Butler vs Xavier Preview

    

    The I-74 rivalry continues today at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler vs Xavier

    Butler and Xavier will meet for the 65th time in their storied rivalry this afternoon. This is a series that goes back to 1937. Both teams played every year from 1977-1995 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference and for one season in the Atlantic Ten in 2012-13 and have played each other every year since 2013-14 when both teams joined the Big East. Xavier holds a 41-23 series advantage but Butler has won three in a row over the Musketeers. The last 10 games in the series have been split at five games each with no game being won by more than 10 points. This game is always one that goes down to the wire no matter the records. 

    During this pandemic season, both teams have been caught up in the struggle with Covid. Butler went on their three week hiatus back in November after their first game and Xavier is playing their first game today in 20 days after having a Covid related issue within their program. Xavier was experiencing their second covid related issue this season. Xavier did resume team related activities a week ago. This game was originally scheduled for Friday night but due to the circumstances surrounding the game with the need for additional covid testing precautions, the game was moved to Saturday. 

    For Butler, they need to start fast in this game and build an early lead. Xavier hasn't played a game in 20 days and the Dawgs will need to force the issue and take advantage early if Xavier does in fact come out rusty from their 20 day layoff. Butler likes to play at their own pace and slow the game down but in today's case, if Xavier starts out slow, the Dawgs may want to up the tempo and put pressure on the Musketeers as early as possible. Xavier has one of the top defenses in the country right now so for the Dawgs to take advantage of Xavier, they need to start fast and keep the pressure on. Butler struggled in the paint on Tuesday against UConn going 5-20 on layups alone. The Dawgs will need to be much more efficient on the inside against Xavier to come away with the victory. 

    Xavier will need to their defense to transition into offense against Butler. The Dawgs play at one of the slowest paces in basketball and if Xavier can force turnovers early, that could lead into a good transition offense. Butler has struggled in ballgames when its turnover margin reaches double digits. Butler struggles on defense when its forced into bad offense. Xavier will need to force Butler to play at a quicker pace than usual and if they get good looks on the inside and can create mismatches in the paint, it could be a long day for Butler. Xavier will have a size advantage on Butler at the guard position so look for possible mismatches on the wing at times and that could lead to a switch on the inside with the forwards with double teams so somebody could be open for Xavier more often. Butler struggles against the three pointer. 

    Key players to watch will be Senior guard Aaron Thompson for Butler and Senior guard Paul Scruggs for Xavier. Both are the senior leaders for their teams. Aaron Thompson is one of the best on ball defenders in the Big East and Scruggs is an Indianapolis native who is averaging 14 points per game for the Musketeers. Scruggs can play inside and out and is a terrific scorer and Thompson will have to play a great game defensively on him for Butler to come away with a win. Also watch the battle on the inside between Butler's Bryce Nze and Xavier's Jason Carter. Nze struggled against UConn on Tuesday night, going 1-11 from the floor. He will need to be be much more effective today against Jason Carter in the paint.  

    Butler may be 5-8 on the season and Xavier is 10-2 but don't expect this game to be a runaway for either team. This rivalry brings out the best in both ballclubs and you never know what to expect when Butler and Xavier get together. This game usually goes down to the final minutes. There is no love lost between these two to say the least. The first round of the I-74 series will be determined today at Hinkle Fieldhouse. 

    

NFC Championship Preview

 

    Packers vs Buccaneers. Rodgers vs Brady. Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field. Winner goes to Super Bowl 55. This should be a good one. 

    This matchup on Sunday will see one of two future hall of fame quarterbacks add to their legacy by winning another conference championship and advancing to the Super Bowl. Tom Brady is looking to appear in his 10th Super Bowl and first in the NFC while Aaron Rodgers is in the NFC Championship game for the fifth time and looking to advance to the Super Bowl for the second time in his career. Brady came to Tampa in the offseason and joined a stout Buccaneers team looking to advance to their first Super Bowl since 2002. Aaron Rodgers looks like the front runner for MVP this season while leading the Packers back to the doorstep of the Super Bowl. Only one shall advance to play in Tampa, Florida in two weeks in Super Bowl 55. 

