Senior Rotnei Clarke and junior Khyle Marshall each finished with 19 points to lead the Butler men’s basketball team to a 97-73 win over Hanover Tuesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

After a championship loss to Illinois in the EASports’ Maui Invitational, the Butler men’s basketball team looked to bounce back against the Division III program.

The opening play was an alley-op from sophomore Roosevelt Jones to Marshall. The Bulldogs never looked back.

“Rose had a good pass in that opening play to Marshall,” Butler coach Brad Stevens said. “It really set the tone for the rest of the game.”

Butler (4-2) opened on a 15-2 run.

The team built a 17-point lead in the first half, before Hanover (3-1) attempted a comeback.

Hanover cut the lead under 10 when Jacob Steinhart made two 3-pointers to trim the margin to nine. Clarke’s two free throws later expanded Butler’s lead to 41-24, but Hanover’s 8-0 run trimmed the margin under 10 again.

Despite the visitor’s best efforts, Butler’s lead was never really threatened, due in part to Butler’s scoring balance.

All five starters finished in double-double figures.

In the first half, the Bulldog bench only contributed two points. In the second half, the bench combined for 22 points.

Hanover made 12 3s in 32 attempts.

Butler only attempted 18 3-point shots, making nine of them.

The focus for Butler was its inside game.

“That was more by their design,” Stevens said. “They were taking away the outside and forcing us to drive or pass to the post.”

Senior center Andrew Smith finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.

“It was really a credit to our guards,” Smith said. “They had some great passes and were getting us the ball.”

The Bulldogs finished shooting over 59 percent and out-rebounded Hanover 42-22.

The loss was Hanover’s first of the season.

The game was the first of a three-game home-stand for Butler. The second game is against Ball State on Saturday, starting at 2 p.m.

A season-high 27 points from senior guard Rotnei Clarke was not enough to secure the Maui Invitational championship for the Butler men’s basketball team.

Senior guard Brandon Paul tallied 20 points for Illinois, and the Fighting Illini (6-0) scored a 78-61 victory in the final game of the invite.

The victory gave Illinois its first Maui Invitational championship in school history. The game between the schools was the first in 41 years.

Illinois used a hot start to grab a 13-5 lead before the first television timeout.

The Fighting Illini had a consistent night shooting despite being held to their lowest point total of the tournament. The squad hit 48 percent of its shots from the field, including 10 of 25 3-point attempts.

Butler settled down toward the end of the first half and trailed 39-28 heading into the locker room.

The Bulldogs (3-2) carried a stifling defense from the final minutes of the first half into the second half and began to chip away at their deficit.

Clarke hit a 3-point basket and followed with a layup to pull Butler within six with about 16:30 remaining in the contest.

Illinois turned the tide with 11:22 left, going on a 10-0 run in a 3-minute span. Senior forward Tyler Griffey hit back-to-back 3′s during the stretch to key the Fighting Illini attack.

Butler was never able to get closer than down nine following the run, with Clarke taking most of the shots down the stretch.

Freshman guard Kellen Dunham had a difficult night shooting, as he was unable to hit a field goal until the 2-minute mark of the second half.

The Fighting Illini had four players in double figures. In addition to Paul’s 20 points, sophomore guard Tracy Abrams tallied 17 points on 5 of 9 shooting.

Senior guard D.J. Richardson scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Griffey also had 14 points and hit four of his five 3-point attempts.

Clarke scored 18 of his 27 points from 3-point range and went 10 of 19 shooting overall. Junior forward Khyle Marshall contributed eight points and four rebounds, and sophomore forward Kameron Woods recorded a team-high eight rebounds.

The Bulldogs settled for a second-place finish in Maui and will now have a short break before their next game. The team will face Hanover at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Nov. 27.

