Elijah Brown, a Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, Calif.) senior, signed a letter of intent last Wednesday to play men’s basketball at Butler.

Brown previously gave his verbal commitment to Butler in January.

The 6-foot-4-inch shooting guard averaged 17.3 points per game this season for Mater Dei while leading the team to its second consecutive California state championship.

“I’m really excited to officially welcome Elijah to the Butler basketball family,” coach Brad Stevens said in a statement released by the Butler athletics department. “Elijah is another great example of the type of student-athlete we like to attract to Butler.

He is a very versatile guard who can do a number of different things, including score the basketball in a variety of ways.”

Mater Dei went 34-2 in each of the past two seasons with Brown on the roster, with each season concluding with a state title.

“Anytime you recruit a young man who has two state championships and has played in those environments and under that kind of spotlight, that certainly adds to his ability to handle those types of experiences once he gets here,” Stevens said.

Brown is a highly-touted recruit who appeared on Rivals.com’s rankings of the top-150 recruits in the country. The Los Angeles Times also selected Brown to its 10-player All-Area Team.

The guard spent the first two seasons of his high school career with St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio.

“I’ve been dreaming of playing Division I basketball since I was a kid,” Brown said in a press release. “Ever since Butler started showing interest in me and coach Stevens started coming to my games, I knew I wanted to consider going to Butler very seriously.

“Now that my dream is a reality, it’s the best thing for me. I can’t wait to get started at Butler and win some games.”

Brown is the son of Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike Brown.

It has been reported by various new outlets that Brown will coach the Cavaliers next season.

Six-foot-eleven senior Andrew Smith is looking to continue his basketball career in the U.S. or abroad.

To prepare, he’s entered St. Vincent Sports Performance’s rigorous pre-NBA draft training program, which he will continue up until the draft in late June.

“Going from college to the NBA is very different,” Smith said. “There’s no real way to simulate that except for playing in NBA games.”

Smith scored 1,147 points during his four years at Butler to go along with multiple nominations and awards.

In his senior season alone, he was a Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award finalist, posted four double-doubles and led Butler in both defensive and offensive rebounds with a combined 213 on the season.

Still, he says he has a lot of work to do, particularly in the coming months.

“He’s juggling school right now and needs to finish his internship,” said Greg Moore, sports performance specialist and strength and conditioning coach at SVSP. “But here, he’ll get individual attention outside of being part of the team.”
Moore said total body strength will definitely be a focus for Smith.

“His primary goal,” Moore said, “will be improving mobility and stability and then building a stronger foundation and range of motion.”

He said it’s still very early and  most athletes start a week or two from now. That’s good news for Smith, who has a life-changing opportunity on his hands.

But even if Smith doesn’t make the cut for the draft, there are NBA team camps in Las Vegas and Orlando in July and Euroleague events after that.

Nothing is for certain, and he’s hoping SVSP’s program can improve his skills to aid his shot at going pro.

SVSP Executive Director Ralph Reiff said St. Vincent’s top-notch, all-encompassing system has a well-deserved international reputation for being one of the best in the business.

“Our scope of services we provide to athletes is very complete from all aspects,” Reiff said. “We’re very detailed about the work we do.

“We did a lot of assessments on Andrew: how he moves, literally from his big toe to his shoulders to fingertips. We have to prepare Andrew to do things he’s never done before, and we’ve designed a very comprehensive program that addresses every aspect from physical and mental standpoint to do that.”

The staff working with Smith includes about half a dozen people. Chris Thomas of Champions Academy recently took over for nationally-renowned Ed Schilling, who departed to join the UCLA team with Steve Alford.
Smith is also getting married in a month.

He is continuing to evaluate all of his options.

“Going overseas, there are a ton of good options,” Smith said. “(My agent) knows Europe pretty well. Navigating the NBA is relatively simple, and Europe gets more complicated. But there are some very good teams there and being able to travel wouldn’t be bad either.”

Butler will be joining one of the nation’s premier basketball conferences when it enters the Big East next season.

Five teams from the new Big East, including the Butler men’s basketball team, were selected for this season’s NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Marquette (25-8, 14-4 in this season) has been a perennial contender in the Big East since departing Conference USA in 2005.

The Golden Eagles have now made three consecutive Sweet 16 appearances after their 74-72 win against Butler Saturday.

