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Butler hosts Illinois-Chicago looking to stay perfect at home

Jan 26, 2008 - 2:22 PM Illinois-Chicago (10-9) at No. 14 Butler (18-2) 2:00 pm EST

INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) - No. 14 Butler attempts to continue its home success Saturday when it faces Illinois-Chicago in a Horizon League matchup.

Butler (18-2, 7-2 Horizon) is 7-0 at home this season and has gone 103-14 at Hinkle Fieldhouse since the 1999-2000 campaign.

The Bulldogs continued their home dominance on Thursday with a 63-50 victory over Loyola-Chicago, matching its best 20-game start in school history set by last season's team.

Freshman Matt Howard scored 15 points and 10 rebounds against Loyola to lead Butler in scoring for the sixth straight game.

Howard, who logged his third straight double-double during Thursday's contest, is averaging a team-high 6.1 rebounds and is Butler's second-leading scorer at 13.7 points per game.

Illinois-Chicago (10-9, 4-4) has lost five of its last seven games, including a 60-56 setback against Valparaiso on Thursday.

Josh Mayo, who is averaging 17.7 points this season, scored 16 points during Thursday's loss and is the only player averaging double-figures in scoring for the Flames this season.