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Butler Visits League-Leading UW-Milwaukee
Feb. 15, 2005 PRIME CHALLENGE: The Bulldogs (10-13, 5-8 HL), coming off a home victory over Detroit, will visit league-leading UW-Milwaukee (19-5, 12-2 HL) on Thursday, Feb. 19, for a televised Horizon League contest. The game, slated for 7 p.m. (CDT) at U. S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee, Wis., will be broadcast by Fox Sports Net. Butler dropped a 71-68 decision in overtime to UW-Milwaukee in the league-opener for both teams back on Jan. 6. The two teams have gone in different directions since that meeting, with the Panthers holding a two and a half game lead on the rest of the league, while Butler is battling to climb out of eighth place. The Bulldogs took a step in that direction with a 65-50 victory over Detroit on Saturday (Feb. 12). Butler trails Loyola in seventh place by one-half game and three teams in fourth place by one game! UW-Milwaukee is riding a four-game winning streak, including a 90-67 decision over Youngstown State last weekend. FINAL LAPS: With just two weeks remaining in the Horizon League regular season race, virtually every spot in the final standings is still up in the air. UW-Milwaukee has clinched the right to host the quarterfinals and semifinals, but no other position is set. Just two games separate third place from eighth place!
TURN AROUND: The Bulldogs, who dropped a 13-point decision at Detroit in January, turned the tables on the Titans with a 15-point win in Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler trailed just twice in the opening minutes of the contest, before pulling away to a 29-22 halftime lead, despite failing to score a field goal in the final 7:50 of the first period. The Bulldogs stretched their margin to double-figures midway through the second half and led by as many as 18 points in the closing minutes of the game. FRESH APPROACH: First-year Butler guard A. J. Graves turned in the second-highest scoring performance of his collegiate career to lead the Bulldogs over Detroit. The 6-1 freshman hit seven of 10 shots from the floor and six of seven from the free throw line to finish with a team-high 21 points. He scored eight of 10 points in a 10-3 second half run that stretched Butler's lead to double digits, and he tallied 17 total points in the final 20 minutes! The 21 points were the most for Graves in a Horizon League game and marked his highest scoring total since he posted 29 points in a victory over Ball State. A. J. Graves is the top scoring freshman in the Horizon League. TRIPLE THREAT: Butler hit 10 of 24 (.417) three-point field goal attempts in the victory over Detroit. It was the eighth time this season that the Bulldogs hit at least 10 three-pointers in a game. The Bulldogs hit six 3-point field goals in the first half and added four more 3-pointers in the second half. Butler is 7-1 this season when hitting 10 or more 3-pointers. Butler leads the Horizon League in three-point field goals (8.39). CRASH COURSE: Butler was out-rebounded, 43-17, in a loss at Detroit in January. The second time around, the Bulldogs held their own with the bigger Detroit front line, losing the rebounding battle just 31-27. Butler was led on the boards by 6-7 sophomore Brian Ligon, 6-3 junior Bruce Horan and 5-10 freshman Gary Patterson, each with four rebounds. UW-Milwaukee out-rebounded Butler, 43-25, last month. THREE-SHOOTER: Guard Bruce Horan hit five of 10 three-point field goal attempts and scored 15 points in Butler?s victory over Detroit. Horan hit three three-pointers in the first half to help Butler grab a seven-point halftime lead. The 6-3 guard stands in third place on Butler's all-time list for three-point field goals with 188 three-pointers for his career. He's just one three-point field goal behind Brandon Miller (2000-03) in the No. 2 spot on Butler's all-time list. Darnell Archey (1999-2003) holds the top spot with 217 career 3-pointers. Horan was a teammate of both players on Butler's "Sweet 16" team of 2002-03. The top three players on Butler's all-time list for three-pointers each attended New Castle Chrysler High School. Bruce Horan ranks second in the Horizon League in 3-point field goals (3.09). RARE SITE: Freshman A. J. Graves, the top free throw shooter in the Horizon League, missed only his third free throw this season in Butler's win over Detroit. Graves had hit 25 consecutive free throws before the miss, his first in Hinkle Fieldhouse this season! The 6-1 guard is shooting .947 from the charity stripe and ranks just behind national leader Blake Ahearn of Southwest Missouri State (.953) from the free throw line according to the latest national statistics released by ESPN. Graves doesn't have enough free throws made (2.5 pg) to qualify for NCAA national rankings. A. J. Graves currently has the second-highest season FT% in Butler history. BULLDOG BITS: *Butler was named one of the "100 Greatest College Basketball Programs of All Time" by Street & Smith's College Basketball Magazine. Three hundred and nine NCAA Division I schools were eligible for consideration by the specialty publication. *The Bulldogs committed just six turnovers against Detroit, including just one in the first half! Butler leads the Horizon League and ranks third in the NCAA in fewest turnovers (10.2 pg). *Butler leads the Horizon League in team free throw shooting (.738). *Junior Brandon Polk leads the Horizon League in field goal shooting (.589). Polk has shot 60% or better in 12 of Butler's 23 games this year. *Brandon Polk has scored in double-figures in 13 consecutive games. *Bruce Horan ranks third in the Horizon League in three-point field goal percentage (.413). Avery Sheets ranks 13th (.347), while A. J. Graves is 14th (.343). *Bruce Horan has hit at least one three-point field goal in 42 consecutive games. *Avery Sheets leads the Horizon League in assist/turnover ratio (2.32) and ranks second in the league in assists (4.13 pg). *Sophomore forward Brandon Crone matched his career-high with three three-point field goals and scored 11 points against Detroit. *Freshman A. J. Graves is bidding to become the third member of his family to lead the Horizon League in free throw shooting. His older brother, Andrew, led the league while playing at Butler in 1999-00, while older brother, (asst. coach) Matthew, was the league?s top free throw shooter in 1995-96 and 1997-98! *A. J. Graves is three points shy of the tenth-highest single season scoring total for a Butler freshman. Wally Cox scored 254 points in 1954-55. A LOOK BACK: When A. J. Graves scored 19 points against UW-Milwaukee last month, he became the second member of his family to lead Butler in scoring against the Panthers. In February of 2000, his older brother, Andrew, turned in one of the top reserve performances ever at Butler in an 84-72 victory over UW-Milwaukee at the Klotche Center. With starting point-guard Thomas Jackson in foul trouble, Andrew Graves came off the bench and led the Bulldogs with a career-high 25 points in 21 minutes! He scored 19 of Butler's 21 points during one stretch of the second half and finished with 21 points in the final 20 minutes. He hit eight of 11 shots from the floor and eight of eight from the free throw line in the victory. |