Before becoming a Big East member, Marquette won the 1977 National Championship as an independent.

The team made a run to the Final Four in 2003, led by then-coach Tom Crean and current Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade.

Other notable former Golden Eagles include Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews and Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers.

Georgetown (25-7, 14-4) was a founding member of the original Big East in 1979 and has since won the 1984 National Championship and appeared in four Final Fours.

No. 15 seed Florida Gulf Coast stunned the No. 2 seed Hoyas 78-68 in a second-round game Friday.

How the loss will affect Georgetown’s star sophomore forward Otto Porter Jr. is unclear. Porter said he is undecided on whether he will enter the NBA draft.

Notable former Hoyas include Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing, former Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson and Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert.

Villanova (20-14, 10-8) joined the Big East in 1980 and won the 1985 National Championship over conference rival Georgetown.

The Wildcats have made one Final Four appearance since then and have appeared in eight of the past nine NCAA tournaments.

No. 9 seed Villanova lost to No. 8 seed North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA tournament 78-71 Friday.

Sophomore forward JayVaughn Pinkston led the Wildcats in scoring with an average of 13.1 points per game and is second on the team in rebounding and assists.

Notable former Villanova players include Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry and Basketball Hall of Famer Paul Arizin.

St. John’s (17-16, 8-10) was also a founding member of the Big East, and the program owns the seventh-most victories in NCAA Division I basketball history.

The Red Storm have made 17 NCAA Tournament appearances since joining the conference in the 1979-80 season and advanced to the 1985 Final Four.

Notable former St. John’s players include Hall of Famer Chris Mullin, Los Angeles Lakers forward Metta World Peace and Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson.

Providence (18-14, 9-9) was an establishing member of the Big East in 1979.

The Friars have appeared in seven NCAA tournaments since joining the conference, including a trip to the 1987 Final Four when they were coached by current Louisville coach Rick Pitino.

Current Florida coach Billy Donovan was the leading scorer for that 1987 squad.

Other notable former Providence players include Hall of Fame player and coach Lenny Wilkens and former Georgetown coach John Thompson, Jr.

Seton Hall (15-18, 3-15) has also been in the Big East since the founding of the conference.

The Pirates have made nine NCAA tournament appearances, including finishing runner-up in the 1989 tournament when they lost to Michigan 80-79 in overtime.

Notable former Pirates include P.J. Carlesimo, interim coach of the Brooklyn Nets, and Milwaukee Bucks center Samuel Dalembert.

DePaul (11-21, 2-16) has been a member of the Big East since 2005 after leaving Conference USA along with Marquette.

The Blue Demons last appeared in the NCAA tournament in 2004.

Hall of Fame center George Mikan and former Detroit Pistons forward Mark Aguirre won national player of the year awards for DePaul.

Creighton (28-8, 13-5) is leaving the Missouri Valley to join the Big East.

The No. 7 seed Bluejays lost to No. 2 seed Duke 66-50 in the third round of the NCAA tournament Sunday.

Creighton has advanced to the round of 32 in the past two NCAA tournaments.

Junior forward Doug McDermott finished second in Division I in scoring this season, averaging 23.1 points per game.

The two-time All-American has not yet decided if he will forgo his senior year to enter the NBA draft or return for one more season.

Other notable former Bluejays include Baseball Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, former NBA coach Paul Silas and Atlanta Hawks forward Kyle Korver.

Xavier (17-14, 9-7) is leaving the A-10 to join the Big East.

The Musketeers have appeared in 11 of the last 13 NCAA tournaments, highlighted by berths in the Elite Eight in 2004 and 2008.

The team has also made it to at least the Sweet 16 in four of the past six seasons.

Notable former Xavier players include former Heat and Celtics forward James Posey and Pacers forward David West.

Traveling with the team to every Butler men’s basketball game are two men who do not play for the team but are just as important to the team and Butler’s fans.

Calling the Butler men’s basketball games for the last three seasons are Brandon Gaudin, Butler’s play-by-play voice, and Nick Gardner, Butler’s color analyst, on Indianapolis’s ESPN 1070 The Fan.

Gaudin is an alumnus of Butler. While Gaudin attended Butler he doubled majored in political science and communications. He also doubled minored sports broadcasting and business.