BY THE NUMBERS

Butler

Rotnei Clarke: 27 points, 10-19 FG shooting, 6-13 3-pt shooting, 4 rebounds

Khyle Marshall: 8 points, 4 rebounds

Kameron Woods: 8 rebounds

Roosevelt Jones: 7 points, 4 rebounds

TEAM: 36.1 percent FG shooting, 7-28 3-pt shooting, 10-17 FT shooting, 37 rebounds (ILL: 31), 10 turnovers (ILL: eight)

Illinois

Brandon Paul: 20 points, 4 assists, 6-6 FT shooting

Tracy Abrams: 17 points, 5-9 FG shooting

D.J. Richardson: 14 points, 5-11 shooting, 9 rebounds

Tyler Griffey: 14 points, 4-5 3-pt shooting

TEAM: 48 percent FG shooting, 40 percent 3-pt shooting, 95.2 percent FT shooting

Senior guard Rotnei Clarke and freshman guard Kellen Dunham each tallied 17 points, and the Butler men’s basketball team used a strong first 30 minutes to defeat No. 9 North Carolina 82-71. The game was a semifinal match-up of the Maui Invitational.

The Tar Heels (4-1) made a strong run through the final 10 minutes, but the Bulldogs (3-1) were able to come up with key stops late.

The Bulldogs hit 12 of 25 3-point attempts in the contest. Clarke and Dunham combined for nine of those, with Dunham going 5 of 9 from beyond the arc.

Butler held UNC to 18 points in the opening half and held a 17-point advantage going into the locker room. The output was the Tar Heels’ lowest of the young season.

The Bulldogs did not miss many shots in the first 10 minutes of the second half, pushing their lead to as many as 28.

The Tar Heels began to chip away late, eventually cutting the Butler lead to six with 1:03 remaining.

A much-improved performance from the free throw line helped Butler seal the victory, however. The Bulldogs went 20 of 25 from the charity stripe in the contest.

Sophomore forward Khyle Marshall had 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Butler out-rebounded UNC 36-27, including 12-10 in offensive rebounds.

Senior center Andrew Smith tallied 13 points before fouling out in the final two minutes. Senior guard Chase Stigall added nine points, including back-to-back 3-point baskets that temporarily stalled the Tar Heels’ run late.

Sophomore guard P.J. Hairston led UNC in scoring with 15 points. Highly-touted sophomore forward James Michael McAdoo was held to 10 points and five rebounds.

Butler will take on the winner of tonight’s game between Chaminade and Illinois in the invitational’s championship game Wednesday.

BY THE NUMBERS

Butler

Rotnei Clarke: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 for 11 FG shooting, 4 for 6 3-pt shooting

Kellen Dunham: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 for 10 FG shooting, 5 for 9 3-pt shooting

Andrew Smith: 13 points, 7 of 8 FT shooting

Khyle Marshall: 10 points, 11 rebounds

Roosevelt Jones: 6 points, 4 assists

North Carolina

P.J. Hairston: 15 points, 7 rebounds

Marcus Paige: 13 points, 5 assists, 5 of 10 FG shooting

Reggie Bullock: 13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists

James Michael McAdoo: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 5 of 11 FG shooting

Hawaii is the next destination for the Butler men’s basketball team, as the Bulldogs will compete in the Maui Invitational beginning Monday.

The tournament is a staple of the college basketball season. This year’s field includes high-profile programs such as North Carolina, Texas and Illinois.

The Bulldogs (1-0) will play Marquette in the opening round of the tournament on Monday at 3:30 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.

The Golden Eagles advanced to the Sweet 16 in last season’s NCAA Tournament.

That squad finished second in the Big East with a 14-4 conference record and a 26-7 overall mark.

Marquette was picked to finish 7th in this year’s Big East preseason coaches’ poll. The squad will be without Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder, who left for the NBA after their senior seasons last year.

Butler is 13-14 all-time against the Golden Eagles, with the last meeting between the teams occurring in 1991.

The Bulldogs’ position in the bracket has them slated to play either the University of North Carolina or Mississippi State on Tuesday.

