Horizon League Men's Basketball Weekly Release (Jan. 29, 2011)
Butler needs a victory to stay in the race for the Horizon League regular season title. Valparaiso can put itself two games ahead of Butler with a win. The stage is set for the Horizon League Game of the Week between the Indiana members of the League, with tip-off coming from the Athletics-Recreation Center at 2 p.m. ET. The syndicated game is available in all 10 Horizon League television markets along with Kansas City, Mo., and Lincoln, Neb.
Valparaiso (15-6, 7-2 Horizon) overcame a 76-59 setback at Butler (14-7, 6-3 Horizon) on Jan. 1, winning five straight after the defeat to move into control of the League. However, the Crusaders split its homestand last weekend, playing without leading scorer Brandon Wood (hamstring), dropping a 63-61 decision to Green Bay that moved Valpo into a tie for the League lead. With Cleveland State's win on Thursday, the Crusaders now sit one-half game back in the standings.
With Wood a game-time decision, the Crusaders will lean on Cory Johnson to continue to shoulder the scoring load. Johnson has justified his preseason all-league second team selection, averaging 15.8 ppg on the year.
Still, defense will key for Valparaiso. One of the top offensive teams in the League last season, it was the defense that held the Crusaders back; this year, Valparaiso is third in the conference in scoring defense and is second in defensive field-goal percentage. Maintaining its solid offense, Valpo paces the League field-goal percentage, knocking down 47.8 percent of its attempts.
Like Valparaiso, Butler owns one of the top offenses in the Horizon League, with the inside-outside combination of Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack carrying the bulk of responsibility. Howard is second in the League with 17.9 ppg and third at 8.1 rebounds, while Mack is averaging 14.7 ppg. Mack led the Bulldogs with 16 in their win over the Crusaders four weeks ago.
Since then, however, Butler has dropped three of its six League games, allowing an average of 77 points in those losses, two of which came at the hands of Milwaukee. Still, the Bulldogs have thrown knockout punches in their nationally televised and syndicated games this month, scoring 87 points in a nationally-televised win at Detroit and putting up 81 and 79 points, respectively, in ESPNU victories earlier in January.
A victory for Butler would move them into a tie for no worse than second place with Valpo, pending the results of Cleveland State's Saturday matchup with Loyola. A Crusader win would give them a two-game cushion on Butler and no worse than a half-game lead over Wright State for a bye in the Horizon League Tournament by week's end.
Veterans Greg Rakestraw and Bob Lovell will be on the call of the game, which is available on the following stations:
Chicago -- Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Cleveland -- Sports Time Ohio
Columbus -- Time Warner Cable
Dayton -- WWRD
Detroit -- WADL
Green Bay -- Time Warner Sports, WGBA
Indianapolis -- WNDY
Kansas City -- Metro Sports
Lincoln -- Metro Sports
Milwaukee -- Time Warner Sports
Youngstown -- MyTVY
Tags: Butler - Men's Basketball · Valparaiso - Men's Basketball
