Bulldogs Basketball: Scheduling Issues for 2012-13

Moving to the Atlantic 10 just about over five months before the season begins is quite problematic for the Bulldogs' schedule.  They now have to schedule games against four more non-conference opponents:

• 2 games to account for the switch from 18 Horizon League games to 16 A-10 conference games
• 1 game to account for the fact that the Bulldogs will not be participating in BracketBusters now that they are in the A-10
• 1 additional game to account for the fact that the A-10 conference doesn't allow teams to schedule a regular season conference against a non-Division 1 opponent.  (The Bulldogs would have had one of these games at home had they stayed in the Horizon League for 2012-13)

Since the Butler has already scheduled 5 home games (Ball State, Evansville, Gonzaga, Elon, and IUPUI) and only 2 true road games (@ Xavier, @Vanderbilt), it is likely that they will schedule a couple of home and home series against opponents who they will play on the road this season, and then play against at Hinkle Fieldhouse in 2013-2014.  Butler seems to have lost the 2013 ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon Game vs. Xavier at Hinkle, and will likely be playing Ball State and Evansville on the road next season, so they will be in desperate need of some home games next season, while playing a few more road games this season.

In the coming months, it will be interesting to see which four non-conference opponents Butler adds to their brutal schedule that is already packed with the Maui Invitational, and a neutral game with the potential #1 team in America Indiana at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, in addition to the above mentioned games.

It will also be interesting to see which teams Butler will play at home and on the road in the A-10.  They will be playing Saint Louis and Xavier twice (although the game at Xavier is a non-conference matchup), and if they will be playing either two home games or two road games per week, or if they will play one of each game per week, which is what the A-10 has done for quite some time now.

All of these issues will unfold in the upcoming months, and we will have a complete schedule released probably some time in September that answers all of our questions we may currently have about Butler's Men's Basketball Schedule for 2012-13.