    Sunday's game is a rematch of a week six matchup when Tampa Bay defeated Green Bay 38-10 on a Sunday night at Raymond James Stadium. The Packers started out that game up 10-0 and looked to be in control after the first quarter. Brady and company then decided to score 38 unanswered points in a route. Brady bested Rodgers by throwing for two touchdowns while Rodgers threw zero touchdowns and two interceptions. The Tampa run game shredded the Packers defense that evening with Ronald Jones running for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Tampa hard more yardage than Green Bay by 123 total yards, outgaining Green Bay 324-201. Green Bay was hit by six penalties in that game while the Bucs had none. Tampa got the best of Green Bay that evening. 

   For Green Bay to come out victorious on Sunday, it must be able to get in the backfield and pressure Tom Brady. Brady and the Bucs offense has put up 30 or more points in their two playoff victories to this point. Green Bay's defense must be aware of Tampa and their ability with the play action. Tom Brady has thrown four touchdown passes this postseason and three of them have come off play action. Green Bay must be cautious of this. When Brady has a clean pocket to throw, his quarterback rating is 110.4 and has a completion percentage of almost 75 percent. Getting pressure on Brady is critical for Green Bay to win this game. Tampa's run game of Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones are running the ball at an average of nearly 5 yards per carry in the postseason. Their yards per carry after contact has been a major reason for their success, they are big backs who bounce off tackles and get in the open field. Watch for Tampa to get their tight ends involved early. Rob Gronkowski and Cameron Brate. Brate leads the Bucs in receiving yards in the postseason. Green bay must have their zone package ready at all times in this game and be aware that Tampa will use the run to set up the pass. 

    For the Bucs to advance to Super Bowl 55 in two weeks, Tampa must get pressure Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay boosts one of if not the best offensive line in the NFL. The Packers offensive line has given up the least amount of pressure per dropback in the NFL this season at 14.1 percent. The Packers gave up the second least sacks in the league this year with 21. In the first meeting, Tampa was able to get to Rodgers five times. Tampa must be able to have a repeat performance or close to it defensively on Sunday if they want to win. The Bucs must also focus on stopping the run game of Green Bay. Last week the Packers run game ran for over 190 yards against the league's second best run defense. Another crucial part of the Bucs is the red zone. So far in the playoffs, Tampa has been awful in the red zone, only scoring a touchdown on 36 percent of trips inside the opponents 20 yard line in their two playoff games. On the other hand, Green Bay has converted 80 percent of their trips to the red zone into touchdowns during the whole regular season and converted 3 out of 4 trips to the red zone last week for touchdowns against Los Angeles. Tampa Bay must be able to convert red zone trips into touchdowns on Sunday. Field goals against Green Bay aren't going to work in this game. Pressure Rodgers, convert in the red zone and be able to establish a run game are keys to success for Tampa in this game.

    Key matchups to watch in the game will center around the run game of Green Bay vs the Bucs number one ranked run defense. Bucs linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White will have their hands full with Packers running backs Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams and A.J. Dillion. This Bucs run defense was able to shut down the Packers running attack in week 6, allowing just 1.5 yards per carry for Jones. The Packers offense is at its peak when the run game is able to compliment Rodgers and the Packers air attack. Look for the Bucs to stack the line to try to not allow the big runs by Jones early in the game. If Green Bay gets their run game going, it will open up the passing game for Rodgers and he could be looking for big shots downfield to playmaker Devante Adams. 

    Both of these teams are coming into this game riding long win streaks. Tampa has won six in a row, Green Bay has won 7 in a row. Battle of the two future hall of fame quarterbacks. One team advances to play in the Super Bowl. This should be a classic matchup. 

