Men's Basketball Championship Preview

March 6, 2006

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Horizon League Championship Preview

(#2) Butler vs. (#1) UW-Milwaukee
9 p.m. (ET)

Regular Season: Series tied, 1-1
Jan. 7 (at Milwaukee): UWM 64-59
Feb. 4 (at Indianapolis): BU 63-60 (OT)
-- Joah Tucker paced the Panthers with 22 ponts and 12 rebounds in Milwaukee. He hit seven of his ten shots from the field and eight-of-11 at the line.
-- Boo Davis (15 points) and Chris Hill (10) also hit double figures for UWM. The Panthers shot 48 percent (22-of-46) from the field and outrebounded Butler 38-29.
-- Tucker led all scorers with 26 points and had ten rebounds in the re-match, while Adrian Tigert posted 13 points plus 13 boards.
-- UW-Milwaukee dominated the glass with a 47-23 rebounding margin but missed all 13 of its shots from behind the arc. Butler also committed only five turnovers.
-- Brandon Polk was just two-of-11 from the field for six points in the first meeting, but registered 18 points on seven-of-10 shooting from the field and blocked three shots in Indianapolis. Brandon Crone added 15 points and A.J. Graves had 13.
-- Graves posted a team-high 20 points in Milwaukee, with Bruce Horan canning four triples for his 12 points in that game. Horan also had three treys in the first meeting.
-- Butler hit nine three-pointers in the first game, and seven in the second.
-- Butler reserves tallied just eight points in the two meetings.

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Regular-Season Series Summary

Composite Statistics:
TeamFG3FGFTRebTO
BU.393.400.72026.06.5
UWM.439.080.75742.512.0

Key Players:

Butler
Brandon Polk9-21 FG, 16.0 ppg., 4.5 rpg.
A.J. Graves12-30 FG, 16.5 ppg., 2.0 apg.
Avery Sheets5-16 FG, 11.0 ppg., 2.5 apg.
Bruce Horan7-15 3FG, 11.5 ppg.

UW-Milwaukee
Joah Tucker17-29 FG, 24.0 ppg., 11.0 rpg.
Adrian Tigert10-20 FG, 11.0 ppg., 9.0 rpg.
Boo Davis7-20 FG, 2-10 3FG, 9.5 ppg.
Chris Hill5-10 FG, 7.0 ppg.

Every Single Point Needed
In reference to the network airing Tuesday's game ...
UW-Milwaukee looks for its second consecutive Horizon League championship, trying to repeat as League kingpin after last year's 59-58 victory over Detroit in the title game. That triumph helped trigger the Panthers' run to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

UWM entered the summit as the top seed and edged third-seeded Detroit on Adrian Tigert's free throw with 4.2 seconds remaining. UW-Milwaukee trailed most of the evening and missed 11-of-24 free throws (including the first of Tigert's two tries at the end), but his fifth point of the night put the Panthers ahead and into the NCAA Tournament when Brandon Cotton's last-second shot missed the mark.

Ed McCants led the way for the hosts with 18 points---including four of UW-Milwaukee's ten three-pointers---while tournament MVP Joah Tucker and Boo Davis added 15 and 12, respectively. Cotton had a game-high 21 points for Detroit.

The Panthers have reached the title game in each of the last four League Championships, losing to UIC in 2004 and also claiming the crown by defeating top-seeded Butler (69-52) in 2002. UWM could become the fourth school to win three or more League championships, joining Butler (four) plus former members Xavier (six) and Evansville (three) in that group.

Butler is in the championship game for the first time since 2001, when the Bulldogs defeated Detroit 53-38 in Dayton, Ohio. BU has won 22 loop tournament games, trailing only Detroit (26) and Loyola (23) on that list.

Butler reached the Sweet 16 as an at-large entry into the NCAA tournament in 2003, giving the Horizon League a representative in the regional semifinals in two of the last three national summits. Only seven other conferences can make that claim---the Big East, ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC and Conference USA (all three years), and the Pac-10 (2003, 2005).

Something has to give
Tuesday's title game pits the League's highest-scoring offense (UW-Milwaukee at 73.8 points per game this season) against the circuit's stingiest defense---Butler allows just 60.9 points per contest and has held nine opponents under 55 points. Saturday marked the ninth time UWM has reached the 80-point mark this season.

The Panthers lead the League charts in scoring margin (plus-8.2 points per game), and also stand atop the circuit in three-point field-goal defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 31.4 percent from behind the arc. Butler is the League's most proficient team from the tri-light zone, shooting at a 39 percent clip and making more than nine triples per game. BU's 272 tri-lighters are easily the most in the League this season, with UW-Green Bay next on that list at 204.

Butler can also shoot well from inside the arc, topping the League with its .462 overall field-goal percentage. The Bulldogs rank second behind UWM in scoring margin (plus-8.0 per game), and also lead the League with their rate of 13.37 assists per game.

BU's efficiency is evident in the team's rate of just 8.9 turnovers per game. The Bulldogs committed seven miscues on Saturday, the 14th time this season Butler has had eight or fewer turnovers. On a national perspective, only Temple (7.7) and West Virginia (8.6) average fewer errors than the Bulldogs.

Other notes from the League stat sheet
UW-Milwaukee's plus-6.2 per game rebound margin is the best mark in the League, with Butler (minus-7.1) at the bottom of that list. UWM is also efficient offensively, ranking second in the League with a plus-1.64 per game turnover margin. The Panthers force an average of 15.5 turnovers per game, the second-highest rate among the loop's nine teams (Cleveland State foes averaged 15.9 per outing).