Before attending Butler Gaudin knew what he wanted to do since he was young.

“I realized that I probably would not be good enough to play baseball professionally,” Gaudin said. “So I started to listen to the announcers and realized that maybe announcing would be an opportunity to always be around the game of baseball.”

In high school Gaudin began his broadcasting career. “I talked one of my teachers in to allowing me to be on a small radio station in Evansville doing the play-by-play for high school baseball,” Gaudin said.

“It catapulted my love for play-by-play and kept me in the field of broadcasting from then until now.”

During his time at Butler Gaudin balanced his time with classes, broadcasting experience and internships. Gaudin interned for the Texas Rangers’ radio network. He also interned for ESPN in New York City.

“My motto was to get good grades,” Gaudin said. “But beyond grades I would see what I could put on my resume besides my GPA and that was by getting experience not only on campus but through internships and networking.”

As a student he was named “Most Outstanding Communications Student” and he was one of the top ten male students in his 2006 graduating class.

Gardner is also an alum of Butler. He graduated in 2004 with a degree in integrated communications specializing in public relations and advertising.

Gardner also played basketball at Butler. He played during high school and was looking to continue through college. Gardner was an all-conference and all-county athlete at North Central High School in Indianapolis.

“I was not highly recruited coming out of high school,” Gardner said.

Gardner said he had some opportunities to play at the NCAA division three level but wanted to continue playing basketball at the highest level possible.

“It was it either I’m not going to play or I was going to try to play for a scholarship,” Gardner said.

Gardner came to Butler as a walk-on the men’s basketball team as a forward during the 2000-2001 basketball season. In his senior year he earned a full scholarship.

Gardner’s and Gaudin’s paths to broadcasting live on the radio for Butler were different.

Gardner did not go straight into the broadcasting industry. After graduation Gardner went to work for his family’s bakery supply company.

Two years later, Gardner was offered to work on the radio broadcast team for Butler basketball.

Butler was looking for a new radio team for basketball after Chris Denari, former play-by-play voice for 17 years, took the job as the play-by-play voice for the Indiana Pacers on Fox Sports Indiana.

Butler hired Joe Gentry, director of corporate sponsorships and manager of radio and television, to do the play-by-play and Gardner as the color analyst.

“It just fell onto my lap,” Gardner said. “I think it was former Butler head coach Todd Lickliter who recommended me to the radio broadcast. I think he might have thought I would be good at it because I never really had any broadcasting experience and they called to offer me the job.”

“We were looking for somebody with basketball knowledge and someone who knew our system,” Gentry said. “To have a former player like Nick was the best of all possible scenarios.”

Gardner is in his seventh season as color analyst for Butler basketball.

Unlike Gardner, Gaudin immediately began in the broadcast industry after graduation.

Gaudin took a job doing play-by-play for the Salt Lake City Bees, the minor league affiliate for the Los Angeles Angels. While doing play-by-play Gaudin was also a talent producer for ESPN.

After working on radio broadcast for the Salt Lake City Bees and at ESPN, Gaudin teamed up with Erik Sorenson, former president of MSNBC, and Robert Grossman, former senior producer for Larry King Live, in 2007 to form MediaOne Management Group in New York City.

Two years later Gaudin returned to radio broadcast at the University of Evansville. Gaudin took over as the main play-by-play voice for University of Evansville athletics.

“My role at Evansville was much different than my role at Butler,” Gaudin said. “At Evansville I had to wear all hats. I taught students broadcasting and called baseball, basketball and soccer.”

During Butler’s first run to the national championship in 2010 Gaudin said he heard there was going to be a job opportunity for Butler’s play-by-play voice.

“When I heard the job was open I jumped all over it, Gaudin said. “I called right away and started interviewing. A couple months later the job, fortunately, became mine.”

“Gaudin was the best candidate we had in the field,” Gentry said. “He had the whole package we were looking for and he was our first choice.”

Gaudin is now in his third season as the play-by-play voice for Butler basketball.

For the three seasons Gaudin and Gardner have been broadcasting together, Butler fans have been able to enjoy a thorough broadcast of Butler basketball games.

“We have had, historically, good announcers in the field,” Gentry said.

“Gaudin does such a great job with the broadcast,” said Mark Minner, studio host for 1070 The Fan during Butler basketball games.

