By CHRIS GOFF ISL Correspondent As Butler prepares for what coach Brad Stevens terms the “reward” for a long season — the month of March — the time is ripe for an assessment of each player’s strengths and weaknesses. Enough games have been played for trends to solidify, and the statistical readings have mostly shaken […]
Continue ReadingBy CHRIS GOFF ISL Correspondent INDIANAPOLIS”Maybe Butler isn’t overrated or too unathletic. Maybe Saint Louis is just really, really good. It took less than 72 hours for that realization to crystallize locally and nationally, after Saint Louis followed Tuesday’s upset of No. 24 Virginia Commonwealth with a 65-61 outclassing of the Bulldogs on Friday night […]
Continue ReadingBy CHRIS GOFF ISL Correspondent The Bulldogs face a big game Friday. Saint Louis beat them pretty easily in January, making them look bad in a way that few teams can. Now Butler gets a second chance. The truth is the Bulldogs don’t match up well with the Billikens. They don’t have as much team […]
Continue ReadingBy CHRIS GOFF ISL Correspondent What do you get when you combine a rare five-game league winning streak for VCU with the shaky stretch that is Butler’s first extended lull of the season? A new No. 1 in IndySportsLegends.com’s weekly Atlantic 10 power rankings. The Rams have edged past the Bulldogs with the cresting momentum […]
Continue ReadingBy CHRIS GOFF ISL Correspondent Trying to make sense out of the Atlantic 10 isn’t easy. Almost 42 percent of the games this season have been decided by six points or fewer. Projections by leading bracketologists have Butler, VCU, Saint Louis, La Salle and Temple in the NCAA tournament, but there is no guarantee any […]
Continue ReadingBy CHRIS GOFF ISL Correspondent Butler center Andrew Smith will miss Wednesday night’s game against Charlotte, coach Brad Stevens announced Monday. Smith suffered an abdominal injury during Saturday afternoon’s 59-56 victory over George Washington. Stevens said there was no damage to Smith’s ribs. With the ball loose at one point, Smith attempted to pursue it […]
Continue ReadingBy CHRIS GOFF ISL Correspondent As the conference season reaches the midway point, the Atlantic 10 is shaping up as a three-team race. VCU, Butler and Saint Louis pretty much hold the balance of power. Charlotte has a chance to reach 10 wins, but the 49ers are entering the toughest portion of their schedule and […]
Continue ReadingBy CHRIS GOFF ISL Correspondent When ninth-ranked Butler faces Saint Louis tonight in a nationally televised game on CBS Sports Network, it’s big for a number of reasons. Let’s consider some of the storylines in the matchup of two of the top teams in the Atlantic 10. — Rotnei Clarke is back just in time […]
Continue ReadingBy CHRIS GOFF ISL Correspondent Possession of first place in the Atlantic 10 standings is on the line Thursday night when No. 9 Butler visits Saint Louis. The two schools are meeting for the first time as A-10 foes after competing together for nine seasons in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference in the 1980s and early 90s. […]
Continue ReadingBy CHRIS GOFF ISL Correspondent A projection Sunday by John Templon, who forecasts the National Invitation Tournament field for the Big Apple Buckets website, has seven Atlantic 10 teams in the 32-team NIT. For some schools, such as Charlotte, an NIT berth would be an improvement on preseason expectations. For others, like Saint Joseph’s, missing […]
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