Purdue gets thrilling win over Ohio State in Columbus

        The Boilermakers have stuck it to Ohio State yet again

        Purdue has now swept the season series against the Buckeyes for the first time since 2018-19 and have won seven of the last ten meetings against Ohio State. Freshman Jayden Ivey hit a step back three pointer with four seconds to go to give Purdue the win at Value City Arena in Columbus on Tuesday night. Purdue has now won four in a row on the season and moves into fourth place in the Big Ten standings. Ohio State now falls into sixth place in the standings. 

    Ohio State started out the game on a roll, shooting lights out from beyond the three point arc and building a 37-31 halftime lead. Ohio State finished the game with 14 three pointers. The Buckeyes were lead by Duane Washington Jr who made six out of nine three pointers for the game and led all scorers with 21 points. Ohio State also received good contributions from Justin Ahrens who scored 12 points and EJ Liddell who added 11. Purdue struggled for most of the game from three point range but Jayden Ivey hit the one that mattered in the end. The Boilermakers were led by Trevion Williams who scored 16. Also scoring in double figures for Purdue was Ivey with 15 points and Sasha Stefanovic who had 15 points as well. 

    Purdue ended the game on a 8-1 scoring run that included three pointers from Stefanovic to tie the game at 64 and Ivey's three pointer to take the lead at 67-64. Purdue had struggled all night, making only 5 out of 20 three pointers but they got the ones in the clutch that made all the difference in the game. Ohio State took a five point lead at 64-59 with two minutes to go after a three pointer by Justin Ahrens but that would be the Buckeyes last field goal made for the remainder of the ballgame. 

    Purdue continues to show that even without any seniors, this is a team that can and will compete with anybody in the Big Ten. Despite one of the youngest rosters in all of college basketball, the Boilermakers are molding themselves into an NCAA Tournament team. The future for this program is very bright and will only continue to get better as time goes on. Getting a season sweep over the ranked Buckeyes is a huge step for Purdue. 

Bulldogs defeat DePaul

 

        Butler started out strong against DePaul on Tuesday night and never looked back. 

        A year after allowing 10 three pointers to DePaul in last season's loss at Wintrust Arena, the Bulldogs returned the favor on Tuesday evening and made 10 out of 27 three pointers in a 67-53 win over the Blue Demons. Butler has now won two games in a row for the first time this season and sees their record improve to five wins and seven losses, while DePaul sees their record fall to two wins and five losses. Butler also got their first road win of the season after losing their first five games away from Hinkle Fieldhouse. 

    Butler Senior Jair Bolden led all scorers with 21 points including five three pointers. Freshman guards Myles Tate and Chuck Harris continued to show their potential as each scored 10 points for the Bulldogs. Junior Bryce Golden also scored in double figures for Butler with 10 points. DePaul was led by Freshman Kobe Elvis who scored 12 points and Sophomore Charlie Moore who finished the game with 11 points for the Blue Demons. 

    The Bulldogs raced out of the gate and built as much as a 23 point lead in the first half before taking a 35-17 advantage into the locker room. In the first 20 minutes, Butler shot 50 percent on 15 out of 30 from the floor while DePaul shot 7 out of 28 for a 25 percent shooting first half. Jair Bolden hit four of his first five three pointers in the first half. In the second half DePaul got back into the game for a short time by cutting the Bulldog lead to 13 points after taking advantage of forcing Butler into several turnovers but DePaul never got any closer than that. Butler shot an even 50 percent for the game while DePaul finished the game shooting 33 percent from the floor. 

    Butler now looks to go for their third win in a row on Friday night when they face Seton Hall at Hinkle Fieldhouse. DePaul will attempt to get their first conference win and road win of the season when they travel to Milwaukee to take on Marquette on Saturday evening. 

Butler vs DePaul Preview

 

     Butler travels up I-65 to DePaul on Tuesday night to face the Blue Demons. 

