GAME NOTES: The 16th-ranked Butler Bulldogs face the newest member of the Horizon League this afternoon, as they entertain the Valparaiso Crusaders at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. At 12-1, Butler has matched the second-best 13-game start in program history (13-0 in 2001-02). The Bulldogs, who are playing just their fourth home game of the season today, are riding a four-game win streak, and they barely escaped against Southern Illinois in their most recent outing, beating the Salukis in a 57-55 final on January 28th. Butler is 1-1 in league play this year, having topped Detroit (53-46) two days before bowing to defending HL champion Wright State (43-42). Valparaiso enters today's fray sporting an impressive 11-3 mark, and the team is fresh off Wednesday's 93-46 rout of Indiana Wesleyan, putting the brakes on a brief two-game slide. Both losses came against national powers, including a 90-58 blowout at top- ranked North Carolina last Sunday. The Crusaders, formerly of the Mid-Continent Conference, are 3-3 in true road games this season and all three setbacks were to teams currently ranked in the Top-25 (UNC, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt). The Bulldogs own a 60-32 edge in the all-time series with the Crusaders, and they have won each of the last three meetings, including a 60-47 decision at Valpo last year. These two teams last played as conference foes during the 1977-78 season.

Solid play at both ends of the court is what Valparaiso head coach Homer Drew has preached to his team for nearly two decades. Just 19 wins shy of 600 for his career, Drew has the 2007-08 Crusaders playing at an extremely high level. Sure Valpo was overmatched in recent bouts with North Carolina and Wisconsin, but the club has won both of its conference games to date and is poised to make a serious splash in this, its first year in the Horizon League. Boasting four players averaging double digits in scoring, Valpo is netting 74.5 ppg behind 46.9 percent shooting from the field, which includes a 41.4 percent mark from three-point range. Jarryd Loyd, a 51.2 percent shooter from downtown who has yet to start a game this season, is the team's current scoring leader at 11.7 ppg. Shawn Huff (11.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg), Samuel Haanpaa (11.3 ppg) and Urule Igbavboa (10.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg) round out the offensive-minded quartet. Loyd paced the Crusaders in their recent rout of Indiana Wesleyan, netting 19 points and matching his career-high with nine assists. Freshman Bryan Bouchie added 12 points and tied his career-best with nine rebounds. In all, five Crusaders reached double figures and it was a nice bounce-back effort after the debacle in Chapel Hill.

Led by the backcourt duo of A.J. Graves and Mike Green, Butler is off to another tremendous start. Graves and Green are averaging a combined 31.3 ppg and both are shooting at least 40 percent from three-point land. Graves is also the team leader in steals (21) and he is converting a stellar 94.1 percent of his free throws, while Green serves as the team's primary playmaker with 64 assists (nearly five per game). Green had his worst outing in the Bulldogs' lone loss of the season (Wright State), scoring just eight points. Since then, however, the 6-1 senior from Philadelphia is averaging 18 ppg. Green poured in 19 points in the recent win over Southern Illinois, followed closely by freshman forward Matt Howard who tallied 15. Graves chipped in 10 points, but his 3-of-11 shooting effort was far from impressive. The team as a whole shot just 40.5 percent from the field, but took advantage of 16 Saluki turnovers, turning them into 24 points, and scored 21 points from the foul line compared to just three for SIU. Stifling defensive pressure has been the key to Butler's early success, as foes are turning the ball over nearly 15 times per tilt while generating just 57.1 ppg.

Valpo already has a quality HL win over Wright State to its credit, but Butler is the better team here and should prevail in front of the hometown faithful.