly put up a fight.

Sorry for the long first post, but I hope this has helped!

94duke
03-08-2010, 10:38 AM
Hello all.

This is my first post here. I have been an active reader, but thought I could shed some light on Butler, seeing as I am a student there. I have seen almost every Butler game this year so I think I can give some objective information. I am, of course, a Duke fan first, but it has been a treat to be a student at Butler as they have solidified themselves as one of the premier mid-majors in the country.

The Horizon League is weak. Wright State and Cleveland State have had decent teams the last few years, but other than that, not much can be said about it. However, going undefeated in any conference when you are getting everyone's best shot is quite the accomplishment.

Gordon Hayward is the catalyst. Last year he was more of a perimeter player, but this year he has come into his own. He gets to the rim as well as anyone. He is surprisingly athletic, versatile, and has tremendous vision. He also leads the team in rebounds and blocked shots; he does everything.

Matt Howard is the X Factor for this Butler team. When he plays poorly, Butler plays poorly. Yes Hayward is the best player on the team, but Howard is the key to Butler winning games. He is EXTREMELY prone to getting into foul trouble. We have no other big men of his caliber (Avery Jukes is soft and often lost on the court), so when Howard rides the pine, Butler struggles. Howard has fouled out of 9 games this season, but a more important statistic may be the fact that he has fouled out in 3 of 4 of Butler's losses. He is vital to Butler's success, and if he can stay in the game, Butler can be dangerous.

The rest of the team is not great, but they should not be overlooked. Shelvin Mack was in a mid-season slump, but after his 23 point performance against Siena, he is starting to get his confidence back. Senior Willy Veasley has stepped up on occasion as well. What makes them good is their team chemistry and their ability to be coached. Everyone, including myself, was pretty worried when Todd Lickliter left for Iowa, but Brad Stephens has been unbelievable.

My final point is this. Butler will play any team in the tourney close. They do not blow anyone out, but they don't get blown out either. They may not go as deep as some anticipated in the pre-season, but they will certainly put up a fight.

Sorry for the long first post, but I hope this has helped!

Welcome!
And thanks for the info!

NYC Duke Fan
03-08-2010, 11:55 AM
Hello all.

This is my first post here. I have been an active reader, but thought I could shed some light on Butler, seeing as I am a student there. I have seen almost every Butler game this year so I think I can give some objective information. I am, of course, a Duke fan first, but it has been a treat to be a student at Butler as they have solidified themselves as one of the premier mid-majors in the country.

The Horizon League is weak. Wright State and Cleveland State have had decent teams the last few years, but other than that, not much can be said about it. However, going undefeated in any conference when you are getting everyone's best shot is quite the accomplishment.

Gordon Hayward is the catalyst. Last year he was more of a perimeter player, but this year he has come into his own. He gets to the rim as well as anyone. He is surprisingly athletic, versatile, and has tremendous vision. He also leads the team in rebounds and blocked shots; he does everything.

Matt Howard is the X Factor for this Butler team. When he plays poorly, Butler plays poorly. Yes Hayward is the best player on the team, but Howard is the key to Butler winning games. He is EXTREMELY prone to getting into foul trouble. We have no other big men of his caliber (Avery Jukes is soft and often lost on the court), so when Howard rides the pine, Butler struggles. Howard has fouled out of 9 games this season, but a more important statistic may be the fact that he has fouled out in 3 of 4 of Butler's losses. He is vital to Butler's success, and if he can stay in the game, Butler can be dangerous.

The rest of the team is not great, but they should not be overlooked. Shelvin Mack was in a mid-season slump, but after his 23 point performance against Siena, he is starting to get his confidence back. Senior Willy Veasley has stepped up on occasion as well. What makes them good is their team chemistry and their ability to be coached. Everyone, including myself, was pretty worried when Todd Lickliter left for Iowa, but Brad Stephens has been unbelievable.

My final point is this. Butler will play any team in the tourney close. They do not blow anyone out, but they don't get blown out either. They may not go as deep as some anticipated in the pre-season, but they will certainly put up a fight.

Sorry for the long first post, but I hope this has helped!

Great post and thanks so much for the info .

Would Duke have a tough time against Butler ? I remember the VCU game..could it be the same kind of game for Duke ?

CDu
03-08-2010, 12:07 PM
Great post and thanks so much for the info .

Would Duke have a tough time against Butler ? I remember the VCU game..could it be the same kind of game for Duke ?

Butler is a completely different type of team than VCU. And this year's Duke is a very different team than the 2006 version of Duke. There's really no comparison.

I think we'd have a big advantage against Butler. We're much bigger, we're as experienced if not more experienced, and we have more talent at the key spots. Butler could make a game of it, but we should win a game like that pretty comfortably.

VCU was much worse for us matchup-wise than Butler.

hurleyfor3
03-08-2010, 12:31 PM
I think Butler is around a 5/6 seed. We wouldn't have to worry about them until the Sweet 16 regardless of whether we're a 1 or a 2. I'd put them about even with Temple and a seed or two below Xavier.

BandAlum83
03-12-2016, 02:17 AM
So, I am only months old on this forum. What an amazing resource and community it is. I have been impressed at the graciousness that forum members display in their posts, and kudos to the moderators for working hard to keep things civil. It is greatly appreciated.

I even learned a simple wtf isn't allowed. ;) I wonder if this one will be edited, lol.

Anyway, the forum is a time capsule! It is so cool.

I've been randomly going to different pages and reading posts. This thread was somewhere around page 503, I think. What a gem! A thread with just a few replies, but wow. Just a month later we know what happened. I guess the thread got buried. I was surprised I didn't see additions to it as the tournament field was announced or before the final 4. So funny...

Anyway, at the time, imagine K winning 2 more championships and surpassing 1000 wins.

What a ride, and how lucky are we to have been here for it through the years?

Well I hope some of you enjoy seeing this blast from the past pop up to the top of the list!

GO DUKE!!!