Mid-Majority Tournament Chat Block No. 4--The Mid-Majority
6:16 Butler and UTEP, with the C-USA possibly joining us next season, can we safely enjoy a heck of a game without worrying too much about who advances to face Murray State?
6:16
No comment.
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6:20 Hey, Kyle! UTEP seems to be using its size well against Butler. How do the Bulldogs counter Derrick Caracter's presence inside the paint?
6:22
Yo, Ryan. This is the wearing down we were worried about. (That's a lot of W's, erm.) Butler is shooting badly, not hitting the boards, and Matt Howard is not doing his job. Does Caracter have a double-double already? I think he does, and it's only halftime. Very frustrating.
6:22 Butler playing completely uninspired basketball. Not good.
6:22
That too. Argh.
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6:35 You mentioned a concern for the UTEP-Butler winner is that the slugfest would wear down the winner. After Murrary State's active and emotional win... does that matter anymore?
6:38
Probably more than ever. Vanderbilt got worn down today, and Murray had three guys who went off. Murray has six guys, any of which could go off. They'll be ready for whichever team they get. Butler appears to be getting to this together, especially thanks to the Return of (the) Shelvin Mack. He's too small, yo... but he's knocking down a lot of shots.
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6:39 Butler a LOT better second half - Mack shooting 3's all over the place, very few fouls on Howard, gertting rebounds, reducing the number of turnovers etc.
6:41
Agreed. I can totally imagine Brad Stevens' rousing halftime speech: "You're too big, yo."
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6:52 Will Butler & Purdue survive the weekend? Or will IUPUI be the last Indiana team playing in the post-season?
6:53
The way Butler is playing right now, they'll survive as long as they want. Looks like 58-41 at 7:55 2H. Although Gordon Hayward, perhaps affected by the Rap Scandal, is shooting very badly.
6:55
And I prematurely tweeted earlier, but if Butler wins, Season 6 is guaranteed to survive another week. That's always at the back of my mind at this time of year, and why I always try to find a pod with a mid-vs.-mid game in the first round. It's mighty boring if it's four power teams in the R32, and thankfully that's never happened to me.
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7:02
OK, folks, the countdown for the Ohio-Georgetown game has started (another upset, hopefully), Butler is salting this UTEP game away, and I have to get back out on the floor. Remember to follow the @midmajority Tweeter feed for the rest of the night. I might miss Tennessee-SD State, though. See you on the flip side!
Mid-Majority Tournament Chat Block No. 5--The Mid-Majority
5:13 Am I the only one crazy enough to believe that Murray State has a legitimate shot at the Sweet 16? They have quick guards and fairly good Bigs. Although Butler is a well coached team, do they have the athletes to keep up? that being said it would be hard to debate that Butler is the better team.
5:15
Oh, they definitely have the athletes. There have been teams like this version of Murray in the Horizon League in the last few years -- I'm thinking Cleveland State and Wright. Tough defense, deep, guards who can explode. The Bulldogs have had trouble with those kinds of teams. But Butler 2010 has an extra gear, and it's been showing it in the last few weeks. Like yesterday in the second half, the title game against Wright, the Siena BracketBuster.
Second Round Game Analysis: Saturday--Rush The Court
3:20 pm – #5 Butler vs. #13 Murray State (San Jose pod)
The second game of the second round will feature the top mid-major program in the east versus an upstart who would love to get there themselves. In their first round game, if you haven’t heard, the Racers’ Danero Thomas hit a shot at the buzzer to knock Vanderbilt out of the Tournament, but what you may not know about that game is that Murray State pretty much controlled it throughout. It was very late when Vandy regained the lead and set the stage for Thomas’ game winner. The point: Murray is better than your typical #13 seed Cinderella. Butler, on the other hand, had a weak first half and a superb second half to put away UTEP. It was two of the staples of Butler’s attack — relentless halfcourt defense and the three-ball — that allowed the Bulldogs to quickly take the lead and never look back against the Miners. As for this game, Murray State does many of the same things that Butler does, it’s just that Brad Stevens’ team does those things better. It will certainly be interesting to see how Butler responds to being the Big (Bull)Dog in an NCAA Tournament game, as they’re usually the upstart taking on some higher-seeded Kansas or Florida type of team.
The Skinny: We’d love to take Murray State here, but Butler isn’t going to let a johnny-come-lately out-Butler them en route to the Sweet Sixteen, so we expect Butler to hang on and win by 6-8 points.
DePaul fans: Watch Butler vs. UTEP--ChicagoNow.com
There's no need for introductions between Bulldogs, Racers--The Indy Star
Stevens: 'I'm lucky to be where I am'--The Indy Star
NCAA blog 8: Bulldogs appear to be relaxed--Indy Star Butler Insider
Horizon League Network Talks Butler Vs Murray State--Let's Go Vikes!
Junior prepares to quietly take leadership role for Cleveland State women's basketball team--Cleveland Plain Dealer
Vikings Arrive in South Bend for NCAA Tournament--csuvikings.com
Ticketing Information for March Madness in Cleveland in 2011--Let's Go Vikes!
Public Sale For 2011 NCAA Games Starts March 22--csuvikings.com
Mid-major vs. mid-major? What is this, BracketBuster Part II?--Off The Mark
Former Crusaders guard Diebler watches brother play for Ohio St.--The NWI Times
Here's To the Fans--Horizon League Network
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