UWM ranks eighth in the League with a 68.1 percent mark at the free-throw line, a mark which could be a factor in a close game.

Panthers keep adding to tradition
Top seed UW-Milwaukee reached the 20-win plateau for the fourth consecutive year (and ninth in school history) with Saturday's 80-66 victory over Loyola. The Panthers captured the regular-season League championship with a 12-4 mark, giving UWM a 52-12 record in the circuit over the past four seasons.

Senior forward Joah Tucker and senior guard Boo Davis each scored 20 points against the Ramblers, with Davis also collecting a season-high ten rebounds for his first double-double of the season.

Tucker reached the 20-point mark for the ninth time this season. The League's Preseason Player of the Year is a member of the First-Team All-League squad for the second consecutive season, currently standing sixth in the League with his 16.5 points-per-game scoring average, one spot ahead of Davis (16.1). Tucker also ranks eighth at 6.2 rebounds per game and is a 47 percent shooter from the field.

Davis and senior forward Adrian Tigert each earned Second-Team All-League honors, with Davis ranking second at 2.96 three-pointers per game (on 39 percent shooting behind the arc).

Tigert rates among the loop leaders in several traditional categories---scoring (12th at 12.9 points per game), rebounding (fourth, 7.3 per outing), and field-goal percentage (fourth at .557). But the veteran center is also an entry in terms of assist-to-turnover ratio, rating fourth among circuit ball-handlers at 1.61 set-ups for every miscue. Tigert averages 2.54 assists per game.

Senior guard Chris Hill tops the team with his 2.82 assists per outing, running the point for the League's highest-scoring offense (73.8 points per game).

Tucker, Davis, Hill and senior forward Jason McCoy have each started all 28 games so far this season. Tigert missed two games (versus Missouri State and UIC in late February) due to a back injury, prompting the only change to coach Rob Jeter's opening line-up this year. Senior Derrick Ford took Tigert's spot in those two contests.

The Panthers' "Big Three" of Tucker, Tigert and Davis combine to average 44.6 points per game, or 60.4 percent of the team's points this season. Jeter relies on a deep bench, however, with 12 Panthers having played in at least 23 games this season and nine averaging more than ten minutes per appearance.

Bulldogs shoot for tourney title
Butler owns the second seed for the League Championship, entering Tuesday's contest with a 19-11 overall mark which includes an 11-5 loop ledger.

The Bulldogs' hopes for a share of the regular-season title ended when Detroit edged Butler 73-71 in Saturday's finale, the Bulldogs' first loss in regulation since Jan. 21. BU is 10-3 during that span, with the other two setbacks coming to Wright State (86-83 in double-overtime on Feb. 11) and Kent State (80-76 in OT as part of BracketBusters presented by eBay, Feb. 18).

BU rebounded from that defeat with a 73-51 victory over UW-Green Bay on Saturday, wth senior guard Avery Sheets scoring a game-high 20 points on seven-of-eight shooting including four tri-lighters. Sheets, a member of Butler's Sweet 16 team in 2003, also registered six rebounds, three assists and four steals.

Senior guard Bruce Horan hit just one of nine attempts from three-point range, but extended hs streak to 77 consecutive games with at least one triple, the second-longest run in NCAA history. (Illinois guard Cory Bradford connected in 88 in a row, 1998-2001). Horan leads the League with his 3.47 triples per game this season, and needs nine more points for 1,000 in his career. Horan has made 305 three-pointers in a Butler uniform (second-most in League history), compared to only 12 two-point baskets.

Sheets has already surpassed the 1,000-point mark, entering the title game with 1,052. Sheets also leads the circuit with a 2.71 assist-to-turnover ratio, with 95 helpers and only 35 miscues this season.

Horizon League Player of the Year Brandon Polk is fourth in the circuit, scoring 17.9 points per game including 17 versus UWGB. He also ranks second in field-goal percentage (.574) and has taken over the League lead with a rate of 1.57 blocked shots per game. Polk's presence anchors Butler's defense which allows a League-low 60.9 points per game.

Butler has used the same starting line-up---Horan, Graves, and sophomore A.J. Graves on the perimeter with Polk and junior Brandon Crone up front---in all 30 games this year. Coach Todd Lickliter has only ten players on his roster, with only two reserves---junior guard Julian Betko (16.6) and junior forward Brian Ligon (14.0) averaging more than ten minutes per game.

Horizon League Champions Through the Years

SeasonReg.-Season / Tourn. (Seed)
1979-80Loyola / Oral Roberts (2)
1980-81Xavier / Oklahoma City (3)
1981-82Evansville / Evansville (1)
1982-83Loyola/ Xavier (2)
1983-84Oral Roberts / Oral Roberts (1)
1984-85Loyola / Loyola (1)
1985-86Xavier /Xavier (1)
1986-87Evansville, Loyola (tie) / Xavier (3)
1987-88Xavier / Xavier (1)
1988-89Evansville / Xavier (3)
1989-90Xavier / Dayton (2)
1990-91Xavier / Xavier (1)
1991-92Evansville / Evansville (2)
1992-93Evansville / Evansville (1)
1993-94Xavier / Detroit (4)
1994-95Xavier / UW-Green Bay (3)
1995-96UW-Green Bay / Northern Illinois (3)
1996-97Butler / Butler (1)
1997-98Detroit, UIC (tie) / Butler (3)
1998-99Detroit / Detroit (1)
99-2000Butler / Butler (1)
2000-01Butler / Butler (1)
2001-02Butler / UIC (6)
2002-03Butler / UW-Milwaukee (2)
2003-04UW-Milwaukee / UIC (2)
2004-05UW-Milwaukee / UW-Milwaukee (1)