Men's Basketball Release #19 - Championship Preview
March 10, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Horizon League Championship Game Preview
For the fifth time in six years, the top two seeds square off in the final game of the Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship. Historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., is the setting Tuesday night (March 11) as second-seeded Cleveland State University takes on the top seed, host Butler University. Tip-off time is set for 9 p.m. (Eastern time) before a national (ESPN) audience.
The teams split the two regular-season meetings, with each team winning on its home floor. Cleveland State stifled Butler's long-range attack for a 56-52 victory at the Wolstein Center on Jan. 17 as J'Nathan Bullock and Cedric Jackson each scored 14 points. CSU's defense limited the Bulldogs to 34 percent (18-of-53) shooting from the field, including a 26 percent (6-of-23) mark from three-point range.
The Vikings held BU without a field goal for more than five minutes down the stretch after Butler had tied the game at 46-all, and baskets from Bullock and George Tandy gave the hosts a 50-46 advantage at the 4:00 mark as Cleveland State logged its first victory over a top-25 program since 1986.
Matt Howard paced Butler with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Pete Campbell hit five three-pointers for all 15 of his points. The rest of the team finished just eight-for 36 from the floor.
Butler gained revenge at Hinkle Fieldhouse one month later (Feb. 16) as Howard scored 17 points and A.J. Graves tallied 15.
The Bulldogs used an 18-5 run midway through the first half to take control, with two free throws by Mike Green establishing a 27-16 advantage with four minutes left in the half. CSU made only three of its final 13 field-goal attempts before the break.
Jackson led all scorers with 20 points along with five assists, four rebounds and four steals. Bullock added 11 points and six rebounds but CSU shot only 31.3 percent (15-of-48) from the field for the game and committed 15 turnovers.
Tuesday's contest features opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of title-game experience, as Butler is in the championship contest for the ninth time in the past 12 years, while CSU makes its first final-game appearance since joining the circuit in 1994-95. Butler has won four championships and reached the final in each of the past two years---losing at Milwaukee in 2005 and at Wright State last March.
Cleveland State had won only three tournament games since joining the (then) Midwestern Collegiate Conference in 1994, and none since 2001 prior to Saturday's 78-73 victory over Valparaiso.
CSU was picked to finish ninth in the League's preason poll, with only one of the 46 voters predicting the Vikings higher than sixth. Cleveland State shared second place with Wright State at 12-6 in League play and won a tie-breaker to capture the second seed and a bye to the semifinals.
The Bulldogs were picked as the favorite to win the Horizon League championship, due in large part to having three starters returning from last year's squad that set a Horizon League single-season record with 29 victories (29-7) overall. Green was named the League's Player of the Year and is the only player in the circuit to lead his team in scoring, rebounding and assists, ranking among the League's top ten performers in all three statistical categories.
Only Xavier (six) has won more MCC/Horizon League titles than Butler's four, with all of the Bulldogs' succes coming since 1997. Butler, which fell 87-71 at Milwaukee in 2006 and 60-55 at Wright State last March, is attempting to avoid becoming the first team in League history to lose three consecutive finals.
Tuesday marks the 12th time (and the fifth in the last six years, since the League adopted its current tournament format) that the top two teams have reached the final. Six of those have come since 1999, and the #2 seed has won six of the first 11 showdowns.
Tuesday's Game At a Glance:
Championship, NCAA berth on the line Tuesday nightA spot in the 65-team NCAA Tournament field is up for grabs Tuesday as the top two seeds meet in the Horizon League Championship Game at Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse. Top-seeded Butler (28-3, 16-2) hosts second seed Cleveland State (21-11, 12-6) at 9 p.m. before a national television (ESPN) audience for the League's automatic entry into the "Big Dance."
Top seeds hold in semifinalsButler reached the title game for the third consecutive year---and the ninth since 1997---with a 66-50 victory over UIC in the semifinals on Saturday. Mike Green led the way with 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, with Pete Campbell and A.J. Graves adding 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Cleveland State is in its first Horizon League title tilt following a 78-73 victory over sixth seed Valparaiso on Saturday. The Vikings built an 18-point, first-half lead and held off a late rally by the Crusaders, shooting 53 percent (27-of-51) from the field. Cedric Jackson paced CSU with 22 points and eight rebounds, supported by 19 points and eight boards from J'Nathan Bullock.
One item left on the "to-do" listButler has reached the NCAA Tournament six times since 1997, including Sweet 16 runs in both 2003 and 2007. The Bulldogs also have spent nearly all of the past two seasons in the national top 25 and can tie their own Horizon League single-season record with a 29th victory on Tuesday night (matching the total from last year's 29-7 standard). The one item missing among Butler's senior class is a Horizon League championship, something that has eluded the Bulldogs since 2001.
Vikings try to enter new territoryA victory Tuesday would put Cleveland State into the NCAA field for the first time since 1986. The Vikings eliminated Indiana and St. Joseph's that year to advance to the Sweet 16 before losing 71-70 to a Navy team featuring future NBA star David Robinson.
Horizon League 4x20Valparaiso's victory over Green Bay on Tuesday gives the Horizon League four teams with at least 20 wins this season (Butler 28, Cleveland State, Wright State and Valparaiso 21 apiece). This is the first time the League has had four teams reach the 20-win plateau. Butler (29), Wright State (23) and Loyola (21) won at least 20 games last winter, the seventh time the League had boasted three 20-win programs.
Note: The PDF version of this release contains additional information, including:-- Composite stats and box scores from the teams' two regular-season games.-- Tournament histories for both teams-- The Championship bracket to date-- Box scores of the first eight games of this year's Championship-- Championship records-- Updated Horizon League statistics-- Season stats for Butler and Cleveland State