Butler could not overcome a seven-point halftime deficit as they were defeated 62-47 by Xavier.

The Bulldogs (1-1) were down 36-29 entering the second half but were unable overcome their poor shooting.

The Musketeers’ (2-0) defense limited Butler to shoot only 25 percent from the field after halftime.

The Bulldogs were held to shooting 22.2 percent (4 for 18) from behind the three-point line for the game.

Freshman guard Kellen Dunham led Butler with 11 points and senior center Andrew Smith added nine points and four rebounds.

Sophomore forward Roosevelt Jones grabbed seven rebounds in the loss.

Butler gained some momentum heading into the tournament with a 74-59 win over Elon Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The contest was Butler’s regular-season opener and served as an opening-round game of the Maui Invitational.

Senior guard Rotnei Clarke showed no signs of rust as he scored the Bulldogs’ first 12 points of the game. The game was Clarke’s first as a member of the Bulldogs.

Clarke scored a game-high 21 points and displayed his outside shooting by going five-for-10 from 3-point range.

Butler took an early lead, shooting 61.5 percent from the field in the first half.

The Bulldogs were up 43-26 at halftime, but the Phoenix (0-1) cut the lead to four within the first seven minutes of the second half.

Butler answered with a 15-2 run spurred by 3-point baskets from Clarke and freshman guard Kellen Dunham.

“I’ve said all along this team is capable of going on 6-0 and 9-0 runs, and they did and kind of separated the game back when it got to four,” Butler coach Brad Stevens said. “It was Rotnei for one and Kellen for another, and now it was ten in a matter of seconds.”

Dunham provided the Bulldogs with 18 points in his first collegiate game, shooting 37.5 percent from behind the 3-point line.

Butler held a strong rebounding advantage, grabbing 39 rebounds to Elon’s 20.

Sophomore forward Roosevelt Jones led the Bulldogs with nine rebounds and six assists while sophomore guard Alex Barlow grabbed seven rebounds.

Meanwhile, freshman guard Chris Harrison-Docks announced last Friday that he is leaving the team and will transfer elsewhere.

“I believe that another school would better compliment me both personally and athletically,” Harrison-Docks said in a statement released by the athletic department.

The Okemos, Mich. native played briefly in Butler’s two exhibition games, scoring two points off of free throws in the contest against the University of Indianapolis.

The Butler men’s basketball team will begin its regular season Saturday against Elon at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The game is scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m.

The contest is one of the opening games of the Maui Invitational.

Elon went 9-9 in the Southern Conference last season and 15-16 overall, finishing second in the North Division of the conference.

The Bulldogs will then travel to Cincinnati on Tuesday to face Atlantic 10 rival Xavier in a 4 p.m. game that will be broadcast nationally during ESPN’s Tip-Off Marathon.

The game is considered a nonconference matchup due to a prior agreement the schools had before Butler joined the A-10.

Xavier will be missing its top scorer from last year’s Sweet Sixteen squad, Tu Holloway. The Musketeers will be without six players from last season and have been predicted to finish ninth in the A-10 preseason coaches’ poll as a result.

The Bulldogs won their exhibition game against the University of Indianapolis 63-47 Saturday.

Senior guard Rotnei Clarke led the team with 18 points and eight rebounds. Junior forward Khyle Marshall finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Butler was sloppy early, as the team committed 12 turnovers in the first half alone due to the stingy Greyhound defense.

Coach Brad Stevens said the style of play utilized by Indianapolis coach Stan Gouard will help the Bulldogs in conference play.

“We scheduled Indianapolis because we went to the A-10,” Stevens said. “Stan (Gouard) has always been aggressive in his coaching at Indianapolis, getting up and down the floor, getting into guys.

“They always have quick athletic guards. We scheduled this game for Marquette, UMass, VCU—teams that will extend the floor.”

Indianapolis led by five points with about two minutes remaining in the first half, scoring 12 points off Butler turnovers.

