Butler edges Cleveland State, wins Horizon League title

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/28/2009 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Willie Veasley scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and the 24th-ranked Butler Bulldogs secured their third consecutive regular season Horizon League title with a 58-56 victory over the Cleveland State Vikings.

Matt Howard added 12 points for the Bulldogs (25-4, 15-3 HL), who have secured the top seed in the Horizon League tournament, meaning Butler will advance to the semifinals next Saturday and will have home-court advantage throughout. Ronald Nored contributed 11 points in the victory.

Norris Cole tallied a game-high 17 points for the Vikings (21-10, 12-6), who had won eight straight conference games. J'Nathan Bullock provided 13 points and eight rebounds, while Cedric Jackson had 11 points in the loss.

Down by six at halftime, Cleveland State made it a four-point contest several times in the early portion of the second half, but six straight points from Butler made it 48-38 with 11:44 to play.

The Vikings went almost six minutes without a field goal before three consecutive three-pointers -- two from Jackson and one from Bullock -- brought the visitors to within 50-49 with 7 1/2 minutes left.

After Veasley missed a pair of free throws and a three-point attempt, Cleveland State took its first lead of the second half on Trevon Harmon's layup two minutes later.

Jackson capped the 12-0 run with a free throw, but Gordon Hayward's dunk for Butler promptly tied the game at 52.

George Tandy hit a layup with just over two minutes left to put the Vikings ahead by a pair, and Hayward connected on only 1-of-2 from the line with 1:40 left for Butler, making it a 56-55 game.

After a Bulldogs steal on the ensuing possession, Veasley missed a three-point attempt, but Nored was right there for an offensive rebound and layup, giving the hosts a 57-56 edge with 53 seconds to go.

Bullock was off on a baseline jumper at the other end, and Nored made only 1- of-2 from the line with 16.7 seconds left to give Butler a two-point lead.

Cole tried to win the game for the Vikings, but his three-point attempt drew only air, and Butler held on in the final seconds for the regular season conference championship.

Butler scored the first five points of the contest, but a 9-0 Cleveland State run put the Vikings ahead, 17-12, six minutes into the game. Jackson led the burst with four points.

The Bulldogs answered with a 13-2 spurt, with Veasley contributing four points. Howard's layup with almost 10 minutes left put the hosts ahead by five. Butler extended its lead to 11, 36-25, on the heels of a 9-0 run and held a 38-32 advantage at halftime.

Game Notes

Butler is an impressive 14-1 at home, with its only loss coming to Loyola- Illinois on February 15...Cleveland State is 7-8 on the road...The Bulldogs swept the season series, 2-0 and leads the all-time series with the Vikings, 25-6...Butler shot 56.1 percent from the field, while Cleveland State shot 40.4 percent...Hayward finished with nine points and six rebounds, while Shelvin Mack had eight points and eight rebounds for Butler.

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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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