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No. 9 Butler seeks ninth straight win vs. Cleveland State

Feb 8, 2007 - 4:40 PM No. 9 Butler (22-2) at Cleveland St (8-17) 7:00 pm EST

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Still in the hunt for the top spot in the Horizon League, Butler can not afford to take its next opponent lightly.

The ninth-ranked Bulldogs go for their ninth consecutive victory and 12th in 14 games away from home this season Thursday when they try to complete a regular-season sweep of Cleveland State.

Off to the best 24-game start in school history, Butler (22-2, 10-1 Horizon) is the first team in league history to win 20 games before February. The Bulldogs rank among the nation's leaders in fewest turnovers (9.6) and have won all 16 games when limiting opponents to less than 60 points.

Despite its dominance this season, Butler does not have a clean shot to the regular-season title. The Bulldogs have a slight lead over Wright State and will face the Raiders on Saturday.

Butler extended its winning streak with last Saturday's 66-47 triumph over Wisconsin-Milwaukee. A.J. Graves scored 20 points and Mike Green added 14 for the Bulldogs.

Since winning four straight games in November, Cleveland State (8-17, 2-10) has dropped 14 of 17 and is in last place in the conference standings. Injuries have reduced the Vikings' roster to nine healthy scholarship players.

Cleveland State lost its third consecutive contest with Saturday's 79-66 defeat to Wisconsin-Green Bay. Victor Morris scored 16 points and Patrick Tatham added 13 for the Vikings.

Butler has captured 12 of the past 14 encounters against Cleveland State, including a 70-45 victory December 2.