Butler blasts UIC

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/13/2009 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Howard scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds, as the 15th-ranked Butler Bulldogs handled the Illinois- Chicago Flames, 80-61, at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Gordon Hayward added 18 points and six boards for the Bulldogs (22-2, 13-1 Horizon League), who stretched their home winning streak to 16 games. Zach Hahn shot 5-of-9 from beyond the arc and tallied 15 points. Shelvin Mack finished with 12 points.

Illinois-Chicago (11-14, 4-11) was paced by Josh Mayo, who had 19 points and five rebounds. Spencer Stewart ended with nine points and five assists for the Flames, who were coming off a win over Detroit on Tuesday after a five-game slide.

The struggling Flames pulled to within two on a Stewart shot from beyond the arc just over three minutes into the game. But from that point on, it was all Bulldogs. Butler responded with a 18-3 run to take a commanding 25-8 lead with 7:52 left until half. Hahn hit three three-pointers during the run.

Butler opened its largest advantage of the half when Mack drilled a pair of foul shots to put the home team ahead 36-17 with about 3 1/2 minutes until half.

Illinois-Chicago outscored the Bulldogs 9-2 in the final minutes of the half to cut the gap to 38-26 heading into the locker room. Howard had 13 points at halftime.

A Mayo three-pointer pulled the Flames within seven points with 16:42 remaining. But Butler essentially wrapped up the game by responding with a 15-5 spurt. Garrett Butcher's tip in with about 11 1/2 minutes to go culminated the run and gave the home team a 58-41 lead.

Illinois-Chicago could only get as close as eight the remainder of the way.

Game Notes

Butler shot 53.7 percent from the field, while the Flames hit 41.8 percent of their shots...The Bulldogs hold a 27-11 all-time series lead....Butler has won the last six meetings, including a 59-52 triumph in Chicago last month....Illinois-Chicago coach Jimmy Collins did not coach the game because he was attending his mothers funeral in Syracuse, NY.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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