NIT / NCAA Preview #2

March 17, 2006

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NIT: (#8) Butler at (#2) Florida State
Tallahassee, Fla. * Donald L. Tucker Center
Friday, March 17 * 7 p.m. (ET)

Records: Butler 20-12 (Horizon League: 11-5). Florida State 19-9 (ACC: 9-7)

-- The teams have no common opponents this year. The ACC has won two of the three prior meetings between the leagues this season, with Miami (Fla.) defeating UW-Green Bay 80-54 (Nov. 15) and North Carolina routing Cleveland State 112-55 (Nov. 22) before UIC posted a 73-51 victory at Georgia Tech on Nov. 25.

-- Florida State is in the NIT for the fifth time, boasting a 7-4 record. The Seminoles reached the championship game in 1987, losing to Michigan. Butler's 53-52 victory over Miami (Ohio) gives the Bulldogs a 5-7 all-time ledger in eight NIT appearances.

-- Florida State averages 77.4 points per game (fourth in the ACC), while Butler leads the Horizon League in defense (61.4 ppg.).

-- The Seminoles' depth is evident with ten Seminoles playing at least 27 games. Six of those average at least 19 minutes per game but none are over over 30. Four Bulldogs have played more than 1,000 minutes this season (Avery Sheets 1,091; Bruce Horan 1,052; A.J. Graves 1,033; and Brandon Polk 1,003). Only two reserves average double-figure minutes.

-- FSU's Al Thornton ranks ninth in the ACC in scoring, tenth in rebounding and seventh in field-goal accuracy. Alexander Johnson rates eighth in the conference off the glass (7.3 rebounds per game).

-- Butler's Brandon Polk is the Horizon League's third-leading scorer (17.9 points per game) and ranks second in field-goal percentage (.573) while sharing the League lead at 1.50 blocks per game. Fellow senior Avery Sheets boasts a lofty 2.79 assist-to-turnover ratio, the best mark in the League. He has 106 set-ups with only 38 turnovers this season.

-- Butler three-point specialist Bruce Horan has 310 career triples (second-most in Horizon League history), representing 930 of his 1,006 points (92.4) in a BU uniform The tri-lighter count also marks 96.3 percent of his career field goals (310 of 322).

-- Florida State's defense forces 18.9 turnovers per game and averages more than nine steals per contest, while Butler averages just 8.9 miscues per outing (ranking third in the nation behind Temple and West Virginia).

-- The teams have split two previous meetings, with FSU posting an 87-68 victory in Tallahassee on Dec. 30, 1996, and Butler winning 77-65 at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Dec. 23, 1998.

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NCAA: (#11) UW-Milwaukee vs. (#3) Florida
Jacksonville, Fla. l Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
Saturday, March 18 l 3:20 p.m. (ET)

Records: UW-Milwaukee 22-8 (Horizon League: 11-5), Florida 28-6 (SEC: 10-6)

-- The Horizon League and SEC meet for the third time this season, with each claiming one previous victory. Horizon League representative UIC outlasted Mississippi 87-75 in overtime in Chicago on Dec. 10, while South Carolina smothered Detroit 65-35 on Dec. 31.

-- UW-Milwaukee is in the NCAA field for the third time in four years, and tries to reach the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row. Florida, which is in the tournament for the eighth consecutive year, lost to Villanova (76-65) in the second round last year. The Gators have lost in the first weekend of each of the last five tourneys, despite being seeded fifth or better in all five.

-- UW-Milwaukee forced 18 turnovers and out-scored (#6 seed) Oklahoma 26-5 at the free-throw line in Thursday's 82-74 victory.

-- Four Gators scored in double figures in Florida's 76-50 victory over South Alabama on Thursday. Lee Humphrey led the way with 20 points including six tri-lighters, while Al Horford had 14 points and 13 rebounds, Joakim Noah added 16 points plus eight rebounds, seven assists, and five blocks, with Corey Brewer posting ten points and eight boards.

-- Florida leads the nation with its .508 field-goal percentage. The Gators also entered the tournament ranked 15th in Division I in three-point accuracy (.394) and 16th in scoring (79.3 points per game).

-- UW-Milwaukee currently sits atop the Horizon League charts in scoring (74.5 points per game), scoring margin (plus-8.5), and rebounding margin (plus-6.2).

-- UW-Milwaukee shot just 68.5 perent from the free throw line during the regular season, but the Panthers are at 85.3 percent (45-of-53) in their last two outings. UWM missed only two of 21 tries in winning the Horizon League championship game over Butler, and secured Thursday's victory with a 26-of-32 performance at the line.

