9:30 PM EST (NCAAB) - XAVIER VS. BUTLER PREVIEW AND FREE PICKS
Time: 09:30 P.M. EST A year after not even reaching the Big East tournament quarterfinals, Butler enters that round as a favorite. Getting its first win in this Madison Square Garden spectacle won't be easy, facing a longtime rival which has controlled the series lately and appears to be a fellow NCAA Tournament team. Xavier can erase any lingering doubt about whether it will be part of the Big Dance by knocking off the 22nd-ranked Bulldogs in Thursday night's quarterfinals. These former Midwestern Collegiate Conference foes are each making a second trip to the Big East tournament after spending one season together in the Atlantic 10. The Musketeers have won six of eight meetings since the beginning of 2010-11 and handed Butler its most lopsided loss this season, 73-56 on Feb. 21. Free College Basketball Picks. That's part of a 4-2 record against Top 25 teams for sixth-seeded Xavier (19-12, 9-9), with the only losses coming to fourth-ranked Villanova. That fact along with a .500 record in a conference with the nation's second-highest RPI would seem to be enough to garner the Musketeers an NCAA Tournament bid." Yeah, there's no doubt we're a tournament team," coach Chris Mack said. "... We've done our job, but our job isn't complete in the sense that we wanna win some games in Madison Square Garden." While Mack's team reached the Big East semifinals last season and made the NCAA Tournament, Butler's debut didn't go nearly as well, going 4-14 in league play before losing its first-round game to Seton Hall. These Bulldogs (22-9, 12-6) got a first-round bye - like the Musketeers - and earned the No. 3 seed after matching the fourth-best improvement in Big East history in terms of conference record." Sometimes you say it just to say it, but this is a really good team," Butler coach Chris Holtmann said after Saturday's 68-64 win at then-No. 24 Providence. Spoiling the Friars' senior day was a nice confidence boost after Butler split its previous six games, including home losses to Villanova and Georgetown. The other defeat was at Xavier, though Andrew Chrabascz wasn't playing due to a broken hand. The sophomore forward, who returned for the past two games, keyed the Bulldogs' 88-76 home win over the Musketeers on Jan. 10 with a team-high 19 points. One reason Xavier has won three of four meetings as Big East foes is it has shut down Butler's Kellen Dunham. Newtown Police Dept. The all-conference first-teamer has shot 8 of 33 in those matchups and averaged 8.0 points. Dunham was fourth in the Big East this season with 16.6 points per game, also ranking among the league's top 3-point shooters at 42.4 percent with 72 made. Another key may be how Kameron Woods, second in the Big East with 9.6 rebounds per game, fares against Musketeers center Matt Stainbrook. The 6-foot-10 senior failed to reach double figures in four straight games before scoring a season-high 26 in Saturday's 74-73 win at Creighton, helping Xavier avoid a third straight loss." I think we have a spot somewhere in the tournament, but by no means are we comfortable or complacent with what we're slated as or how we've done so far," said Stainbrook, who averages 12.0 points. Unanimous all-Big East rookie selection Trevon Bluiett scores a team-high 12.2 per game for Xavier, which leads this all-time series 34-18." We know them, they know us. There's not gonna be a lot of surprises," Mack said. "... We can't get out-toughed. Winning Sports Picks. When it comes to 50-50 balls, Butler takes a lot of pride in getting those loose ones. I know their coach was really upset with his team that they didn't do that job (in the last meeting). We'll try to make them upset one more time."
Time: 09:30 P.M. EST A year after not even reaching the Big East tournament quarterfinals, Butler enters that round as a favorite. Getting its first win in this Madison Square Garden spectacle won't be easy, facing a longtime rival which has controlled the series lately and appears to be a fellow NCAA Tournament team. Xavier can erase any lingering doubt about whether it will be part of the Big Dance by knocking off the 22nd-ranked Bulldogs in Thursday night's quarterfinals. These former Midwestern Collegiate Conference foes are each making a second trip to the Big East tournament after spending one season together in the Atlantic 10. The Musketeers have won six of eight meetings since the beginning of 2010-11 and handed Butler its most lopsided loss this season, 73-56 on Feb. 21. Free College Basketball Picks. That's part of a 4-2 record against Top 25 teams for sixth-seeded Xavier (19-12, 9-9), with the only losses coming to fourth-ranked Villanova. That fact along with a .500 record in a conference with the nation's second-highest RPI would seem to be enough to garner the Musketeers an NCAA Tournament bid." Yeah, there's no doubt we're a tournament team," coach Chris Mack said. "... We've done our job, but our job isn't complete in the sense that we wanna win some games in Madison Square Garden." While Mack's team reached the Big East semifinals last season and made the NCAA Tournament, Butler's debut didn't go nearly as well, going 4-14 in league play before losing its first-round game to Seton Hall. These Bulldogs (22-9, 12-6) got a first-round bye - like the Musketeers - and earned the No. 3 seed after matching the fourth-best improvement in Big East history in terms of conference record." Sometimes you say it just to say it, but this is a really good team," Butler coach Chris Holtmann said after Saturday's 68-64 win at then-No. 24 Providence. Spoiling the Friars' senior day was a nice confidence boost after Butler split its previous six games, including home losses to Villanova and Georgetown. The other defeat was at Xavier, though Andrew Chrabascz wasn't playing due to a broken hand. The sophomore forward, who returned for the past two games, keyed the Bulldogs' 88-76 home win over the Musketeers on Jan. 10 with a team-high 19 points. One reason Xavier has won three of four meetings as Big East foes is it has shut down Butler's Kellen Dunham. Newtown Police Dept. The all-conference first-teamer has shot 8 of 33 in those matchups and averaged 8.0 points. Dunham was fourth in the Big East this season with 16.6 points per game, also ranking among the league's top 3-point shooters at 42.4 percent with 72 made. Another key may be how Kameron Woods, second in the Big East with 9.6 rebounds per game, fares against Musketeers center Matt Stainbrook. The 6-foot-10 senior failed to reach double figures in four straight games before scoring a season-high 26 in Saturday's 74-73 win at Creighton, helping Xavier avoid a third straight loss." I think we have a spot somewhere in the tournament, but by no means are we comfortable or complacent with what we're slated as or how we've done so far," said Stainbrook, who averages 12.0 points. Unanimous all-Big East rookie selection Trevon Bluiett scores a team-high 12.2 per game for Xavier, which leads this all-time series 34-18." We know them, they know us. There's not gonna be a lot of surprises," Mack said. "... We can't get out-toughed. Winning Sports Picks. When it comes to 50-50 balls, Butler takes a lot of pride in getting those loose ones. I know their coach was really upset with his team that they didn't do that job (in the last meeting). We'll try to make them upset one more time."