“He carries himself very professionally. He manages the game exactly the way you would want to as a play-by-play man. You really couldn’t find a better model in terms of college basketball play-by-play.”

Gaudin and Gardner arrive at each game prepared to broadcast live. Both said they spend hours studying footage of Butler and the opponent.

Before the Butler game against Marquette University Gaudin said he watched Marquette’s previous game to get to know the opponent’s players.

“One of the biggest parts of play-by-play is memorizing the other team’s player and what they look like,” Gaudin said. “I’ll make a spreadsheet with everyone’s name and statistics.”

It is also not all about studying film. Gaudin and Gardner attend some of Butler’s practices during the week and Butler’s shoot around before each game to get a better understanding of the team’s play.

“I really like to have a good idea what Butler is going to do to attack their opponent,” Gardner said. “It is my job as the analyst to try and help everybody understand what is going on the floor.”

During the broadcast Gaudin and Gardner have great chemistry with each other.

“It is important for me to be quick with what I have to say,” Gardner said, “so Brandon can get back on the microphone and explain to people what is going on.”

“Most analysts a lot of times add fluff,” Gaudin said. “Nick brings true color to the broadcast.”

Gaudin and Gardner said their chemistry makes the broadcast easy to do.

“Nick is very easy to work with,” Gaudin said. “I think Nick ranks right up there with one of the best analysts on radio that I have heard. He sure takes a lot of pressure off my shoulders.”

“He makes it real easy on me,” Gardner said. “He’s a fantastic play-by-play guy. I think he does a great job of describing not only the action but the atmosphere with which the game is surrounded.”

Each game called by Gaudin and Gardner is lively and exciting to listen because both are fans of the sport and Butler basketball.

“They have a passion for the game,” Minner said. “If you listen to a game called by Nick and Brandon it is hard not to get excited.”

“There are different kinds of broadcasters,” Gaudin said. “You either are a neutral broadcaster and you can be excited for both teams. When you are the voice for a specific team, it’s okay to be a little bit more excited for that team.

“My excitement certainly comes through. When Butler makes big runs you can tell through my voice. In close moments it’s key to maintain your composure to still be able to relay to the listeners what the heck is going on.”

“Gardner bleeds Butler blue,” Minner said.

“I’m still a fan first and foremost,” Gardner said. “To get to know the team on a personal level makes calling the game much more exiting. Just trying to give fans a small window into the team is the most fulfilling part of broadcasting.”

Though Gaudin and Gardner are fans of Butler basketball they still conduct a non-bias broadcast.

“Obviously they are working for Butler,” Minner said. “At the same point and time they are able to do it in a very neutral way. They call the game as it should be.”

Outside of radio broadcasting Gaudin and Gardner have other work.

This was the first season Gardner worked on television broadcasts for Butler basketball on WNDY-TV. Gardner was the color analyst alongside Anthony Calhoun, play-by-play voice and sports director at WISH-TV.

When the Butler basketball season is done, Gaudin works on sports broadcasting for the NCAA on Tuner Sports. Gaudin does the play-by-play for NCAA division one championships for baseball and golf.

Lexington—Butler coach Brad Stevens is the worst kept secret in college basketball.

Everyone has known that Stevens is a good coach. But this year, people are getting a chance to understand and break down just how good he is.

After all, you don’t boast a 12-4 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament record and have the most victories in Division I men’s basketball in your first six years as coach of a single team, if you are an average coach.

But it’s not just the record that is impressive about Stevens. It’s his demeanor, his commitment to Butler and his knowledge of statistics and of the game.

Now, I’m not saying that Butler takes it all for granted. School officials proved that when they extended his contract through 2021-2022 and, in all honesty, when they made the decision to join the Big East.

And I’m not saying that local media—myself included—take him for granted. We all know how good he is.

What I am saying is that I have been amazed at the celebrity status he has achieved in Lexington this week, not only among media members, but among other coaches and teams as well.

Bucknell coach Dave Paulsen said watching tapes on Butler was like watching a coaching clinic. And Marquette coach Buzz Williams said he holds Stevens in the highest regard.

“Coach Stevens is a Hall of Fame coach,” Williams said. “He’s just not old enough for you to call him that yet.”

Even former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy got in on the Stevens love.