-- The Panthers rely on experience, with five senior starters (including forwards Adrian Tigert and Joah Tucker plus guard Boo Davis), along with two fourth-year players off the bench. Tucker scored 32 points in the third-round loss to Illinois last March, and has 100 in four tourney appearances over the last two years.

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UW-Milwaukee, Butler capsules

Panthers keep adding to tradition
UW-Milwaukee improved to 22-8 overall by defeating (#6 seed) Oklahoma 82-74 on Thursday. The Panthers, the 11th seed in the Minneapolis bracket, are in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years and one win away from a second consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. The win would also give the Horizon League a second-week entry for the third time in four years (Butler reached the Sweet 16 in 2003, UWM in 2005).

The Panthers entered the national summit as the #12 seed in 2005, but downed (#5) Alabama 83-73 and (#4) Boston College 83-75 before falling to eventual national-runner-up Illinois 77-63.

This year's UWM squad captured the regular-season League championship with a 12-4 mark, and claimed the Horizon League's automatic entry with an 87-71 victory over Butler in the final game of the Horizon League Championship tournament.

UW-Milwaukee boasts three All-League selections, with First-Team choice Joah Tucker joined by Second-Team honorees Adrian Tigert and Boo Davis. Tucker was a repeat selection to the top list, with the senior forward currently sixth on the League scoring charts (16.7 points per game) and eighth in rebounding (6.1 per outing).

Davis' 16.5 scoring pace (seventh in the League) features 39 percent shooting behind the arc. He had a game-high 26 points including four triples against the Sooners. Davis has now scored 20 or more points 13 times this season.

Tigert's 7.3 rebounds-per-game pace is fourth-best in the League, while the senior forward is fourth in field-goal accuracy (.548) and 12th in scoring (13.0 per game). He also rates fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.74 set-ups for every miscue. Tigert averages 2.68 assists per game.

Tigert garnered tournament MVP honors after leading the Panthers to a second consecutive League title. He missed two games due to a back injury suffered Feb. 11 but returned to collect 31 points and 15 rebounds in two tourney victories.

Senior guard Chris Hill tops the team with his 2.80 assists per outing, directing the League's highest-scoring offense (74.5 points per game). He was the fourth Panther in double figures with ten points on Thursday.

Tucker, Davis, Hill and senior forward Jason McCoy have each started all 30 games so far this season. Tigert's injury prompted the only change to first-year head 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 60.2 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 continue season in NIT
Butler reached the 20-win mark for the first time in three seasons with Tuesday's 53-52 victory over Miami (Ohio). BU (now 20-12 overall) has won 20 or more games in eight of the last ten years but was just 13-15 last winter---the program's first losing campaign since 1994-95.

The late heroics bucked one trend for Butler, which is now 3-7 in games decided by five points or fewer. The Bulldogs have lost only four games since Jan. 21 ---two in overtime, one on a shot with 1.3 seconds remaining and the League Championship game at UW-Milwaukee.

Butler earned a bye into the semifinals of the league summit and defeated #3 seed UW-Green Bay 73-51 but could not match UW-Milwaukee's scoring ability in the title game. UWM's 87 points were the most allowed by Butler this season.

The preseason poll projected BU to finish fifth in the League, but Coach of the Year Todd Lickliter guided a veteran group to an 11-5 loop ledger and second-place showing in the regular season.

Senior forward Brandon Polk earned Player of the Year honors and currently rates third in the circuit with his 17.9 points-per-game average. Polk also ranks second with his .573 field-goal rate and shares the loop lead at 1.55 blocks per game. Polk's presence anchors Butler's defense which allows a League-low 60.9 points per game. He had scored in double figures in 17 consecutive games before being held to nine by the RedHawks, but his rebound putback with 2.5 seconds remaining was the difference for the Bulldogs.

Sophomore guard A.J. Graves scored a game-high 19 points including four triples versus Miami, and lifted his season scoring pace to 13.5 per outing.

Senior guard Bruce Horan hit four tri-lighters on Tuesday, after going two-for-15 in the League Championship. His 12 points Tuesday give him 1,006 for his career, making Horan the 30th member of Butler's four-figure club. He also extended hs streak to 79 consecutive games with at least one triple, the second-longest run in NCAA history. Horan has made 310 three-pointers in a Butler uniform (second-most in League history), compared to only 12 two-point baskets.

Senior guard Sheets has also surpassed the 1,000-point mark, entering Friday's game with 1,078. Sheets also leads the League with a 2.79 assist-to-turnover ratio, with 106 helpers (including six on Tuesday) and only 38 miscues.

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 32 games this year. Lickliter has only ten players on his roster, with only two reserves averaging more than ten minutes per game.