Well shoot, should have waited for the game thread. This post is duplicated there... Butler's basketball website: http://www.butlersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/butl-m-baskbl-body.html Roster: http://www.butlersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/butl-m-baskbl-mtt.html Schedule: http://www.butlersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/butl-m-baskbl-sched.html Beat Northwestern and Xavier Lost at Ohio State by 3, and to Green Bay, Loyola Chicago, Milwaukee, and their third game against Cleveland State
lsu beat ONE at large selected team. i wouldnt be surprised if that is the lowest ever for lsu (since expanded to 64) or lowest ever for an lsu ncaa tournament team
You know i had this inkling that we'd get a dangerous mid-major in the first round, and the name Butler kept coming up in my head. Especially when Cleveland State snuck in. It's the dreaded 8-9 match up for us and I like many am annoyed that Clemson gets the nod ahead of us as a number 7--the 5th ACC team gets the nod over the SEC C, and even Arizona State at #6 is a little bit of a slight--the Pac 10 while getting media pub is not that much stronger than the SEC, they get 6 teams in and Arizona St hasn't looked that great lately. At this stage, a little drama and "us against the world" mentality doesn't hurt this team probably. Butler beat Xavier and is a dangerous team, and the media is already calling this an "upset" against LSU, but from an overall matchup, it's not the worst in the world. Then, obviously, meeting UNC is a bear of a match up, but that's why you play the games and the tournament. It's definitely a case of lack of respect for the SEC. LSU gets an 8, Tennessee a 9 and Miss St. gets a 13. Wow. I can see all of these teams winning their first game, though and perhaps that's some sense of vindication for the SEC.
seriously, this matchup may be favorable. its always hard to say since they havent played each other, but butler is not big and i bet they are not uber-athletic. bull$hit. it sucks because its a self-fulfilling prophecy. i keep harping on this, but it just pissed me off when they show the stats that UNC is like 18-0 in the first two rounds in the last decade. obviously they are a top program, but you put any top 20 team at home against Alabama St and then some #35-40 team (9 seed) and theyll win 90% of the time. they say the sec is down, and they will make it so by putting the champ out in the 2nd rd (at best)
Agreed on the first point. I looked at the Butler stats against Xavier, and interestingly, they won the game on FTs. They shot 33 free throws to 22 for Xavier, and Xavier had a real off night from the line only hitting 54% to Butlers near 80%. Butler while ranked high, really has only played one ranked team--Xavier, and has played a mid-major conference "type" schedule. That said, as a young team, and not a particularly tall team, this game will be determined on nerves, will to win and hustle. I think if LSU is aggressive, goes to the basket, and doesn't just settle for jumpers, and rebounds well, we should be alright against Butler. They do like to slow things down, but at the same time, their Assist to Turnover ratio isn't great. LSU should be able to defend and pressure fairly well--stopping Hayward is the key. He makes the team go and is an inside out forward. Putting Tas' on him would be a great match up, but I wonder if you don't try GT or TM on him just to keep him from hitting 3s which he seems to like. As for your points about UNC. I think it is what it is. I agree with you that in some ways, the SEC as a whole suffers b/c match ups are so important and this year's lack of respect cost them the ability to go deep--in some ways, Miss St and Tenn have easier paths than LSU. If LSU gets a 6 or 7 seed, they don't seen UNC until later. But, I kind of like LSU in the underdog role in the tourney. No one expects them to win, and that's better for the Tigers generally. :thumb: UNC without Ty Lawson. That's still the key, and perhaps it's better for the Tigers to see UNC if they are going to play them at all, sooner before Ty is back. But, here's my point from before in another thread. RECRUITING. I think you'd agree with me, to win a NC and be compared with the likes of UNC, you have to have the horses. That's why teams like Kansas, Memphis were there last year and UNC this year. The other reason UNC is 18-0 in the first two rounds is talent--they have it top to bottom and they sign 4-5 top 50-100 kids every year. That is also why Trent has got to hit his stride recruiting in 2010 and beyond. The SEC will get more respect next year, as they're on TV more and these teams like Kentucky, Florida, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Miss St all get older and wiser. It's just a tough year for the SEC this year.
dont underestimate howard. howard's free throw rate is over 82%! im less concerned with defending the perimeter since lsu is real solid defending the 3. actually that is probably the most optimistic part of the matchup. butler depends on the three and lsu is good at defending it.
