Friday night in CBB we will see the Butler Bulldogs travel to take on the Valparaiso Crusaders. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm tipoff and will be televised live on ESPNU. Currently Butler is favored by 1.5 points, after Valparaiso opened as 1 points favorites, with the total being set at 127 for the game. Butler will close out its 2011-12 regular season slate and try to hold on to second place in the Horizon League standings when it visits league-leading Valparaiso.
Free Analysis: Butler has been rolling recently as the Bulldogs moved into second place in the Horizon League with an 11-6 mark in conference play with five straight wins including a 69-44 rout of Illinois-Chciago on Tuesday. This matchup will conclude the regular season for Butler. The Bulldogs rode a strong defensive performance to the win over Illinois-Chicago on Tuesday. The Bulldogs held the Flames to just 32.7 percent shooting including a 2-of-18 showing from beyond the arc while creating 14 turnovers and holding a 33-27 edge on the boards in the win. Defense has been a hallmark of the successful Butler squads under Brad Stevens and that has continued this season, with the team allowing only 61.0 points per game, including just 52.6 ppg during their 5 game win streak. The offense, though, has not been able to keep up it's part of the bargain for much of the year as they come in averaging just 63.5 ppg on 40.8% shooting for the year. The lead scorer is junior center Andrew Smith (10.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg) but his numbers have been pedestrian at best. The team relies more on a balanced attack than one or two primary scorers. Khyle Marshall (9.3 ppg) and Chrishawn Hopkins (8.3 ppg) are the next two players on the scoring list. Ronald Nored (7.8 ppg, 5.2 apg) continues to be an effective distributor. 10 different players have had a double digit scoring night for the Bulldogs this year. After opening 0-4 on the road the Bulldogs have won 6 of their last 9 away from home and with a win tonight the Bulldogs will grab the #2 seed and get a bye in the first round of the Horizon League tournament. Valparaiso has been trading wins and losses over the last four games but is still the top team in the Horizon League with a 13-4 mark, capturing the regular-season crown and top-seed in the upcoming conference tournament. The Crusaders were lucky to get out of their matchup with last place Loyola- Chicago on Tuesday as they pulled out a 66-62 win in overtime. Ryan Broekhoff continued a stellar junior season on Tuesday by putting together his fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds on Tuesday. Broekhoff (15.1 ppg, 8.4 rpg) is leading the conference in rebounding while holding the third spot on the conference's leading scorers list. Kevin Van Wijk (14.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg) has been a solid player all season for the Crusaders but has been hampered by a bruised knee that caused him to miss two games in the past four. Van Wijk was in action on Tuesday and scored 12 points in 32 minutes. Will Bogan (7.4 ppg) also got in double figures against Loyola-Chicago by netting 16 points. As a team Valparaiso is a much stronger offensive unit than Butler. The Crusaders are scoring 69.6 points per game which is second in the conference while shooting at a league leading 47.2 percent clip while also holding the league lead in assists (14.2 apg), but they are not as strong defensively as they have allowed 66.1 ppg on the year. These two squads already played a drama-filled game this season with Valparaiso winning at Butler 77-71 in overtime back on December 3rd. The Crusaders have now won back-to-back games against the Bulldogs after Butler won 10 straight. Butler leads the all-time series 67-34.
Free Pick: for now im gonna go with Butler, but over at Pregame I may add a play on the total as well. The Bulldogs have a ton to play for here as they would like nothing more to get that 1st round bye in the Horizon tournament and a win here would do just that. Butler has really been playing good ball down the stretch , as they have won 5 in a row and have held those opponents to just 52.6 ppg and have outscored them by 12.8 ppg. Now that's Butler basketball. Their offense has also come alive a bit of late as they have put up 72 ppg in their last 2 games. Valpo really has nothing to play for as they already wrapped up the regular season title and have a bye in the Tourney, plus they weren't paying that well down the stretch as they went just 2-2 in their last 4 games. Butler also has revenge for an early loss to the Crusaders. Add it all up and you get a solid play on the Bulldogs tonight.
Free Picks: Butler at Valpraiso Betting
http://PregameVideos.com - Revenge game for Butler and Meaningless for Valpraiso after clinching conference plus other factors college basketball bettors need to know about Butler at Valpraiso (Friday, February 24, 2012) from Pregame.com - Including predictions from and Scott Spreitzer analysis from host Marco D'Angelo.