Butler and Seton Hall matchup for the second time this season on Wednesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The Bulldogs and Pirates faced off back on January 2nd in Newark, New Jersey. Seton Hall came out victorious in that contest, winning 68-60. Seton Hall was led in that game by Sandro Mamukelashvili who scored 24 points and nine rebounds and added six assists. Butler was led by freshman Myles Tate who finished with a career high 22 points, including five three pointers. Seton Hall led for the majority of the game and built a 15 point lead early in the second half. The Bulldogs continued to fight back and closed the gap several times to a single point deficit but it wasn't enough to overcome the Pirates in the end who scored the game's final points at the free throw line to win by eight. Butler stayed in the contest with a great display of shooting from beyond the three point line but Seton Hall won the game by getting to the free throw line 20 times compared to Butler's only nine attempts. Seton Hall is 13-9 on the season with a record of 10-6 in the Big East while Butler is 7-13 on the season with a conference record of 6-11. This game was originally scheduled for January 22nd but was postponed due to covid issues.
Butler is looking to bounce back from a rough stretch the last two weeks. The Bulldogs have lost three straight and it hasn't been pretty. They have only averaged 57 points their last three games and have lost by an average of 18 points. Butler managed little fight against Georgetown and then at home against Marquette. Last Sunday the Bulldogs showed some life against rival Xavier in Cincinnati but poor shooting doomed the Dawgs in another defeat as they only shot 18-62 from the floor for the game. Butler will need to put up more of a fight and a much better shooting performance against Seton Hall on Wednesday evening to pull off the upset. The main key for Butler on Wednesday evening will just be to hope that some of their key starters will be available to play. Last weekend against Xavier, three senior starters were out. Aaron Thompson, Bo Hodges and Bryce Nze were all suffering from injuries. Without them Butler struggled immensely. If they are good to go on Wednesday evening, Butler has a fighters chance to keep pace with Seton Hall. If they aren't able to play, then Butler could be in for another long evening. Those three seniors alone account for most of Butler's scoring, rebounding and assists this season with averages of 30.9 points per game, 17.4 rebounds per game and 9.4 assists per game.
Seton Hall will want to take advantage of the low post game once again on Wednesday night to come out of Hinkle Fieldhouse with a victory. In the first meeting Sandro Mamukelashvili dominated the Bulldogs on the inside. Butler struggled last week without their main interior defender Bryce Nze and if he is unable to go, look for Seton Hall to look inside early and often to take advantage of the smaller Butler defense. If Butler switches off on Mamukelashvili with different defenders, then Seton Hall will take full advantage of the opportunity. Butler has struggled all season against bigger post players and Mamukelashvili is perhaps the best center in the Big East. If Seton Hall is able to control the paint, then they will most likely be able to control the whole game. Butler could come double team in the paint most of the night which in turn could leave players like Myles Cale and Jared Rhoden open on the wing for good looks from three and Butler struggles against the three pointer more than most teams in collage basketball.
Butler is looking to end their current three game losing streak this season and also looking to end their three game losing streak to Seton Hall. The Pirates are looking to bounce back from a loss last weekend to Georgetown and boost their NCAA Tournament resume as the end of the season draws near.
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