Dungy said in a tweet: “Brad Stevens is a great coach and a great person. I would love to have my son play for him.”

So everyone is in agreement that Stevens is better than good, right?

During a press conference, Stevens said Dungy was someone he would like to think he modeled his coaching style on, but he really couldn’t say that.

“I’ve always admired and thought that the ultimate coach was Tony Dungy,” Stevens said. “But he’s way better than I am and way more calm and poised than I am.”

This coming from the guy who crossed his arms and barely looked up at the scoreboard as sophomore forward Roosevelt Jones made a last-second, game-winning basket to beat then-No. 8 Gonzaga on ESPN College GameDay in January.

“I’m not near the coach that Coach Stevens is,” Williams said. “Our kids are not going to make a shot and my reaction is going to be the same way his.

“But I have great respect and admiration that he can operate like that.”

Despite the high regard from his peers, Stevens sees it differently.

“I think that that’s been sensationalized a bit,” Stevens said. “I don’t think I’m as cool and collected as everyone likes to talk about.

“Sometimes my competitive side spirit gets the best of me.”

Seniors Andrew Smith and Rotnei Clarke have seen that side of him, which not many others have.

“He’s usually calm and he really holds his composure well,” Clarke said. “When he’s upset, you’ll know. And we’ve known”

In spite of all of this, the biggest surprise the media has had this week was being introduced to Stevens’ knowledge of the game.

It truly started after the win against Bucknell, when he was discussing the triangle-and-two defense the Bison employed. He talked about how little the Bison had played in that formation, even breaking it down on a game-by-game basis.

“They played it for six possessions against LaSalle in December,” Stevens said. “And they played it one other time in one other game that I can remember.”

People at the press conference laughed, but I think they were really in shock. There was one that was ready to test his knowledge of Marquette and Davidson.

Of course Stevens, being who he is, credited his staff, including the overnight stat-phenomenon Drew Canon.

But don’t let the humbleness fool you. Stevens is a stat guy. Andrew Smith gave an example of his preparation for games on Selection Sunday.  He said the Bulldogs learned they were paired with Bucknell and did about 15 minutes of media before going to the locker room to meet with Stevens.

“Coach came out and said, well, I’ve already watched 20 clips of Bucknell’s defense,” Smtih said. “We all just started laughing. I don’t even know where he gets that information so quickly.”

The fact remains that he does.

“He’s a pretty special coach,” Smith said, “and in my opinion the best coach in America. And I think he has proved it year in an year out.”

He manages to take less-than-top-rated players, put them together and create a national championship game caliber team. He manages to get the best from his players and gets them to buy into his program. He manages to at least fool all of us into thinking he does it all as the calmest coach in college basketball.

“I think the best piece of advice I got was right when I got the head coaching job at Butler,” Stevens said.  “(One of my friends) said, ‘you know what? What I learned was you have to be yourself.’

“So I can tell you just be yourself and if it works, it works. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. At least that way you have no regrets with it.”

Butler is looking to win. Marquette is looking for revenge.

Tomorrow’s third round match-up boasts a rematch of the two from the Maui Invitational back in November of this season.

Butler beat Marquette on a buzzer-beating, desperation heave from senior guard Rotnei Clarke.  And Marquette hasn’t forgot about it.

Marquette guard Vander Blue said that is the lasting memory of the Maui invitational for him and most of the team.

“That shot was amazing,” Marquette guard Junior Cadougan said. “It’s motivation, period.”

It hasn’t helped that ESPN created a commercial using the shot.

“I would say it’s fresh in their minds,” Marquette coach Buzz Williams said. “They’ve seen the commercial countless times on ESPN.”

But Butler has moved on.

“You know, there’s a lot of attention put on it during the tournament,” senior guard Rotnei Clarke said. “But since then, we’ve moved past it.

“It’s definitely not going to have any impact on the game tomorrow.”

The one thing the two teams can agree on is both teams have improved since November.

“They’ve obviously really improved in a lot of areas.” Clarke said. “They’ve had some guys like Wilson who has really stepped up their game since Maui and they’re really clicking on all cylinders right now.”

Marquette finished its season with a 23-8 record and its first-ever Big East Conference regular season championship.

Nearly half of the Golden Eagles’ games came against teams that were selected for the NCAA Tournament or NIT.  They were 6-7 against NCAA Tournament teams.