      The Dawgs and Blue Demons have had their share of games missed this season due to covid outbreaks in both programs. Butler comes into this game having played 11 games with a record of four wins and seven losses. DePaul is playing just their sixth game of the season and has a record of two wins and four losses. Both teams are looking for their first win streaks of the season. Butler is coming off a comeback win in overtime against Creighton while DePaul is coming off a victory of their own on Saturday when they defeated Valparaiso. Butler is currently sitting in eighth place in the Big East while DePaul is currently in last place and looking for their first win in Big East play. Butler is going to attempt to avenge last season's loss at DePaul when the Blue Demons made 10 out of 17 three pointers and defeated the then number five ranked Bulldogs 79-66. Butler has won six of the seven meetings at DePaul since joining the Big East in 2013-14 including six in a row prior to last season's defeat. 

    Butler and DePaul are polar opposites when it comes to their tempo on the floor. Butler plays a slow, methodical style that likes to take time off the clock during their possessions. DePaul on the other hand plays a much quicker and upbeat style that gets up and down the floor at a much more rapid rate than the Bulldogs. Look for DePaul to quicken the pace against Butler on the offensive side of the ball and defensively try to force the Dawgs into turnovers by using full court press and double teaming in the post on Butler's two big men, senior Bryce Nze and junior Bryce Golden.  DePaul is very keen at turning over the ball during games. DePaul plays at such a fast and frantic pace that it has been a detriment to them this season. DePaul leads the Big East in turnovers per game with 18.3 which in turn has resulted in allowing the most points per game as well in the Big East at 78.3. Butler's slow pace during the season has resulted in scoring the least amount of points per game in the Big East at 63.6. 

    Butler is led by Senior guard Aaron Thompson who leads the Bulldogs in scoring at 14.3 points per game and leads the team in assists as well with 4.3 per game. DePaul is led by their senior guard Charlie Moore who is averaging 13.2 pointer per game and averages 4.8 assists per game. DePaul Sophomore forward Romeo Weems is shooting an astounding 54.5 percent from three point range this season which leads the Big East. DePaul ranks second in the Big East as a team in three point percentage. Butler is led in three point shooting by senior graduate transfer Jair Bolden who is shooting 42.1 percent from behind the arc. 

    This will be a good contest of teams who are still trying to find their way out of the bottom half of the conference. Butler is coming off an emotional and hard fought comeback against Creighton and is looking for their first road victory of the season. DePaul is looking for their first conference win of the season. Butler will need to come out strong especially in the first half as it did against Creighton and look to avoid falling into a double digit deficit on the road which it has done in every conference game this season. If Butler comes into this game and falls behind early, it could spell trouble and the Blue Demons could be right there for the opportunity to take advantage of the Bulldogs and continue their road woes and DePaul could end up changing their winless conference record. 

Butler Defeats Number 8 Creighton

    Hinkle magic still exists, even during a pandemic. 

    On Saturday afternoon, Butler defeated the Creighton Blue Jays 70-66 in overtime at Hinkle Fieldhouse in what will surely be remembered as a classic in the history of the 93 year old basketball cathedral. Even during a pandemic where only up to 2,500 fans are allowed in Hinkle Fieldhouse, Saturday afternoon provided another episode of Hinkle magic for those in attendance. This game was a defining moment in a season for Butler which has been nothing short of unique. Only down to 8 scholarship players available to play and coming off back to back double digit losses, Butler needed a game to ignite a spark in the program. Not sure many thought it would have come Saturday afternoon against Creighton who came into Hinkle Fieldhouse with the number 8 ranking in the country and the top ranked offense in the Big East. The Blue Jays were rolling, on a six game win streak and had won 10 of their first 12 games. With a depleted Butler team struggling to find its identity this season and a surging Blue Jays team, all signs pointed to a Creighton win on Saturday. However, Butler had other ideas on this day. 

