should be a heckva a game, good luck...
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Butler goes for win at No. 21 Ohio State
Butler's Bulldogs were 30-4 last season. They are 8-0 this season, plus No. 3 (Ratings Percentage Index) and No. 19 (Sagarin) in computer rankings.
So why aren't they in The Associated Press Top 25? Simple. No marquee victories.Butler will try to change that in today's game at No. 21 Ohio State. It is a rare chance for Butler, which hasn't played a ranked team in a regularly scheduled game since losing at No. 5 Duke in January 2003.
(The Bulldogs' other Top 25 opponents were in the NCAA Tournament, NIT Season Tip-off and BracketBuster pairings.)
Analysts Dick Vitale of ESPN and Clark Kellogg of CBS said Butler doesn't necessarily need to beat Ohio State to validate its record. Both compared Butler to Gonzaga, the flagship program for schools not belonging to the six BCS conferences.
"Now, that being said, it's always nice to beat someone that people don't expect you to beat, especially on the road," Kellogg said. "That's an opportunity to raise more attention and raise more eyebrows around the country."
Kellogg said he evaluates teams on how well they compete on the road, even if they don't win. Butler has another date with a Top 25 team in a Dec. 23 visit to No. 10 Xavier. To win at Ohio State would be important for the Bulldogs, Vitale said.
"Win there, and there's no question Butler will be in my rankings Sunday night and both major polls on Monday," Gary Parrish of sportsline.com wrote in an e-mail. "So it's a big Saturday for the Bulldogs, and this is arguably the most interesting game of the weekend."
Butler and Ohio State are meeting for the third time in a four-game series agreed to by Buckeyes coach Thad Matta, a former Butler player and coach.
Butler beat Ohio State 65-46 last year at Hinkle Fieldhouse and lost at Ohio State 79-69 in overtime in 2005. The Buckeyes complete the series next season at Hinkle.
Butler is 11-2 in its past 13 games against BCS opponents, and has a 10-game winning streak over BCS teams during the regular season.
As is customary at Butler, the coach minimizes the outcome of any single game. That began with Barry Collier and has continued under Matta, Todd Lickliter and Brad Stevens.
"What happens now doesn't necessarily define you," Stevens said. "It's how you respond to it, either way."
One thing about the Bulldogs. They stay on message.
"We look at every game the same," junior forward Willie Veasley said. "We go out there knowing that we've got a chance.''
Matta has shown he can recruit with any coach in America. Newcomers this year include two McDonald's All-Americans, guard William Buford and 7-foot B.J. Mullens, and junior college transfer Jeremie Simmons. Butler also tried to recruit Simmons.
None of the Ohio State freshmen start. Butler starts three -- Shelvin Mack, Gordon Hayward and Ronald Nored.
Hayward said the Ohio State game would be "a lot more fun" because of the atmosphere but said the Bulldogs don't worry about opponents.
"The name on the front of our jersey," Hayward said, "not theirs."
