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Minnesota-Butler Preview

Nov 25, 2009 - 4:33 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Minnesota (3-0) at Butler (3-0), 8:30 p.m. EDT

Butler has been successful lately in November tournaments and against teams from the Big Ten. That could be a bad combination for Minnesota.

The No. 12 Bulldogs and No. 22 Golden Gophers begin play in the 76 Classic on Thursday night in Anaheim, Calif., with both looking to improve to 4-0.

Butler has created a splash in recent seasons by winning high-profile tournaments during Thanksgiving week. The Bulldogs defeated Notre Dame, Indiana, Tennessee and Gonzaga to win the NIT Season Tip-Off in 2006, then beat Michigan, Virginia Tech and Texas Tech to capture the Great Alaska Shootout in 2007.

Last year, Butler began 8-0 after not playing in a Thanksgiving event. To get a chance to duplicate that start, the Bulldogs will have to maintain their recent mastery of the Big Ten.

Butler has won six of its last seven games against Big Ten foes, winning 67-54 at Northwestern on Nov. 18 in its only such matchup this season. The Bulldogs insist there isn't any extra motivation when facing teams from the best conference in the Midwest.

"I don't know that it's against the Big Ten or anyone else. Our guys like to play, they like to play together," coach Brad Stevens said after beating Northwestern. "Whoever they're playing against, they're not worried about their conference affiliation."

Minnesota should get its first test after winning three games by an average of 34.0 points. The Golden Gophers also hope to get back leading scorer Lawrence Westbrook, who missed last Thursday's 76-51 victory over Utah Valley State with a stomach virus.

Freshman Rodney Williams got his first start in place of Westbrook and had 17 points and four steals. The 6-foot-7 forward is averaging 15.0 points to begin his career and has made a good impression on his teammates.

"We're a lot more athletic than we were last year, and we've got a lot more guys that complement each other," forward Damian Johnson said. "If me and Al (Nolen) trap someone, we always have somebody long like Rodney who can get a steal."

Johnson and Williams combined to make 14 of 22 shots. Minnesota coach Tubby Smith emphasized getting the ball inside after his club shot 34.3 percent in the first half.

"The offense was there. We just weren't throwing it to the right people," Smith said. "We've got to establish the inside game. It's kind of like a good football game. You've got to soften up the middle and then hit 'em with the outside."

Unlike Minnesota, Butler has been in a close game, although it probably shouldn't have. The Bulldogs nearly blew a 10-point lead in the final minute of Saturday's 64-60 win at Evansville.

Shelvin Mack scored 17 points as Butler won despite shooting 28.0 percent. Leading scorer Gordon Hayward added 15.

"Hey, we just won a game where we shot 28 percent on the road, so obviously we had to do some good things to win," Stevens said. "Hopefully, we'll be able to be better offensively as we go forward and I don't see any reason why we won't."

The winner will play UCLA or Portland in the semifinals Friday.