With the game tied at 27 and just seconds remaining before halftime, sophomore guard Alex Barlow stole the ball and drove nearly the length of the court for a layup at the buzzer.

Barlow was fouled on the play and made the free throw to complete the three-point play and give the Bulldogs a 30-27 lead going into the locker room.

After letting the lead slip away from them early in the second half, Butler went on a 14-2 run to pull ahead with about 12 minutes remaining in the game.

Clarke struggled in the first half, shooting only 12.5 percent from the field.

He was able to break his drought after halftime, scoring 15 of his 18 points in the second half and making all eight shots from the foul line. He shot 25 percent from behind the three-point line. little more aggressive,” Clarke said. “Obviously, shots weren’t really falling, so I was just trying to maybe get my groove at the line possibly and just get something going.”

Sophomore forward Kameron Woods and Marshall led the Bulldogs with nine rebounds each.

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.

The Bulldogs get ready to start the season with a new lineup, a new conference and new competition.

The Butler men’s basketball team looks to build off last year’s experiences as it heads into its first season in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

The Bulldogs enter the A-10 after going 22-15, including 11-7 in the Horizon League, last season. The season ended with a loss to Pittsburgh in the College Basketball Invitational semifinals.

The team lost only two seniors, Ronald Nored and Garrett Butcher, to graduation. The team also will be without Chrishawn Hopkins after he was dismissed by the team for violating team rules in September.

Coach Brad Stevens said the player that will fill Hopkins’ role in the backcourt has not yet been decided.

“It’ll be determined largely on who’s the most productive but also who compliments our best players the best,” Stevens said.

One thing is known: senior guard Rotnei Clarke will join the starting lineup after sitting out last season following his transfer from Arkansas.

Clarke adds outside shooting to a team that was lacking in that department last season.

“The guy is, by far, one of the best three-point shooters in the country,” junior forward Khyle Marshall said. “I’ve never seen a guy shoot like him.”

Clarke shot 43.8 percent from three-point range and averaged 15.2 points per game during the 2010-11 season for the Razorbacks.

Meanwhile, the team’s six sophomores now have a season of experience to help them as they begin to take bigger roles with the team.

“I know when I got here last year along with the other freshmen, the game just seemed pretty fast because it’s different than the high school game,” sophomore guard Alex Barlow said. “And just having to take on more of a leadership role being here for a year, you want to try to help the freshmen.”

The freshmen have been trying to accustom themselves to balancing classes with athletics since practice started Oct. 12.

“When you start college basketball practice, it’s like adding a 400-level class that meets six days a week for two-plus hours a day with older, more established people in that program that you’re competing against for time,” Stevens said.

A new NCAA rule has also helped with the development of the freshmen.

“I definitely think that, with the new college rule where coaches were allowed to work with players this summer, [it] definitely put them ahead of what most of us were our freshman year because they were introduced to the system at an earlier time,” Marshall said.

Barlow said the newcomers are picking up Butler’s system well.

“They’re all learning and asking a bunch of questions, which is good,” Barlow said. “It shows they want to learn, they want to know what they’re doing wrong, what they’re doing right.”

The Bulldogs begin a stretch of two exhibition games at home Saturday against Marian, which is coached by former Butler coach Todd Lickliter.

Stevens said it is not enjoyable for him to coach against a former boss and friend like Lickliter.

“Outside of my parents and my family, there hasn’t been anybody that’s been more meaningful to me personally for what they’ve done— for the support they have given me—both by hiring me and then bringing me along, and then ever since they’ve left,” Stevens said. “I can’t say enough great things about coach Lickliter. It’s going to be great to have him back in Hinkle.”

The Butler men’s basketball team lost to the Pittsburgh Panthers 68-62 in overtime Wednesday night in a rematch of last season’s NCAA Tournament game.

The game was part of the semifinal round of the College Basketball Invitational.

Photo by Reid Bruner

Sophomore forward Khyle Marshall scored a career-high 22 points to lead all Butler scorers. He also collected eight rebounds, a team-high for the Bulldogs (22-15).

