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Butler welcomes former coach, Ohio State

Dec 1, 2007 - 3:14 PM Ohio St (4-2) at No. 16 Butler (6-0) 7:30 pm EST

INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- It was seven years ago that Thad Matta left Butler for greener pastures. This season, Matta and Ohio State are looking up at his old team.

The 16th-ranked Bulldogs host the Buckeyes on Saturday, marking the first time since 1993 that a Big Ten team has come to Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Butler has been away from home for the past two weeks, traveling nearly 5,000 miles to notch wins over Evansville, Michigan, Virginia Tech and Texas Tech - the last three victories coming in the Great Alaska Shootout.

The Bulldogs set a Great Alaska Shootout record by hitting 47 3-pointers n three tournament games. They broke the tournament single game record by nailing 17 3-pointers against Michigan and then added 14 in the overtime win over Virginia Tech. Butler finished the tournament by hitting a championship game record 16-of-24 from the arc against Texas Tech.

The Bulldogs start five seniors and are led by the backcourt duo of A.J. Graves and Mike Green, who are averaging 34 points combined in the early going.

Ohio State will be looking to rebound from a 66-55 loss to North Carolina in the ACC/Big Ten challenge on Wednesday. Freshman Jon Diebler led the Buckeyes with 19 points.