Marquette defeated Davidson 59-58 last night on a last-second shot in the second round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The Golden Eagles had three players in double-figures, led by the last shot hero, Vander Blue with 16 points.

It was the same play, by the same guy that led Marquette to a last-second victory over St. John’s in its regular season finale.

Clarke described Marquette as “big, physical, fast and athletic.”

“They do a great job rebounding and get of lot of points in the paint too,” Clarke said.

Some of those words Marquette players would use to describe Butler as well.

Both teams hold a positive rebounding margin, with Butler on average out-rebounding opponents by 7.6 per game and Marquette 4.3.

And physicality has become a synonym for senior center Andrew Smith and his entourage down low.

“I remember that Smith was a real physical player,” center Chris Otule said. “All their bigs are really physical and we have to focus on trying to defend without fouling.”

Smith has played against some of the best centers in the country this season including Indiana’s Cody Zeller, Gonzaga’s Kelly Olynyk and Bucknell’s Mike Muscala.

Last night he, along with the other Butler big men held Muscala, who averaged 19 points and 11 rebounds this season, to only nine points, a career-tying low and 10 rebounds.

Not only has Marquette improved, but so have the Bulldogs as they traditionally have during the post season.

“Brad Stevens is not 12-4 in the NCAA Tournament because he coaches the same team in March that he coaches in November,” Williams said.

The game could be the start of a long, or short with as many conference changes happening, rivalry for these two teams. Both will be in the Big East next season.

But as always, Butler coach Brad Stevens is focused not on next year and not on “a shot that should have never gone in,” but on what he can control; the next play, the next game.

“There is a lot that goes into being able to move on to the next play,” Butler coach Brad Stevens said. “(We) manage the good, manage the bad and understand that as long as you have season left, you can always take advantage of what’s next.”

Game time is set for 7:45 p.m. at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. It will be shown on CBS and can also be watched online on March Madness live.

Today was Butler’s final day of preparation before taking on the Bucknell Bison in the second round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Tomorrow’s game will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

Despite Butler being the higher seed at No. 6, many analysts and fans alike are calling for an upset by Bucknell in Butler-fashion.

But Butler is not looking at themselves as favorites.​

“The way we’re looking at it, there’s no favorites going into this tournament,” senior guard Rotnei Clarke said. “Anyone who is in this tournament is deserving and Bucknell has got a lot of history themselves.”

Nor does head coach Brad Stevens consider the higher No. 6 seed an advantage.

“It becomes harder to win if you’re the top seeded teams because of all the talk,” Stevens said. “And I think that’s been the case with our two Final Four runs, we played with no pressure.”

Stevens doesn’t deny the threats of the Bison.

“Bucknell has all of the pieces and all of the experiences and all of the accomplishments that go along with the teams that go deep into the NCAA Tournament out of a non-BCS league,” Stevens said. “A lot like the Butler teams of the past.”

Bucknell has the Patriot League Player of the Year, defensive player of the year and scholar-athlete of the year in center Mike Muscala.

Muscala averages 19 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. The job to guard the monster center will be placed heavily on Butler senior center Andrew Smith.

“I can guarantee you it won’t be easy,” Smith said. “He’s a great player, but it’s going to be more than just me. It’s going to be a team effort.”

The Bison set a Patriot League and school record with 28 wins and were the Patriot League Champions behind seven straight victories to end the season.

“It’s going to come down to the little things, I think,” Clarke said. “Just executing well and rebounding, offensive rebounding, just hustle plays, things that determine the end of a game.”

Bucknell coach Dave Paulsen said these are things that Butler do well and what he has modeled his program after.

“Butler has set the gold standard in my mind for preparation and attention to detail and being the team that doesn’t beat itself,” Paulsen said.  “I hold Brad Stevens and the Butler program in the highest regard you could hold a coach and a program.”

Stevens echoed the sentiments and said that he, nor the people in the basketball circles across the country, have ignored the accomplishments of the Bison.

“There’s a reason (teams) don’t schedule them in the preseason,” Stevens said. “I don’t like preparing for them, but I’ve appreciated watching them.”

In the end Stevens said it will come down to his team and how they can perform against a good team.

“We’re just trying to win so our last locker room meeting doesn’t happen today,” Stevens said. “You know, one more day together.”

