On The Horizon

Jim Squire

What a Wonderful World This Would Be--The Mid-Majority
Lead Pipe Lock Second Half Predictions--Rush The Court

Butler will participate in the NIT- Butler must win the Horizon League tournament to punch their ticket. Victories over possible NCAA teams Purdue (neutral) and Stanford (road) are solid, but with bad losses to Evansville and Ball State, their non-league portfolio is not sufficient for an at-large berth. Just like last season, I expect Butler to travel to Milwaukee for the league title game. This time, the Panthers come out on top and deny the Bulldogs a chance to make another late March run. As anyone that watched Butler edge Milwaukee 54-50 at Hinkle last weekend can attest, the Panthers defend at just as high a level as the Bulldogs and, along with Cleveland State, are more than capable of toppling the Horizon League superpower. This is as flawed a Butler team as Stevens has assembled with freshmen lining his rotation and not a single double-digit scorer on the roster. Butler ranks near the bottom of the country in both three-point and free throw shooting percentage.

Men's Basketball Games of the Weekend 1/6 - 1/8--College Sports Madness

GREEN BAY at MILWAUKEE (8 p.m. Saturday at US Cellular Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin)

Another Horizon League game with implications toward the conference, this in-state matchup has Green Bay (6-8, 2-2) and its low-scoring offense going up against Milwaukee. The Phoenix picked up 21 points and 11 rebounds from Alec Brown in a 90-87 loss to Valparaiso, the team’s fourth loss in the last six games. Milwaukee (10-6, 3-1) got off to an 8-1 start before dropping five of its last seven games, including back-to-back losses against Butler and Western Michigan. Seven teams are bunched at the top within one game of each other, and a Milwaukee win would thin the ranks at the top a bit. If Green Bay wins, the standings become muddier.

The NC-Double-Eh Schedule - Jan. 6--Raptors HQ

8:00pm Valparaiso @ Detroit - Detroit is a team that looks really good on paper but just hasn't been able to put it together on the floor for more wins. Jason Calliste had been a starter since day one and has been steady playing in the shadows of guards Chase Simon and Ray McCallum. Calliste is capable of scoring outburst so watch out for him tonight.

Al Jefferson helps Utah Jazz defeat Memphis Grizzlies, 94-85--Salt Lake Tribune

The fourth: Jazz 94, Grizzlies 85

The Jazz own a one-point lead when Paul Millsap sparks a 9-0 run. It’s 78-68 with six minutes remaining and Gordon Hayward’s drive-and-dunk stops the Grizzlies’ best attempt to rally.

Men's college basketball preview: Butler at Wright State--The Indy Star
Butler: Marshall stays ready as minutes decline--The Indy Star
A quick look: Butler faces Wright State--Victory Firelight
On this day 11 years ago - Jan 06, 2001--Butler Blue Fever

Bulldogs Shoot Past Youngstown State 73-64--ButlerSports.com
Bulldogs Host Cleveland State Saturday Afternoon--ButlerSports.com

Miami Heat’s supporting cast steps up in win over Atlanta Hawks--Miami Herald

Little-used Dexter Pittman even scored five points and had three rebounds in his 12 minutes. And Norris Cole chipped in nine points of his own.

In all, the numbers weren’t much different, with nine players getting at least 12 minutes.

But those minutes were spread out among a group of role players that played their role well. The Heat got 37 points and 28 rebounds from its four main bench players — Harris, Haslem, Cole and Pittman.

Miami Heat guard Chalmers’ growth hard to miss--Miami Herald

So effective was Chalmers that he played every minute of each overtime period. That’s no small thing considering the rise of rookie point guard Norris Cole. Cole has been useful in the Heat’s transition offense, but Thursday’s game was the kind of grind-it-out affair that only Chalmers was prepared to handle.