Butler, Saint Louis face off in key Atlantic 10 battle
By COLLIN O’CONNOR
ISL Correspondent
Sitting alone at the top of the Atlantic 10 Conference standings, Butler has put itself into a position to compete for and possibly win a title in its first year in the league. With just four road games after Thursday’s game in St. Louis, the Bulldogs will be in prime position with a win.
The Billikens have different ideas as they try to get themselves back into the championship race.
At 14-5, including a win over No. 20 New Mexico on New Year’s Eve, the Billikens still have a chance to make a run to get into the field of 68, or at the very least put themselves in a position on the bubble before Selection Sunday. A win over No. 9 Butler on Thursday would go a long way in improving their resume. A win is a possibility in St. Louis, where the Billikens have won nine of their last ten games.
In order to make that happen, they have to play their pace. This St. Louis team cannot score with Butler, averaging just over 66 points per game this season on 35.5% shooting from beyond the arc, so it will be critical for the Billikens to limit the number of possessions tonight and slow the game down.
Thus far, they have done a good job of that in recent weeks, playing the 14th slowest pace in the conference and allowing only 0.98 points per possession, which is in the top half of the conference.
Butler, on the other hand, will have to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves against a team that generally does not beat itself. St. Louis is second in the conference in turnovers per game and commits the least amount of fouls per game.
It will be important for the Bulldogs to continue to dominate the offensive glass. St. Louis is one of the worst teams in the conference in rebounding percentage. With Andrew Smith continuing to improve this season and Butler’s consistent crashing off the boards on offense, that will definitely be a way in which the Bulldogs can control the game.
Four Billikens currently average over eight points a game, making it hard to predict which player might break through.
With that and the fact that this team is one of the most fundamentally sound in the conference, it will take a good effort on both ends for the Bulldogs to come away with this one.
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