Odds and Ends

In typical Butler fashion the team watched film and had a practice at Transylvania University, before coming to Rupp Arena for press conferences and an open practice on the main court.

Rotnei Clarke went with his mom and dad to a gym last night to shoot his nightly routine. He said he shot for 30-45 minutes. Andrew Smith is the one who let it slip and apologized to Clarke if he embarrassed him, but said he “had to.”

It is Clarke’s first NCAA Tournament appearance and is appearing to be soaking it all in. After the press conference he tried to take his nameplate as a souvenir. Tournament officials kept it for later use though.

Brad Steven’s son, Brady, was on the court during the team’s open practice rebounding for the team. As the clock ran down, the team went to the corner to sign autographs for Butler fans in attendance. Brady got some coaching tips from his dad and sunk two shots to end the practice.

The Butler men’s basketball team suffered its first home loss of the season Wednesday night, losing 71-67 to Charlotte at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Junior forward Erik Fromm started in place of senior center Andrew Smith who suffered an abdominal injury during last Saturday’s game against George Washington.

The Bulldogs’ (20-5, 7-3) shooters struggled in the first half, shooting only 18.2 percent from behind the three-point line and 33.3 percent from the field.

Sophomore forward Roosevelt Jones was the first half’s leading scorer and rebounder with nine points and five rebounds.

Senior guard Rotnei Clarke scored only three points in the first half, going one-for-five from beyond the arc.

The 49ers (18-6, 6-4) took a 29-27 lead to halftime after a layup at the buzzer by Charlotte guard Pierria Henry was waived off by officials, then ruled good, then waived off again.

Butler struggled inside in the second half as they missed several scoring opportunities close to the basket.

The Bulldogs were outscored in the paint 38-24.

Charlotte was ahead by as many as 10 points, with 4:26 to play in regulation.

However, Clarke would finally find his rhythm in the final minutes of the game, scoring 15 of his 18 points in the final 3:21.

A Clarke 3-pointer with 6.7 seconds remaining brought the score to 68-67 and the Bulldogs found themselves within a point of the 49ers for the first time since the 16:23 mark in the second half.

Jones then fouled Henry who went to the line and made his first free throw. Senior guard Chase Stigall grabbed the rebound after Henry missed his second attempt and coach Brad Stevens called timeout with three seconds remaining.

Following the timeout, Charlotte senior forward E. Victor Nickerson stole Stigall’s inbounds pass to end Butler’s chance for a victory.

“It would have been, probably, a disservice for Butler to win that game,” Stevens said. “I thought Charlotte was great. I knew Charlotte coming in was going to be really hard for us to matchup with, in large part because their strengths are certainly something that we counter better with Andrew (Smith) than without.”

Stevens said he will not know what adjustments he will make going into this Saturday’s contest at Fordham until he watches film of the Charlotte game.

“We started Fromm and (freshman guard) Kellen (Dunham), obviously, and we thought that, everything we had suggested that with Andrew out, Fromm and Kellen are a good combination, and so we went with that,” Stevens said. “I felt relatively good about the way our starters played, for the most part. Not everybody but most of the starting lineup. And I think that’ll probably be similar Saturday, I don’t know that we’ll start exactly the same.”

The Bulldogs’ bench was held scoreless against the 49ers’ defense.

Fromm said he knew he had to rise to the challenge of starting in place of Smith.

“In terms of defense, I feel like we have guys that are capable and guys that are willing and able to step in, especially in big games, in a home game when you have someone who’s not there,” Fromm said. “You can’t think of excuses for a guy being gone. You have to take it to the chest and say this is my duty now, this is my game, I need to fill in where Andrew’s going to be gone and we’re just going to play the way we always play and that’s the way we need to think about it until Andrew comes back.

The Bulldogs will still be without Smith for this Saturday’s game in New York.

The game at Fordham tips off at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

It has been a little more than a month since Atlantic 10 conference play began in men’s basketball.

Each school has participated in nine games in conference play.

And yet we’re no closer to determining who the league’s top dog (no pun intended) is.

The four teams that will earn a first-round bye in the 12-team conference tournament are far from set in stone.

I’m going to take a look at the league’s top nine teams—based on in-conference record—and their upcoming schedules to determine which squad will take the No. 1 seed and which teams will round out the top four seeds in the A-10 tournament.