The game was back and forth with neither team leading by more than six points.

Butler came out hot in the first half and jumped out to an 18-12 lead.

Freshman walk-on guard Alex Barlow keyed the run with several assists, including an alley-oop pass to Marshall that brought the crowd of 3,754 people to its feet.

Barlow finished tied with senior guard Ronald Nored for the team lead in assists with four.

“[Barlow] works on his game as hard as anybody we’ve got,” coach Brad Stevens said. “He’s here for the right reasons.”

Junior center Andrew Smith continued his run of solid outings late into the season. He contributed 19 points and six rebounds.

“This tournament has been really good,” Stevens said. “The practices between games were terrific, and we had some guys that really grew. Khyle and Andrew have had moments in this tournament where they’ve been great.”

The Bulldogs went to the locker room down 26-24 at halftime but came out firing in all cylinders.

The team repeatedly worked the ball to Smith and Marshall in the paint and the Panthers could not find an answer.

On the other end of the court, the Pittsburgh offense was just as potent. The rest of the Panthers (20-17) had no trouble scoring, despite 2012 Big East Preseason Player of Year senior Ashton Gibbs being held scoreless.

Redshirt sophomore forward Talib Zanna came off the bench to lead Pittsburgh with 15 points. Redshirt junior guard Tray Woodall, Gibbs’ mate in the backcourt, scored 12 points, all of which came in the second half.

“We had our chances,” Stevens said. “There were a lot of things we could have done to control that game. The difference between winning and losing is not that much.”

Freshman forward Roosevelt Jones headed to the free throw line with four seconds remaining in regulation for the Bulldogs. With the score tied at 52, Jones missed both free throws.

Pittsburgh was able to salt the game away from the free throw line in overtime. The Panthers shot 80 percent from the charity stripe while Butler shot a mere 57 percent.

The loss Wednesday marked the final home game for the team’s two seniors, Nored and forward Garrett Butcher.

Butcher’s only minute against Pittsburgh came in overtime when the game was all but out of reach.

“I can’t put it into words,” Butcher said. “Everything I’ve felt about this place for the last four years is going to make it a great memory for a lifetime.”

Nored played 35 minutes and contributed four points and two steals. He has expressed interest in coaching sometime down the road.

“I think my playing days are over,” Nored said.

“They’ve given so much,” Stevens said. “No two seniors we’ve ever had could have done a better job with this team.”

For the first time in six years, the Butler men’s basketball team will not appear in the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship tournament.

Needing to win the Horizon League tournament for an automatic bid, the Bulldogs instead were knocked out by a 65-46 loss to Valparaiso in the semifinals Saturday night.

Photo by Chris Goff

The Bulldogs (20-14) will become just the fifth team since 1985 to miss the NCAA tournament after playing in the national championship game the previous year.

Coach Brad Stevens said Butler would accept a potential bid to the NIT or, more likely, the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament or the College Basketball Invitational.

“It’s still an honor,” Stevens said. “It’s not what you set out to do or strived to do, but we’re not an NCAA-tournament team. Our overall success this year is not worthy.”

Valparaiso junior forward Ryan Broekhoff helped deal a final blow to Butler’s résumé with 19 points and 16 rebounds before a near-capacity crowd in the top-seeded Crusaders’ home arena.

No. 5 seed Butler entered the game having won seven of its last eight. The Bulldogs lost for a third time this season to the Crusaders (22-10), who moved on to face Detroit for a bid to the NCAA tournament.

“Any team that’s the age we are is going to be inconsistent,” Stevens said. “We played like a green, young team [Saturday].”

Detroit defeated Valparaiso 70-50 last night in the conference championship game, which Butler won the past two seasons.

“It’ll be different,” senior guard Ronald Nored said. “Regardless of where we play, we’ll go out there and play as hard and as well as we can.”

