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Butler hosts Bradley in mid-major showdown

Dec 19, 2007 - 1:57 PM Bradley (7-3) at No. 18 Butler (9-1) 7:00 pm EST

INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) - No. 18 Butler may again be without one of its top 3-point shooters when it hosts Bradley on Wednesday.

Butler's offensive attack, which is centered around the shot from the arc, has been without leading 3-point shooter Pete Campbell, who has missed the last three games with a knee sprain. It remains uncertain when the senior will return.

The Bulldogs will have to rely once again on their backcourt of A.J. Graves and Mike Green, who are scoring 16.4 and 14.3 points per game, respectively. Butler comes into the game averaging a Horizon League-best 10.7 3-pointers per game.

The game also is a matchup of a pair of teams from mid-major conferences that have made runs in the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons.

The Bulldogs, who made it to the Sweet 16 last season before losing to eventual champion Florida, bounced back from its first defeat of the season to Wright State with a victory over Florida State on Saturday.

Two years ago it was the Braves, who as a 13-seed, made it to the round of 16 before losing to top-seeded Memphis. This season, Bradley - out of the Missouri Valley Conference - suffered a five-point defeat to Michigan State on December 4 before winning at Wright State in overtime on December 11.

Bradley guard Daniel Ruffin is averaging 15.5 points and 6.8 assists. He is helped by swing man Jeremy Crouch, who is scoring 13.3 points. The Braves as a team can shoot it from the arc as well, averaging 9.7 3-pointers per game.

Bradley leads the all-time series, 11-9, but has lost its last seven visits to Butler.