First and ninth place in the league standings are separated by two losses. With seven conference matchups remaining for each team, it’s not ridiculous to suggest the team currently sitting in ninth place could win the league.

Butler, Virginia Commonwealth and Saint Louis occupy the first three spots, each with 7-2 marks in A-10 play.

Positions four through six are held by a trio of 6-3 squads: Massachusetts, La Salle and Xavier.

The final three teams currently above .500 in league play are Charlotte, Temple and George Washington, all holding 5-4 records.

So which team has the fast track to the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, or at least a first-round bye via a top-four seed?

That would be the La Salle Explorers.

La Salle’s final seven foes have a combined record of 26-37, worst of the top nine teams.

The Explorers’ opponents are, on the whole, statistically weak in just about every offensive and defensive category.

But let’s get to what many of you probably want to know: How difficult is Butler’s road to the A-10 throne?

The Bulldogs’ opponents have combined for 33 victories against 30 losses in A-10 action this season.

Records don’t always tell the entire story though.

Butler will be facing some poor shooting squads down the road.

On the defensive end, it is a completely different story for Butler’s remaining foes.

The Bulldogs have the toughest slate of these nine squads when it comes to opponents’ overall rebounding.

Senior center Andrew Smith’s recent injury could not have come at a worse time, as he is the team’s second-best rebounder.

Butler has the third-most difficult schedule when it comes to opponents’ shooting defense. The Bulldogs will also deal with the fourth most difficult schedule as it pertains to 3-point shooting defense.

Statistically, Butler has the second-toughest final seven conference games of the teams listed above.

Still, I think it can attain the No. 1 seed in the A-10 tournament thanks to its early-season conference success, battle-tested nature and Brad Stevens’ coaching.

I will take VCU as the event’s No. 2 seed.

Statistically the Rams have just as challenging a remaining schedule as Butler, but adversity is something this former Final Four participant is familiar with.

Saint Louis has the toughest remaining A-10 run, facing seven teams with winning records.

I have a hard time slotting the Billikens in the No. 3 spot because of this.

Massachusetts is my sleeper pick with a middle-of-the-road remaining schedule. The Minutemen have been fairly consistent in A-10 action, so they are my current No. 3 seed.

For the No. 4 seed, it’s a toss-up between Saint Louis and La Salle.

The Explorers have a big mountain to climb being two losses behind Saint Louis.

Fittingly, the teams face off in their final game of the regular season. That could decide which team gets a bye in the A-10 tournament and which has to play right away.

These next four weeks should be a blast for A-10 fans across the nation.

Butler will play its second and final exhibition game against the University of Indianapolis Saturday.

The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 27-12. The Greyhounds won the last meeting between the squads 74-72 in 1988.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Butler started its 2012-13 campaign with a 62-40 win over Marian in an exhibition game at Hinkle Fieldhouse last Saturday.

Sophomore forward Khyle Marshall and freshman guard Kellen Dunham led the Bulldogs with 12 points apiece.

Dunham scored all 12 of his points on four second-half 3-pointers, shooting four of six from beyond the arc overall.

The first half was rough for the Bulldogs, who shot 37.5 percent from the field. Despite this, Butler held a 25-20 lead at halftime.

The Bulldogs started the second half on a 16-2 run after finding their 3-point stroke.

Butler attempted 12 shots from long distance in the final 20 minutes and hit eight of them. The Bulldogs outscored the Knights 37-20 in the second half to pull away.

“I thought we had good action, and I thought we did our job in that second half on some of those actions,” coach Brad Stevens said.

Senior guard Chase Stigall, who started for Butler and finished with six points, said this year’s lineup is more balanced with the additions of Dunham and senior Rotnei Clarke.

“It takes pressure off one certain guy,” Stigall said. “The defense can’t focus strictly on one person.

“It’s nice to know that as soon as heads turn, they’re looking at one guy, they’re looking at Rotnei, they’re looking at me, they’re looking at Andy (Smeathers). The other three on the court are capable of making shots anytime.”

Saturday’s game saw the return of former Butler coach Todd Lickliter to Hinkle. Lickliter is in his first season coaching at Marian. He spent six seasons at Butler from 2001 to 2007 before leaving to take a coaching job at the University of Iowa.