    Butler has had the notion this season of being a team who has struggled in first half's and has strong second half's. Saturday was the complete opposite. Butler came out strong and built a seven point halftime lead 32-25. It was Butler's best first half of the season, The Bulldogs had shut down the high powered Creighton offense in the first half by allowing the fewest points Creighton has scored in the first 20 minutes of a ballgame since last season(which ironically came against Butler at Hinkle when they scored 24 points on January 4th, 2020). Butler had built its largest first half lead of the season on a 7-0 run in the final minutes. Things were looking good. Freshman Myles Tate and Chuck Harris had 7 points each in the half, Senior Aaron Thompson had 8 points and Bryce Nze had 6 points. There was a good balance of scoring. Butler which has been plagued by turnovers this year only had one turnover. There was a spark and energy from the Dawgs that hadn't been seen much during this season. Butler hit their first shot of the second half and built a 35-25 lead. Things were going well and then Creighton all of the sudden couldn't miss and went on a run and things changed very quickly and drastically. 

    After falling behind 35-25, Creighton proceeded to go on a 26-3 run, yes you read that correctly. 26-3 run. Creighton was lead by their sharpshooter Denzel Mahoney who scored 23 of his 29 points in the second half and the Blue Jays came out firing and proceeded to put Butler in a double digit deficit in the blink of an eye it seemed. Mahoney scored 12 straight points in one stretch. Butler became unraveled. After having a great first half and making their first shot of the second half, Butler proceeded to miss their next 14 shots in a row. Creighton built a 51-38 lead. Butler had gone 10 minutes of not making a single bucket. Things were looking bleak. Creighton was now playing like the 8th ranked team in the country and Butler was struggling immensely. with less than 10 minutes left to play, Butler needed an answer and soon. 

    Senior graduate transfer Jair Bolden, who has been the best three point shooter for the Bulldogs this season made a three from the left wing to get Butler's first basket in over ten minutes. Thus the turnaround had begun. After Creighton went on their run, Butler fought back in the closing minutes with several runs including an 11-0 run near the end of the second half. Butler tied the game at 62 after Freshman Myles Wilmoth made a jump shot on the baseline. Analytics online had the Bulldogs probability of winning the game at just 2 percent when they were down 51-38 with less than ten minutes to play. Having several good looks at the basket in the final seconds to possibly win the game, Butler couldn't get one to fall and the buzzer sounded. Now the game was headed for overtime. An improbable comeback for such a young Butler team. However to really make a statement, the Dawgs had to finish off Creighton in OT. 

    Creighton started out overtime making their first two shots to go up 66-62 with four minutes to go. Freshman Myles Tate then hit a three pointer from the top of the key in transition to cut the lead to 66-65. Butler then took the lead for good on the next possession after Aaron Thompson slipped a pass on the baseline to Bryce Nze for the lay up to make it 67-66. Myles Tate then sealed the game with 30 seconds when he drove in the lane and hit a floater after a hop step as he was falling backwards. Butler wins 70-66. The comeback was complete and these young Bulldogs had their biggest win of the season. 

    Butler was led by Senior Aaron Thompson who had 17 points and 6 assists. Three other Bulldogs scored in double figures including Senior Bryce Nze who had 15 points, Freshman Myles Tate had 15 as well and Freshman Chuck Harris finished with 10 points. Creighton was led by Denzel Mahoney who finished with 29 points. Creighton also had scores in double figures with Christian Bishop scoring 10 and Damien Jefferson who finished with 12 points. 

    Butler has had Creighton's number at Hinkle, The Dawgs have won four in a row over the Blue Jays and have won 6 out of 8 against Creighton at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler's record goes to 4-7 while Creighton falls to 10-3. This win may not look like much right now but in the long run this game will give Butler the confidence it needs for the future. There is potential for this team. It will just take some time. Having three weeks off with no practice or games earlier in the year dur to a covid outbreak within the program, it set Butler back and they have been learning on the fly this season. This win helps Butler for the future in showing the young guys that they can play with the top teams in the country and they can win these tough games. They overcame adversity on Saturday and that will only help them in the long run. This game could be the spark the Butler basketball team needs for this season and possibly in the next few years.