Butler and Loyola Draw Curtain on Horizon League Season Wednesday Night

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Horizon League conference season tips off tonight, with Butler and Loyola meeting at 8 p.m. ET.  In non-conference action, Detroit hosts Akron and Wright State heads down I-75 to take on Cincinnati.

Butler (3-2) will be looking to tie a Horizon League record for consecutive conference games won on Wednesday, taking a 20-game League winning streak into the Gentile Center.  Green Bay (1994-96) and Butler (Jan. 19, 2008-Jan. 30, 2009) each won 21 straight Horizon League contests.

Senior Matt Howard has carried the Bulldogs over the last week, recording three straight double-doubles for Butler.  In their last 16 road contests, the Bulldogs hold a 14-2 record.

Loyola (7-0), meanwhile, enters as one of a handful of 7-0 teams in the country, most recently coming back from a 13-point second-half deficit to win, 63-62, at San Francisco.  The Ramblers boast five players averaging 10 or more points, led by Geoff McCammon, who has come off the bench to average 14.4 points per game.

The last time the teams met at the Gentile Center, Butler narrowly escaped, winning 48-47 as two Loyola attempts to win the game rolled off the rim in the waning seconds.

The matchup between teams ranked seventh (Butler) and 10th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 will be carried live on HorizonLeague.com, with TV coverage available in Indianapolis on WNDY and in Chicago on Lakeshore Public Televsision.  Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. ET.

Both Detroit and Wright State will prep for their meeting on Saturday with non-conference matchups on Wednesday.  Detroit (4-3), coming off an impressive showing in winning the Legends Classic subregional, will host Akron at Calihan Hall.  Eli Holman recorded three double-doubles last week, earning Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Week honors in the process.

The Titans and Zips can be seen live on HorizonLeague.com, beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

Wright State will look to rebound after suffering two defeats at the neutral-court portion of the Chicago Invitational Challenge.  The Raiders were bolstered by the return of point guard N'Gai Evans, who spearheaded a near-upset of Richmond on Friday, finishing with a career-best 24 points in the defeat.