Bulldogs Host League-Leading Milwaukee
Butler vs.
Milwaukee
Saturday, December 31, 2 p.m. (ET)
Hinkle Fieldhouse - Indianapolis, Ind.
Game Notes | Live
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EARLY MEASURE:
Just three games into the Horizon League season, only two teams
remain unbeaten, and Butler will host one of them on Saturday, Dec.
31. The Bulldogs will face league-leading Milwaukee in Hinkle
Fieldhouse at 2 p.m. (ET) on the Horizon League Network Game of the
Week. Milwaukee, 10-4 overall, has swept its first three
league contests, including a 57-55 decision at previously-unbeaten
Valparaiso on Thursday (Dec. 29). Guard Kaylon Williams hit a
three-point field goal with just under a minute to play to lead the
Panthers to that victory at Valparaiso. Milwaukee swept the
regular season series with Butler a year ago, including an overtime
win at Hinkle Fieldhouse, and shared the season title with the
Bulldogs and Cleveland State. Butler bounced back to defeat
the Panthers in the championship game of the Horizon League
tournament in Milwaukee. The Bulldogs earned their first
league victory with a hard-fought, 53-49, decision over
previously-unbeaten Green Bay on Thursday. That win lifted
Butler to .500 (7-7, 1-1 HL) for the first time since early
December.
The last 12 Horizon League regular season titles have included
either Butler or Milwaukee (or both).
HOME RULE: Butler snapped a two-game
homecourt losing streak (the first under head coach Brad Stevens)
and improved to 5-3 in Hinkle Fieldhouse with the victory over
Green Bay. The Bulldogs had dropped decisions at home to
Valparaiso in overtime and #8 Xavier prior to Christmas.
Since Stevens took over as head coach, Butler is 61-8 at Hinkle
Fieldhouse, and the Bulldogs have won 35 of 38 Horizon League
regular season home games
Butler is 157-22 at Hinkle Fieldhouse since 1999-2000.
WILD START: Butler’s win over Green
Bay was one of three Horizon League games decided by four points or
less on Thursday night (Dec. 29). Milwaukee picked up a
two-point win at Valparaiso and UIC defeated Detroit, 63-59.
Nine of the league’s first 13 games have been decided by five
points or less or in overtime. Milwaukee and Cleveland State
are the league’s lone unbeaten teams.
Seven of 13 Horizon League games have been decided in the final
possession.
HOLIDAY GRIND: Butler shot just 31% (18-58),
including just 18.8% (3-16) from the three-point arc, and was
out-scored at the free throw line against Green Bay. But the
Bulldogs found a way to squeak out a four-point win in the
game. The key was a staunch defensive effort and hitting some
clutch shots down the stretch. Butler limited Green Bay to
just 15 field goals on 27.8%, including just 17.6% (3-17) from
three-point rang. The Bulldogs held their opponent to just
nine points in the final nine minutes of the contest. Butler
trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half and by four
points, 25-21, at halftime. The Bulldogs grabbed their first
lead of the second half at 38-37 on a three-point field goal by
freshman Andrew Smeathers with 11:04 remaining.
STRETCH PERFORMANCE: Butler’s bid
against Green Bay was aided by the play off the bench of freshman
Kameron Woods. The 6-8 forward hit the biggest shot of his
young career when he nailed a three-point field goal with 0:20
remaining as the shot clock was winding down. The basket gave
the Bulldogs a 52-47 lead and paved the way for the Butler
win. Woods followed his key basket by blocking the lay-up
attempt of Green Bay’s Steve Baker with 10 seconds left, and
then he stole a final pass attempt by the Phoenix to end the
game. The first-year Butler player finished with 10 points,
six rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals in 19 minutes of
action.
Kameron Woods has averaged 9.8 points and 9.0 rebounds over
Butler’s last four home games.
ROLE REVERSAL: Senior Ronald Nored (right),
known for handing out assists and his work at the defensive end of
the floor, has topped the Bulldogs in scoring in back-to-back games
for the first time in his Butler career. He led the Bulldogs
with a career-high 18 points, including 16 in the final 20 minutes,
in Butler’s win at Stanford. The 6-0 guard from Alabama
then shared Butler’s scoring lead with 13 points, including
eight in the second half, against Green Bay. The 31 points
Nored scored against Stanford and Green Bay is the highest two-game
total of his collegiate career. Nored didn’t ignore his
primary duties, leading the Bulldogs with five assists at Stanford
and four against Green Bay and sparking Butler’s defense in
both victories.
