The madness finally starts! The stage is set for college basketball’s premier basketball tournament and based on the matchups put forth by the selection committee on Sunday, it’s bound to be another thrilling ride once again. One game that will surely capture the imagination of hoops fans in the first round is the Midwest showdown between No. 6 Butler and No. 11 Texas.
Which team will emerge victorious in this mouth-watering clash? Read on below for a breakdown of this first-round matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our first-round previews of North Carolina vs. Harvard and Oregon vs. Oklahoma State.
[sc:MarchMadness ]March Madness No. 6 Butler Bulldogs vs. No. 11 Texas Longhorns Preview
Where: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh
When: Thursday, March 19, 2:45 PM ET
Line: Butler Bulldogs (+2) vs. Texas Longhorns (-2); total: 123.5 – view all March Madness lines
Betting on the Butler Bulldogs
After a one-year hiatus, the Butler Bulldogs (22-10) are right back in the hunt for the NCAA championship, securing the sixth seed in the Midwest Region of the national tournament. It has been a fantastic turnaround for the Bulldogs who failed to qualify for last year’s tournament after finishing with a woeful 14-17 record, their first losing season since 2004-05.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Masterminding their renaissance is new head coach Chris Holtmann. In his first season in charge of the squad, Holtmann managed to turn around the Bulldogs’ fortunes, guiding them to a top-25 season this year. His efforts this season have been duly recognized, with Holtmann named as a semifinalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year award.
All of that wouldn’t be possible without the inspired play of Kellen Dunham. The 6-6 guard has provided the offensive firepower for the Bulldogs this season, leading the team in scoring with 16.7 PPG (fourth-best in the Big East). Dunham’s outstanding play has earned him a spot in the All-Big East first team.
In their last game against the Xavier Musketeers in the semifinals of the Big East tournament, Dunham scored 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field. It was a terrible shooting night for Dunham particularly from beyond the arc where he went just 1-of-6 from the three-point area.
The Bulldogs need Dunham to be sizzling from the perimeter in their game against Texas as the Longhorns will surely clog the paint because of their tremendous size advantage. Dunham can’t do it all alone, though, and Holtmann will rely on Alex Barlow and Andrew Chrabascz to provide some offensive support for the Bulldogs.
Barlow scored 22 points while Chrabascz chipped in 16 markers of his own in a losing effort to Xavier. What will definitely delight coach Holtmann was Barlow’s terrific shooting from the outside. He drained five three-pointers in the game against the Musketeers. He will need to duplicate that feat for them to beat the Longhorns and advance into the second round.
The under is 5-0 in Butler’s last five games overall.
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Betting on the Texas Longhorns
The Texas Longhorns can finally heave a huge sigh of relief after they sealed a spot in the national tournament, grabbing the 11th seed in the Midwest Region. Even though they finished with just a 20-13 record (8-10 in the Big 12), the Longhorns managed to sneak in because of their strength of schedule and their three wins against top-50 RPI teams.
They showed their true potential in their Big 12 tournament matchup with Iowa State, pushing the eventual champions to the brink in their quarterfinal showdown last week. In fact, the Longhorns led 67-57 with four minutes remaining in the clock before suffering a late-game collapse, allowing a back-breaking 12-0 run that gave the Cyclones another comeback win.
With that said, the Longhorns are still a definite threat to go deep in this tournament because of their outstanding defense. They allowed just 60.4 points per game this season, 39th in the entire nation. The Longhorns have also been superb on the rebounding end, corralling 39.7 boards per game this campaign. They also lead the country in blocks, swatting away 7.9 shots per outing.
Defense alone won’t give them a spot in the second round, though. For them to stand a chance against Butler, they will need to impose their size advantage against the Bulldogs. The onus is on Jonathan Holmes, Connor Lammert and Cameron Ridley to dominate for the Longhorns inside the shaded area. They combined for 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field in their last game against Iowa State.
A worrying concern for the Longhorns, however, is their horrible record when facing top-caliber opponents. They are just 3-10 in games against ranked teams this season.
Writer’s Prediction
Texas (-2) stuns Butler, 68-60.
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