Dec 6, 2006, 16:25 GMT
Indianapolis, IN - The 15th-ranked Butler Bulldogs of the Horizon League and the Ball State Cardinals of the Mid-American Conference will meet tonight at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
After winning its first two games of the season, Ball State suffered four consecutive double-digit defeats. Fortunately, the team has gotten back on track with two straight victories, including a hard- fought, 73-70 overtime triumph over Indiana State on Saturday. Ball State lost to Georgetown by 15 points and Kansas by 18 points, so the club has not had much luck against elite competition.
Butler won the NIT Season Tip-Off championship with wins over Tennessee and Gonzaga, and the club also knocked off Notre Dame and Indiana en route to the title. The Bulldogs are a perfect 9-0 this season, and they are coming off a 70-45 thrashing of Cleveland State to open Horizon League action.
Butler owns a commanding 60-37 lead in the all- time series with Ball State, including wins in five of the last six meetings with the Cardinals.
Ball State had struggled to generate offense consistently, as the club is netting only 62.9 ppg on 38 percent shooting from the floor. Fortunately, the Cardinals have been able to limit their opponents to 62.7 ppg while forcing nearly 20 turnovers per contest. Anthony Newell leads Ball State with 11.7 ppg and 7.7 rpg, and Skip Mills is scoring 11.4 ppg despite his 37.7 percent shooting from the field. In the overtime victory over Indiana State, senior D'Andre Peyton scored a career-high 22 points to go along with seven rebounds and a pair of steals. Mills tallied 14 points in that clash, and Newell reached double figures for the seventh straight game with 11 points. The Ball State bench outscored Indiana State's reserves by a 33-9 margin, an obvious key to the narrow victory.
Butler is not a particularly explosive team at the offensive end, as it is scoring a modest 68.7 ppg on 42.1 percent efficiency from the field. Strong defense has clearly been the key to the club's success, as it is limiting foes to 56.0 ppg on 40.2 percent overall shooting. The Bulldogs have only committed 91 turnovers in nine games, 49 fewer than their opponents. Also, they are shooting 81.4 percent from the floor, led by a 49-of-50 effort by A.J. Graves. While no one is better at the charity stripe than Graves, he is shooting a lowly 36.2 percent from the floor. Still, he leads Butler with 18.3 ppg, while Mike Green adds 13.6 ppg. In the romp over Cleveland State, Green scored 16 points to go along with eight rebounds, while Graves tallied 14 points. The Bulldogs connected on 52.1 percent of their field goal attempts in the tilt and committed only seven turnovers.
© 2006 The Sports Network
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