Tennessee - Butler Preview

East- Round Two
Butler Bulldogs (7) Vs. Tennessee Volunteers (2)
Sunday, March 23 @ 2:30 pm
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The Butler Bulldogs did what they were supposed to do. They beat the South Alabama Jaguars handily 81- 61 and advanced in the brackets. With 5:40 left in the first, Butler started to pull away and from then on they never looked back.

The Bulldogs hIt threes at an alarming rate—54%. They went 12 of 13 (92%) on free throws and were 50% from the field. Those amazing stats simply illustrate the dominance of this Butler team. Forward Pete Campbell hit 8 of 10 three-pointers, which accounted for 24 of his 26 points. Guard A.J. Graves hit for 18 and notched 6 assists. The defense made 9 steals, with Graves accounting for 4 of them. The only major area where the team fell short was in rebounds. South Alabama won that fight—28 to 26. Although Butler pulled a 7th seed, remember that they are ranked 11th nationally.

The round one game for the second seed Tennessee Volunteers didn’t unfolded as expected. With five minutes left in the final half, American University, a 15th seed, pulled to with two. After that, the Vols started to pull away, winning 72- 57. But the game was much closer than the final score reflects.

Tennessee was beaten at the three-point arc—27 points to 18. That helped keep it close. They were also destroyed under the boards, capturing 25 rebounds to the Eagles 37. But American sent the Vols to the foul line 31 times and they converted 22 chances. American U. stepped up a mere 12 times, hitting for 6.

The Vols’ 12 steals were huge, with guards Chris Lofton and J.P. Prince filching 3 each. Forwards Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism tried to control the boards as each pulled down 7 rebounds. Smith led the club in assists with 6. Shooting guard JaJuan Smith topped the scoring for Tennessee with 19 points, including going 4 for 8 from downtown.

Butler is the hot team in this match-up. If you’re looking for a second round upset, this could be it. Both teams have players who can knockdown threes, and both possess solid defenses with quick hands. Unlike their first game, Butler must stay out of foul trouble to advance in the 2008 tournament.