Butler caps perfect Horizon record with win over Valparaiso

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/27/2010 - Valparaiso, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Willie Veasley returned from an ankle injury to score 20 points and grab six rebounds, and 15th-ranked Butler ran the table in the Horizon League for the first time in school history with a 74-69 win over Valparaiso.

Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack added 17 and 16 points, respectively, for the Bulldogs (26-4, 18-0 Horizon), who became the first team in conference history to go undefeated since the league went to an 18-game schedule. Butler also extended the nation's longest win streak to 18, which is also a school record.

In addition, the Bulldogs improved their impressive road record to 12-1 this season despite missing top scorer Gordon Hayward, who sat out the game with an injury.

Cory Johnson scored 28 points to lead the Crusaders (15-16, 10-8), who had a three-game home win streak snapped. Brandon McPherson added 14 points, as Valparaiso went a miserable 4-of-25 from three-point range in defeat.

Butler trailed by three with just under 11 minutes to play, but Veasley keyed a game-changing 19-3 burst with a trio of threes. His first make from beyond the arc put the Bulldogs ahead for good, 50-49, and he added two on back-to- back possessions for a 63-52 lead with 5 1/2 minutes left.

Howard capped the run with a pair of free throws for a 13-point lead with 4:50 remaining.

Valpo made a late run and got to within five on a Matt Kenney three with 1:24 left, but Mack responded with a layup, and Butler held on the rest of the way.

The Crusaders scored the first six points of the game and grabbed a 20-12 lead on a McPherson jumper midway through the opening half.

Butler remained close and went in front when Mack made a layup with 18 seconds on the clock put the Bulldogs ahead, 30-29. The lead was short-lived, however, as McPherson's pair of free throws in the final seconds gave Valpo a 31-30 halftime lead.

A pair of Mack threes sandwiched around a Howard dunk helped Butler surge to a 40-33 advantage early in the second half, but the Bulldogs recorded only one field goal in the next seven-plus minutes.

Valparaiso took advantage and managed to grab a 47-46 advantage on a Johnson three with just under 13 minutes to play.

Game Notes

The last team to go undefeated in Horizon League play was Wisconsin-Green Bay, which went 16-0 in 1995-96...Butler head coach Brad Stevens has 82 wins in his first three seasons as coach, the most of any Division I head coach in NCAA history...The Bulldogs have beaten the Crusaders nine straight times, including twice this season...Valparaiso is 9-3 at home this season...Butler leads the all-time series, 66-32.

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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

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