Cats @ Dogs | NCAAB

By Don Phillips

 
Villanova Wildcats at Butler Bulldogs

 
Butler is 4-0 in games decided by six points or less this season, including the team’s 77-72 win at DePaul Tuesday night. Only six of Butler’s 15 games have been decided by a single-digit margin (the Bulldogs are 5-1 in those contests).

For the sixth time this season, five Bulldogs scored in double figures at Xavier Jan. 2. Four Bulldogs average double figures on the season (Dunham, Martin, Jones, and Chrabascz) with Tyler Wideman (9.2) and Tyler Lewis (8.1) just off the pace. Seven Bulldogs had 10+ in the season-opening win over The Citadel, while five Bulldogs reached double figures against Cincinnati, SIUE, VMI, Tennessee, and Xavier.

Offensively, Butler is among the national leaders in a variety of categories so far this season. (These statistics are through the games of Wednesday, Jan. 6). The Bulldogs are: Third in Fewest Turnovers (9.5 per game), Eighth in Scoring Offense (86.5 points per game), Eighth in Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.71), 20th in Field Goal Percentage (.495) and 22nd in Scoring Margin (+15.1 per game).

Kellen Dunham is ninth nationally and second in the BIG EAST with a .914 clip at the free throw line. He is 53-of-58 on the season. Roosevelt Jones picked up his 700th career bound in Tuesday’s game against DePaul. Earlier this season, he moved into the Top 10 on Butler’s career rebounds list. He has 703 for his career, just behind Joel Cornette (712) for the ninth spot.

Roosevelt Jones is currently sixth in Butler career assists with 384 in his 3.5 seasons as a Bulldog. Jones is the only Butler player in program history to appear in the Top 10 lists for both rebounds and assists. With five steals at DePaul Tuesday, he also broke into Butler’s Top 10 list in that category. Jones is also 22nd in career scoring with 1,291 career points.

The Bulldogs are the only BIG EAST team to return its three top scorers from a season ago (Dunham, Jones, Chrabascz). The 2014-15 Bulldogs became the 20th Butler team to record 20 victories in a season. Butler has won at least 20 games in nine of the past 10 campaigns, including a school-record 33 victories in 2009-10.

Seniors Kellen Dunham and Roosevelt Jones were both named to the five-member preseason All-BIG EAST First Team. Butler was the only team to have two selections and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time. Butler’s second-round win over Texas was the 20th NCAA Tournament win in program history. The 2015 bid was
Butler’s 12th in the last 19 years.

Before their game Wednesday when they beat Seton Hall by 9, Villanova’s previous four games saw them beat their opposition by 14 or more points, including wins by margins of 31, 30 and 20. These two played last year on February 14, a game that Villanova covered the 2½point spread with a 68-65 road win.

Go to America’s Bookie today to place a wager on this and the rest of the NCAA basketball match-ups. Call up the best online sportsbook and reload your account to take advantage of their great bonuses.

Selection: Butler