 |
Bulldogs Return Home Against Youngstown State
Jan. 18, 2005 HOME CHALLENGE: The Bulldogs (6-8, 1-3 HL) are returning home to face a challenge that hasn't confronted a Butler team in 15 years! Butler, coming off a two-game road trip to Loyola and Detroit, will try to snap a two-game conference homecourt losing streak when it hosts Youngstown State (3-13, 1-5 HL) on Wednesday, Jan. 19. The game is slated for 7 p.m. (EST) at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs opened league play at home with consecutive setbacks to UW-Milwaukee (Jan. 6) and UW-Green Bay (Jan 8). The last time Butler dropped back-to-back conference games at home, the league had a different name and included teams like Marquette, Dayton, Xavier, St. Louis and Evansville. The Bulldogs lost consecutive Midwestern Collegiate Conference games to Dayton and Xavier late in the 1989-90 season. Youngstown State has lost four straight league games and seven games overall since beating Loyola on Dec. 21. Butler is 40-8 in Hinkle Fieldhouse under head coach Todd Lickliter.
DIAL 888: The Bulldogs have won 79 of the last 89 (.888) games played in Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler has not lost three consecutive home games since 1989-90. SPLIT DECISION: The Bulldogs returned from a two-game trip to Chicago and Detroit with a mixed review. Butler snapped a four-game losing streak and picked up its first victory away from Hinkle Fieldhouse with a 77-72 win in overtime at Loyola to open the trip. It was Butler's second overtime game in the first three league outings this season. Two days later, the Bulldogs fell at Detroit, 72-59. The trip marked the ninth straight year that Butler split its road games at Loyola and Detroit. BOARDING HOUSE: Detroit turned a significant rebounding advantage into a 13-point win over the Bulldogs. The Titans had more offensive rebounds (18) than Butler had total rebounds (17), and the home squad finished with a 28-7 edge in second chance points. Detroit had a 43-17 rebounding advantage for the game, matching the Bulldogs' largest rebounding deficit this season. DOUBLE DOWN: Junior Brandon Polk posted his fourth consecutive double-figures scoring performance with 10 points at Detroit. The 6-6 forward, who was coming off a career-high 24 points and a career-best 11 rebounds at Loyola, has averaged 16.8 points since Jan. 1. He's second on the team in double-figure scoring efforts with eight in Butler's 14 games. His performance at Loyola was the first double-double by a Butler players since Jeff James posted 12 points and 10 rebounds at UW-Green Bay in January of 2004! Polk, who recorded a new career scoring high in each of Butler's first three league games, is the lone Bulldog to score in double-figures in each league game this season. Brandon Polk leads the Horizon League in field goal percentage (.619). HEATING UP: Junior Bruce Horan shook off a shooting slump and led the Bulldogs at Detroit with 15 points. The 6-3 guard hit five of nine shots in the game, all from beyond the three-point arc. It was his highest point total and best shooting performance since Dec. 18, when he scored 15 points on five of seven shooting from the three-point line against IPFW. Horan had hit just nine of 36 (.250) 3-point field goal attempts in Butler's five game prior to the Detroit contest. Bruce Horan ranks second in the Horizon League in 3-point field goal pct. (.417). TRIPLE THREAT: Junior Avery Sheets turned in his best back-to-back performances of the season on Butler's two-game trip to Chicago and Detroit. He matched his season-high with 17 points and added four rebounds and four assists in 41 minutes of action in Butler's overtime victory at Loyola. He scored 16 points after halftime! The 6-0 guard then came back with 13 points, a career-high seven rebounds and six assists in 39 minutes at Detroit. Avery Sheets leads the Horizon League in assist/turnover ratio (2.95). DIFFERENT STROKES: Butler had a season-high 27 free throw attempts at Loyola and cashed a season-best 20. Less than 48 hours later, the Bulldogs were limited to a season-low 10 attempts from the charity stripe! Only two Butler players made it to the free throw line at Detroit - forwards Brandon Crone (5-8) and Brandon Polk (2-2). Butler leads the Horizon League in team free throw shooting (.726). HANDLE WITH CARE: Butler committed just 15 turnovers on the two-game trip to Chicago and Detroit. The Bulldogs had nine turnovers at Loyola and a season-low six miscues at Detroit. The Bulldogs continue to lead the Horizon League in fewest turnovers per game (10.1 pg). BULLDOG BITS: *Butler leads the Horizon League in three-point field goals (8.50 pg). The Bulldogs matched their season-high with 12 three-pointers at Detroit. *Butler head coach Todd Lickliter picked up his 75th career win at Loyola. He stands sixth on Butler's all-time list for coaching victories. *The Bulldogs played at Loyola without center Jamie Smalligan, who was sidelined with a sprained ankle suffered in practice on Jan. 11. The 7-0 sophomore played just two minutes at Detroit. *Butler continues to lead the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.23). *Junior Avery Sheets ranks second in the league in assists (4.64). Sheets is averaging 5.0 assists per game in Hinkle Fieldhouse. *Junior Brandon Polk is shooting .672 (41-61) over Butler's last eight games. He's shot 67% or better in 10 of Butler's 14 games this year. *Nick Brooks tied his career-high with seven rebounds at Loyola. *Bruce Horan has moved into sixth place on Butler's all-time list for three-point field goals with 162 career three-pointers. He?s one of three New Castle Chrysler High School athletes on the list, joining No. 1 Darnell Archey (217) and No. 2 Brandon Miller (189). *Bruce Horan ranks second in the Horizon League in 3-point field goals (3.21 pg). *Freshman A. J. Graves leads the Horizon League in free throw shooting (.935). Graves has been perfect at the free throw line (20-20) in Hinkle Fieldhouse this season. *Junior Brandon Polk, who had two blocked shots at Detroit, ranks ninth in the Horizon League in blocked shots (0.71 pg). A LOOK BACK: Butler has had three 20-point scoring performances in the first 14 games this season. A year ago, the Bulldogs matched that number in a single game! Guard Avery Sheets, center Jamie Smalligan and forward Nick Brooks each scored 21 points to help lead the Bulldogs to an 88-57 victory over Youngstown State in the opening round of the 2004 Horizon League Tournament. Sheets hit eight of 10 shots in the game, including three of four from the three-point arc, while Smalligan cashed eight of 12 shots. Brooks matched the best shooting performance by a Butler player in 2003-04 by hitting eight of nine shots! The 21 points remains a career scoring high for both Smalligan and Brooks! |
