TERRE HAUTE —
How badly did Indiana State want to get Butler as its BracketBusters opponent?
Every coach of every participating team gets to send in a request list to his league for consideration by ESPN before pairings are set. ISU coach Greg Lansing had Butler listed No. 1 and No. 2 on his request list.
The request was granted. On Feb. 18, ISU will play Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
“It’s a great game for the fans and both schools. It’s outstanding. It’ll be a lot of fun to play them,” Lansing said Monday.
The game was not chosen as one of ESPN’s televised games and there is not a game time set as of press time.
The matchup pairs two long-time rivals that have played 122 times, but not since the 2007-08 season. The interruption of the ISU-Butler series — which had been played continuously for 30 years up through ISU’s 76-48 loss at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Nov. 14, 2007 — was and is a bone of contention for many ISU fans.
Since then, Butler coach Brad Stevens has maintained that Butler had to make room on its schedule for multiple national television appearances during the nonconference portion of its schedule. Something had to give schedule-wise, in this case, the long-time rivalry with ISU.
“You only have so many opportunities and the question is how often do you want to play a home-and-away series? You can either get neutral-court opportunities or guaranteed home games where you have revenue-producing opportunities. You weigh all of those factors together,” Stevens told a Terre Haute crowd at Idle Creek Golf Course on May 3.
Indeed, Butler has become a regular foe for major conference teams since the ISU series ended and has become a household name after its national runner-up finishes in 2010 and 2011.
Stevens later told the Tribune-Star he didn’t think the end of the series was “a forever thing.” ISU coach Greg Lansing echoed Stevens’ sentiments about the interruption of the rivalry.
“We should be playing each other, and I think Brad would agree with that, and I think he wants to play us. I understand their situation. They have had a chance to play on national television against some pretty good teams. That’s hard to pass up,” Lansing said.
Many ISU fans aren’t as convinced. Though ISU was dropped, Butler has maintained its annual in-state series with Ball State and Evansville during the same period. Butler has also found time in its schedule to play one-off home games against what would be considered lesser foes. Savannah State, Gardner-Webb and Oakland City all played at Butler this season.
Some ISU fans also point to the Sycamores’ three wins in their last four meetings with Butler — including a 72-64 victory at Hulman Center in 2006 when then-undefeated Butler was ranked 14th in the nation — as evidence that the Bulldogs want no part of the Sycamores.
No matter the reason for the interruption, the series is on now. Butler will have to return its home game and play at Hulman Center during the 2012-13 or 2013-14 seasons.
The Bulldogs (12-11, 6-5 Horizon League) are currently tied with Detroit for fifth place in the Horizon League. Six-foot-11 center Andrew Smith leads Butler at 10.2 points per game. As of Monday, ISU (113th) and Butler (124th) were comparable in the Ratings Percentage Index, according to realtimerpi.com. ISU is 13-9 and 4-7 in the MVC.
One complaint about BracketBusters is that the matchup — often against a team that is unfamiliar to both fans and the teams themselves — sticks out like a sore thumb smack dab in the middle of the Missouri Valley Conference race.
The BracketBusters game occurs before the final week of the MVC season. ISU’s last loss before its NCAA Tournament run last season was at home to Morehead State in its BracketBusters game.
The matchup against Butler should provide an exception to that rule from ISU’s perspective. The long-sought game against the Bulldogs should ensure that there’s no letdown and that it will be approached much as a conference game would.
“I completely think that’s true. We played Morehead State last year, and even though they had a first-round NBA pick [Kenneth Faried], it was hard for our fans to know what they were all about. I think both sets of fans can get excited about this,” Lansing said.
Though ISU was not among the teams chosen, five MVC teams (Creighton, Wichita State, Missouri State, Drake and Northern Iowa) will appear on one of the three main ESPN networks during BracketBusters weekend. No other conference had more than three teams chosen for the televised games.
Sunday’s late box
INDIANA STATE (90) — Printy 3-4 0-0 9, Walker 3-4 0-0 6, Odum 2-6 5-8 10, Richard 4-8 1-2 9, Lathan 10-16 7-7 27, Kitchell 0-0 0-0 0, Eitel 2-6 0-0 6, Gant 2-2 0-0 4, McWhorter 4-6 2-3 12, Mahurin 1-6 5-6 7. Totals 31-58 20-26 90.
EVANSVILLE (81) — Sawvell 5-7 1-2 11, Harris 4-7 11-11 19, Holmes 3-5 1-1 8, Taylor 4-8 1-2 9, Ryan 6-20 10-10 23, Nelson 0-1 0-0 0, Jones 0-2 0-0 0, Cox 3-6 0-0 7, Cesnulevicius 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 27-59 24-26 81.
Halftime—Indiana St. 42-31. End Of Regulation—Tied 66. End Of 1st Overtime—Tied 79. 3-Point Goals—Indiana St. 8-20 (Printy 3-4, McWhorter 2-2, Lu. Eitel 2-5, Odum 1-2, Lathan 0-2, Mahurin 0-2, Richard 0-3), Evansville 3-13 (Holmes 1-2, Cox 1-4, Ryan 1-5, Nelson 0-1, Jones 0-1). Fouled Out—Harris, Lathan, Ryan, Sawvell. Rebounds—Indiana St. 34 (Richard 7), Evansville 33 (Taylor 10). Assists—Indiana St. 23 (Odum 7), Evansville 22 (Taylor 8). Total Fouls—Indiana St. 26, Evansville 26. A—5,836.
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