COLLEGE BASKETBALL – THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
Butler Bulldogs (14-4) vs Loyola Chicago Ramblers (12-5)
The Loyola Chicago Ramblers will host the Butler Bulldogs at the Joseph J. Gentile Center in Chicago on Thursday night.
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Loyola Chicago won the last meeting by a narrow 71-67 victory on February 16 of last year.
The Ramblers’ Geoff McCammon scored 26 points, going 6 of 7 from 3-point range, to lead his team to a 55-50 victory Friday night to cross town rival Illinois-Chicago. Courtney Stanley had seven assists for the Ramblers, who broke a three-game losing streak with the win. The Ramblers held edges of 42.9 percent to 30.5 percent in shooting and 41-31 in rebounding and knocked down 5-of-8 long-range attempts in the second half while holding the Flames to a dismal 18.5 percent shooting effort from the field. The Ramblers dominated in the inside post outscoring UIC 29-18 from the paint.
Meanwhile the Bulldogs thumped Youngstown State 91-61 on Saturday as Shelvin Mack scored 24 points to lead his team to their sixth straight victory. Matt Howard helped with 22 points, while Willie Veasley had 13 points and Zach Hahn had 12 in the win. Butler scored the game’s first eight points and finished the game shooting 57 percent while their defensive play held the Penguins to 46 percent. Butler’s 7-0 Horizon League record is driven by their conference leading scoring offense that shoots an average of 50 percent from the field. They play solid defense and dish out a team average of 14 assists per game. The Bulldogs improved to No. 20 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll this week and ranks 23rd in the latest RPI standings.
The odds makers have the Bulldogs as –12 -point favorites in this one.
The Bulldogs are 5-1 in road games, with their only loss coming at UAB. The Ramblers are 7-1 at home.
Expect Butler to come on strong and finish winning by double digits.
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