ON TARGET: Junior Andrew Smith, who shared
Butler’s scoring lead against Green Bay with 13 points, has
hit 10 of 13 (.769) field goal attempts in Butler’s last two
games. Over the past four outings, the 6-11 center has
connected on 15 of 21 (.714) shots. Smith connected on five
of seven field goal attempts in the Bulldogs’ win at
Stanford, and then he hit five of six against Green Bay. In
the eight games prior to Butler’s victory over Purdue, Smith
had shot just 34% (19-56) from the floor. A year ago, Smith
ranked second in the Horizon League in field goal percentage
(.593).
CLEAN GLASS: Freshman Roosevelt Jones led
the Bulldogs in rebounding for a third consecutive game with a
career-high 12 caroms against Green Bay. The 6-4 forward
pulled down five offensive rebounds and seven defensive boards
against the Phoenix. Jones grabbed a team-high nine rebounds
in Butler’s win at Stanford, and he pulled down seven
rebounds to share the team lead with Andrew Smith at Gonzaga.
He’s led Butler in rebounding in four of the past six games
and in five total games on the season. He currently leads the
Bulldogs with 42 offensive rebounds.
ROTATING LEADERS: Forward Erik Fromm, who
led the Bulldogs in scoring at Gonzaga with a career-high 16
points, became the ninth different Butler player to lead or
share the team lead in scoring this season. Junior Andrew
Smith has topped the team twice and shared the team lead in scoring
twice, while sophomore Chrishawn Hopkins has led the Bulldogs
outright in three games this year. Senior Ronald Nored has
led the team twice and shared the lead once, while sophomore Khyle
Marshall has led the Bulldogs twice. Freshman Andrew Smeathers has
finished on top once. Junior Chase Stigall and freshman
Roosevelt Jones shared Butler’s scoring lead against #8
Xavier, while freshman Kameron Woods shared the lead with Smith
against Purdue.
Butler has had 10 different players score in double-figures in
a game this season.
ASSIST CLIMB: Ronald Nored, who took over
the No. 5 spot on Butler’s all-time assist chart with three
assists against Purdue, has recorded 14 assists in Butler’s
last three games. Nored had a team-high five assists at both
Gonzaga and Stanford and a team-high four assists against Green
Bay. He currently enters this weekend’s action with 372
career assists.
Ronald Nored ranks second in the Horizon League in assists
(4.9).
BULLDOG BITS:
•Senior Ronald Nored had seven rebounds against Green Bay, one
off his career-high set originally against Milwaukee in March of
2010. Nored also had eight rebounds against Cleveland State
and UIC last season.
•Ronald Nored played a career-high 41 minutes in
Butler’s overtime loss to Milwaukee last January. He
currently leads the Bulldogs in minutes played (30.1).
•Ronald Nored is second in the Horizon League in
assist/turnover ratio (1.7).
•Ronald Nored ranks third in the Horizon League in steals
(2.1). Nored has had three or more steals in six games this
season.
•Ronald Nored is the active career leader in assists in the
Horizon League with 372.
•Junior Andrew Smith is Butler’s leading scorer in
Hinkle Fieldhouse this season (10.0). Smith has hit for
double-figures in five of Butler’s eight home games.
•Andrew Smith has averaged 12.4 points in Butler’s seven
wins this season, but just 7.0 points in the Bulldogs’ seven
losses. Butler is 7-1 when Smith scores in
double-figures.
•Andrew Smith posted his third career double-figures
rebounding performance in last year’s Horizon League
Championship title game against Milwaukee. He led all players
with 10 rebounds in the win.
•Junior Chase Stigall, who’s tied for fourth in the
Horizon League in three-point field goals (2.0), had a streak of 12
consecutive games with a three-point field goal snapped against
Green Bay.
•Sophomore Khyle Marshall continues to lead the Bulldogs in
field goal shooting (.552). He ranks fourth in the Horizon
League.
•Khyle Marshall scored 14 points against Milwaukee at Hinkle
Fieldhouse a year ago. It was the top homecourt scoring
performance of his freshman season.
•Freshman Kameron Woods ranks seventh in the Horizon League in
blocked shots (1.2). He’s had four blocked shots in
Butler’s last two games.
•Kameron Woods matched his career-highs with three free throws
made and two steals against Green Bay.
•Freshman Andrew Smeathers grabbed a career-high five rebounds
in a career-high 12 minutes against Green Bay.
•Freshman Roosevelt Jones has taken over the team lead and
moved into ninth place in the Horizon League in rebounding
(6.3).
•Roosevelt Jones matched his career-high with two blocked
shots against Green Bay.
•Butler boasts three of the top eight players in the Horizon
League in offensive rebounds. Roosevelt Jones is tied for
second (3.2), Andrew Smith ranks fourth (2.7) and Kameron Woods is
eighth (2.3).
•Butler has trailed at halftime in its last 11 games against
Division I opponents.
