Kennesaw State hits road seeking upset of Butler

Dec 8, 2014 - 3:38 PM Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - The Butler Bulldogs will conclude a two-game homestand at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Monday night, as they face off against the Kennesaw State Owls in a non-conference affair.

Although KSU's 3-6 record isn't impressive by most program's standards, it's taking steps in the right direction after going just 6-25 in 2013-14 and 3-27 the campaign before that. The Owls closed out November on a three-game winning streak but have since dropped back-to-back games at FIU (59-38) and at home against Kent State (58-46).

Butler began the season unranked but made a splash with a third-place finish in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, beating North Carolina (74-66) and Georgetown (64-58) in the process. The Bulldogs have won three in a row to improve to 7-1, most recently downing Northwestern at home on Saturday, 65-56.

This marks the first-ever meeting between the programs.

The Owls fell flat on their home floor their last time out. Despite holding Kent State to just 43.1 percent field goal shooting and 15 turnovers, they could not take advantage on the other end of the court, shooting 32.6 percent with 19 turnovers as they suffered the 12-point loss. Delbert Love and Bernard Morena were the only players to finish in double figures with 10 points apiece.

The lackluster showing was unfortunately nothing new for KSU, which shoots only 39.5 percent from the field this season for 61.1 while allowing 73.4 ppg. It's also hindered by poor margins in both the turnover (-5.7) and rebounding (-4.6) battles. Yonel Brown is one of the team's few bright spots with 13.0 ppg on 40.6 percent from 3-point range and 88.4 percent at the foul line. Nigel Pruitt (11.0 ppg), Love (9.2 ppg) and Orlando Coleman (8.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg) have also been solid.

The Bulldogs opened up a six-point halftime lead versus Northwestern over the weekend and never surrendered that advantage in the second stanza. Although they made just one 3-pointer on the afternoon and struggled to connect from the free-throw line (16-of-28), they made up for it by shooting 49 percent from the field overall and by taking care of the ball with only nine turnovers. Kellen Dunham led the way with 19 points on 6-of-9 from the floor and 6-of-6 at the stripe. Roosevelt Jones helped out in a myriad of ways with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal, while Kameron Woods tallied seven points and nine boards.

Butler's success this season has come thanks mostly to its outstanding play on the defensive end of the floor, as it allows just 54.6 ppg on 38.2 percent field goal shooting. It's a showing that's more than enough to support a stellar offense that shoots greater than 45 percent for 71.9 ppg. Dunham is the go-to scoring option with 16.8 ppg and is the team's only viable 3-point threat, as he makes 2.4 long-range buckets per game at a 46.3 percent clip. Jones brings 10.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 5.1 apg to the mix and Kelan Martin (9.8 ppg) and Andrew Chrabascz (9.0 ppg) are strong complementary options.