For the third time this season, the Xavier Musketeers and the Butler Bulldogs will share the hardwood as they meet on Wednesday night for a quarterfinal matchup in the Big East Tournament. A win for Xavier means another Top 50 RPI victory, thus strengthening the team’s chances for an at-large bid in the Big Dance.
Will the Musketeers throw Butler out of the tourney? Or will the Bulldogs inch close to winning their first ever Big East Tournament Championship? Read on below for our preview of this quarterfinal clash. And for more of Thursday’s conference tournament action, check out our preview of Michigan vs. Illinois.
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Xavier Musketeers vs. Butler Bulldogs Betting Preview
Xavier ended its regular season on a thrilling note, winning over the Creighton Bluejays, 74-73, on Saturday. The Musketeers look to take up where they left off when they face Butler next.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Xavier is heading into this matchup with confidence on its side, as they beat the Bulldogs in their previous meeting. Behind Myles Davis’ 18 points and solid rebounding—Xavier won the rebounding battle 39-35—the Musketeers were able to win their rematch with Butler 73-56 on February 21. Xavier lost to the Bulldogs in the first meeting, 88-76.
Xavier will lean heavily on the scoring prowess of the trio of Trevon Bluiett (12.2 PPG), Matt Stainbrook (12.0 PPG), and Davis (11.0 PPG) to thwart Butler’s top rated defense. Bluiett and Davis gives Xavier a pair of constant outside threats, as the two combined for 94 of the team’s 201 threes back in the regular season. They scored 29 total points, which included four three-pointers, in the February win over Butler.
Stainbrook, on the other hand, is coming off a fantastic performance in their most recent game over Creighton, where he scored 26 points and grabbed nine boards. He’s averaged 13.3 points and 8.7 rebounds over Xavier’s’ past three games.
Xavier is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games against Butler.
After edging the defending Big East Tournament champions in their last game of conference play, the Bulldogs now set their sights on winning a rubber match with Xavier. By beating the Providence Friars 68-64 on Saturday, Butler was able to secure a No. 3 seed, setting the Bulldogs up for an early tourney date with the No. 6 Musketeers.
Despite losing big in its last meeting with Xavier, Butler figures to be a better team this time around mainly because of Andrew Chrabascz’s presence. The sophomore forward, who scored 19 points in the first encounter with Butler this season, was absent in the second one because of a broken hand. Now that he’s back, Butler will have its best lineup ready to face Xavier. Chrabascz is the Bulldogs’ third leading scorer, averaging 10.9 points per game thus far this season.
The Bulldogs, who went to the free throw line just 16 times in the second meeting with Xavier, will have to rediscover their aggressiveness to expose the Musketeers’ susceptible defense that surrenders 68 points per game to opponents on 43.8 percent shooting. This tactic was used to the hilt by Butler in Game One, when it went 32-of-42 from the free throw line.
The under is 7-0 in last seven games of Butler, which is 45th in the nation in scoring defense with only 61 points per game allowed.
