• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Valparaiso-Butler Preview

Dec 4, 2009 - 8:56 PM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Valparaiso (3-4) at Butler (5-2), 7:00 p.m. EDT

Butler has some tough games approaching on its schedule. The Horizon League opener probably won't be one of them.

After spending the past three weeks playing away from home, the 23rd-ranked Bulldogs look to take the first step toward winning their fourth straight Horizon League regular-season title Saturday when they host Valparaiso.

Butler (5-2) was the preseason favorite to win the Horizon after returning every player from last season's team that went 26-6 and earned an NCAA tournament berth. The Bulldogs have won at least a share of the last three regular-season league titles while compiling a 44-8 conference record, but they'll have to wait a while before playing another Horizon opponent.

After this game, Butler plays 16th-ranked Georgetown at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday followed by a home game against No. 15 Ohio State next Saturday. The Bulldogs have two more non-conference matchups - versus Xavier and UAB - before their next league game against Green Bay on Dec. 31.

Butler has had little trouble against Valparaiso, selected to finish eighth in the Horizon. They've won seven straight meetings since a 90-73 loss in 1993.

Gordon Hayward, last season's Horizon League newcomer of the year, averaged 16.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in two games against the Crusaders in 2008-09, while Matt Howard, the reigning conference player of the year, averaged 12.5 points and 7.0 boards.

The Bulldogs will begin their march toward another league title at Hinkle Fieldhouse, where they haven't played since a season-opening 73-62 win over Davidson on Nov. 14. Butler is 30-3 at home since the start of the 2007-08 season.

The Bulldogs are coming off Wednesday's 59-38 win over Ball State, their 14th straight victory over an Indiana school.

Hayward led Butler with 15 points and eight rebounds and Howard added 11 points, but it was the defense that paved the way to victory. The Bulldogs forced 18 turnovers and limited the Cardinals to 31.7 percent shooting for the game after holding them to 11 first-half points.

"I think our guys really embraced the challenge of seeing how good we could be (defensively) each half," coach Brad Stevens said. "Our goal was just guarding guard as well as we could. That's what we want to be."

Butler will now focus on trying to slow down Crusaders guard Brandon Wood, the conference's leading scorer at 23.0 points per game.

Wood, who had a Division I school-record 39 points in a 97-89 win over Georgia Southern last Friday, was limited to 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting in Sunday's 86-74 victory over Arkansas-Fort Smith in the Legends Classic.

Valpo (3-4) already has played two ranked teams, losing to then-No. 6 North Carolina 88-77 on Nov. 15 and falling to then-No. 2 Michigan State 90-60 on Nov. 22. The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Crusaders, who visit fourth-ranked Purdue on Wednesday.

They're the worst defensive team in the conference, letting opponents average 80.7 points and shoot 50.1 percent from the field.

"We must still improve both rebounding and on defense," coach Homer Drew told the school's official Web site. "But we are looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead of us, with a pair of ranked teams coming up next on our schedule."