GAME NOTES: The Butler Bulldogs will begin their four-game road trip with a visit to the Windy City to take on the Illinois-Chicago Flames in a Horizon League battle at the UIC Pavilion.
This will be the 43rd meeting in the rivalry's history. The Bulldogs hold a 31-11 advantage coming into tonight after winning 10-straight against the Flames.
Head coach Brad Stevens has become one of the most successful mid-major coaches in recent history. After a pair of trips to the NCAA Championship game, Butler is no longer sneaking up on opponents and has began this season out 10-9 with a 4-3 mark in Horizon League action. The Bulldogs have won the last five Horizon League regular season titles, but currently are tied for fourth in the league standings and sit two games back from Milwaukee. Butler snapped a two-game losing slide on Sunday with a 71-55 victory over the Youngstown State Penguins. Butler used a supreme rebounding effort and outboarded the Penguins 36-22 en route to the victory, which was not a surprise as it is tied for first in the conference in offensive rebounding with 13.1 rpg.
Andrew Smith is the Bulldogs' leading scorer with an average of 10.7 ppg. The junior center was instrumental in the team's victory on Sunday as he scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds versus Youngstown State. Ronald Nored controls the tempo for Butler. The senior guard leads the team in minutes played and has dished out seven assists in each of his last two outings.
UIC is 6-11 and carries a 2-5 record in league play after its 58-51 victory over Loyola-Illinois on Saturday. The second win in play matched the Flames' total wins in league play from last season (2) with 11 left to play. UIC had its best defensive performance in the victory, as its 51 points allowed was a season-low. The Flames are producing just 62.1 ppg on the offensive end this year, while allowing opponents to score an average of 67.3 ppg. UIC is the top rebounding team in the conference with a plus-3.0 margin. The Flames are not going to be an easy victory as they have won five of their last six at home, with the only loss coming in an overtime thriller.
Daniel Barnes, Gary Talton, and Darrin Williams will need to contribute a joint effort to push UIC past Butler tonight. All three have scoring averages in double-figures and Williams is grabbing a team-high 6.7 rpg. Barnes is the team's leading scorer with an average of 11.4 ppg and is a very dangerous threat from outside as he is knocking down 2.5 three-pointers per game. Talton is going to be matching up with Nored, and he is averaging a respectable 3.5 assists per contest.
Although Butler is having a down year, it has picked up some impressive victories along the way (Purdue, Stanford) and lost to top quality teams. If the Bulldogs are still a contender to win the league, they will need to make a statement tonight against the Flames.
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