Sophomore guard Chrishawn Hopkins kept the Bulldogs within striking distance until midway through the second half with 18 points. Sophomore forward Erik Fromm had 12 points and six rebounds.

No other Butler player had more than four points. The Bulldogs shot 33.3 percent from the field after starting the game 4 of 18.

Junior center Kevin Van Wijk and junior point guard Erik Buggs contributed 11 points apiece for the Crusaders, who shot 53.5 percent from the field.

Butler led 7-2 about three minutes into the game after Hopkins rattled home a jumper.

Valparaiso then went on a 17-1 run over the next 7:25 and never relinquished the lead.

Stevens dealt with a shortage of players he could rely on for offense.

Starters Nored, junior center Andrew Smith, sophomore forward Khyle Marshall and freshman forward Roosevelt Jones combined for eight points in 94 minutes of playing time.

“They really struggled,” Stevens said.  “I don’t know why.”

The Crusaders dominated the glass by a 39-22 margin, which helped them to a 31-24 lead at the end of the first half. In the opening 20 minutes, 11 of Valparaiso’s 14 field goals were either layups or tip-ins.

Broekhoff, the conference player of the year, wouldn’t allow Butler to come back.

“He was the best player on the floor by far,” Stevens said. “You’ve got to be incredibly tough to win in an environment like this. We were thoroughly outplayed.”

The Bulldogs fell behind by as many as 21 in a game that reminded some of their 71-59 loss in the regular season finale at the Athletics-Recreation Center.

“The two frontline guys [Van Wijk and Broekhoff] killed us again,” Stevens said. “We really struggled to score in and around the paint again. It’s a loud gym.”

The Crusaders remembered the result from Feb. 24 when they raced out to an 18-4 lead.

“We were quietly confident we could repeat what happened,” Broekhoff said.

Butler’s lopsided defeat came on the heels of its victory over Milwaukee the day before.

The Bulldogs led the whole game in a 71-49 rout of the Panthers (20-13) Friday night.

Marshall and Jones each scored 17 points, and Smith added eight.

Over the weekend, Nored became Butler’s all-time record-holder for assists in a single season, passing Mike Green with 180 thus far.

A Horizon League official said he expects Butler’s postseason status to be resolved by the evening of March 12 at the latest.

The Butler men’s basketball team started off the Horizon League tournament with a 70-52 victory over Wright State at Hinkle Fieldhouse Tuesday night.

It was a tale of two halves for the Bulldogs (19-13), who headed to the locker room with a one point lead.

“I thought in the first 10 minutes we were just timid,” coach Brad Stevens said. “That’s part of playing your first tournament game.”

Photo by Taylor Cox

Butler came out in the second half and went on a 13-0 run behind the play of sophomore forward Khyle Marshall.

Marshall scored all nine of his points in the second half, including six during the run.

Junior center Andrew Smith tallied a career-high 25 points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs.

“Ever since the Valpo game, we’ve been focusing on people doing their jobs,” Smith said. “If we can do that, we’re a tough team to beat.”

Senior guard Ronald Nored recorded nine points on the night, along with three rebounds and six assists.

Nored is two assists shy of breaking Butler basketball’s all-time assist record, which is held by Mike Green.

Freshman forward Roosevelt Jones added 11 points, and sophomore guard Chrishawn Hopkins contributed 10.

The starters combined for 64 of the team’s 70 points.

For the Raiders (13-19), sophomore forward Cole Darling paced the offense with 12 points, while junior guard Julius Mays added 11.

From here, the Bulldogs will face the No. 4 seed, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, in the quarterfinals of the league tournament.

The contest will take place on Friday at 8:30 p.m. at Valparaiso’s Athletics-Recreation Center.

Because the Crusaders won the Horizon League regular season title, the remainder of the tournament’s games will take place in Valparaiso for as long as the Crusaders stay alive in the tournament

The winner of that game will face Valparaiso on Mar. 3 in a game that will be televised on ESPNU.