Butler 2009-2010 Basketball Betting Prediction, Odds, Lines,

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Butler 2008-2009 Record: 26-6, 15-3

Butler 2008-2009 Post Season: NCAA

Butler Coach: Brad Stevens (56-10 at Butler, 56-10 overall)

Butler Projected Starters:

• Shelvin Mack, Sophomore, Guard, 11.9 points per game
• Ronald Nored, Sophomore, Guard, 4.2 points per game
• Willie Veasley, Senior, Guard, 8.9 points per game
• Gordon Hayward, Sophomore, Forward, 13.1 points per game
• Matt Howard, Junior, Forward, 14.8 points per game

Butler Player to Watch: Matt Howard

Butler Key Losses: None

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2009-2010 Butler Season Preview

Those who predicted Butler couldn’t keep the pace coming off a school-record 30-4 season and the graduation of two excellent guards in A.J. Graves and Horizon League Player of the Year Mike Green missed the mark in 2009.

Butler went 26-6 and narrowly missed beating LSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It marked the third consecutive 20-win season for the Bulldogs and 11th in 13 years. And it appears on the verge of happening again. Butler’s entire team – including Player of the Year Matt Howard – is back.

Sure, Butler was upset at home by Cleveland State in the Horizon League Tournament championship game, but its losses were infrequent and well-spaced. One of the losses came in a non-league game at nationally ranked Ohio State by three points. All the other losses – save for a 75-66 setback at Green Bay – were by four points or less.

In all, it was a remarkable second season for coach Brad Stevens, who easily won league Coach of the Year honors with only one starter (Howard) returning from his first team. Not only that, three of his starters were true freshmen.

They not only return, they return with expenence.

2009-2010 Butler Backcourt

How to improve on two excellent senior guards would seem to be a multi-year project, except three freshmen stepped in and did the job immediately last season. Not only did Gordon Hayward, Shelvin Mack and Ronald Nored improve the position, they made it bigger, especially with Hayward, a 6-8 lad said to have some NBA potential. Mack is 6-3 and Nored 6-0.

The three combined for nearly 30 points a game and 258 assists.

Mack became only the third freshman in Butler history to record at least 100 assists, while Hayward finished in the Top 10 among Horizon League players in 10 different offensive categories, including points scored at No.8 with 13.1 per game.

Hayward also made all-league along with Howard, and Mack made all-tourney along with Howard, even though the Bulldogs lost the championship game.

In a guard-driven league, Butler has the best and deepest backcoun, and almost all of them have two or three years left to play.

2009-2010 Butler Frontcourt

Howard was the league’s Newcomer of the Year in 2008 and followed that up with a Player of the Year honor as a sophomore.

One of 10 players on the roster from Indiana this season, he scored 14.8 points per game while handling 6.8 rebounds last year as he became the second consecutive league Player of the Year from Butler.

Willie Veasley became the other guy in the mix, except he’s the first Butler player to appear in three consecutive NCAA Tournaments. One of the few our-of-state players – he’s from bordering Illinois – Veasley has been nearly doubling his scoring output from season to season despite being a little undersized to be a forward.

Veasley averaged 2.7 points as a freshman, 4.5 as a sophomore and 8.9 as a junior. You get the impression he could score more, but he doesn’t need to.

Howard is the key, though. He led the Bulldogs in scoring in 18 of their 32 games and was the leading rebounder 20 times.

Against LSU, in a 75-71 first-round NCAA loss, Howard scored 22 and grabbed eight rebounds. He’s one reason Butler was able to redshin 6-9 Emerson Kampen last season.

2009-2010 Butler Predictions

All this and three new players. Guard Chase Stigall and Kampen are both expected to play after redshircing a year, and 6-10 Andrew Smith has been added to the mix.

At least the Bulldogs have some seniors, but only one – Veasley – is projected as a staner. This is a program seemingly built to last.

The next step is to win those tough non-conference games to prove themselves more than a sectional powerhouse. There is no question that Butler’s for real. How real will be determined by the current group of Bulldogs, who appear to have the luxury of time. Butler Finish in the Horizon League: 1st
Butler Projected Post-season Tournament: NCAA

Butler Betting Odds

Butler Odds to Win 2010 Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament: +5000

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