Butler vs. Northwestern Preview

I apologize for not writing about Butler vs. IUPUI, but I have been very busy, and it seems as though there wasn't much that was very interesting/out of the ordinary to write about.

The Butler Bulldogs are facing the Northwestern Wildcats today at Welsh-Ryan Arena.  Northwestern is another  team I followed pretty closely, so I am going to preview the likely starting matchups in this game.

Center: Andrew Smith vs. Alex Olah
While Alex Olah is a promising freshman and an improvement from Northwestern's last two centers (Luka Mirkovic and Davide Curletti), Andrew Smith is a senior who has as much experience as any college basketball player.  Smith does give up  32 pounds to Olah, but is a much more polished offensive player than Olah is.

Forward: Khyle Marshall vs. Jared Swopshire
These two players are similar statistically, with Marshall being more athletic and Swopshire being a better jump shooter.  All in all, these two players are both very good and I am looking for to see who wins this matchup, as it is a crucial one for both teams.

Guard/Forward: Roosevelt Jones vs. Drew Crawford
Roosevelt Jones will have his hands full guarding Drew Crawford, who is Northwestern's best offensive player, and can creat his own shot with ease, even though his shooting percentage is down from last season.  Crawford will be guarding someone in Jones who handles the ball a lot considering he is not the point guard. Another very close matchup, and Jones will have to hold Crawford under 15-17 points for Butler to have a good shot at winning.

Guard: Alex Barlow vs. Reggie Hearn
An interesting matchup of a walk-on against a former walk-on.  Now, it is completely possible that Kellen Dunham starts instead of Barlow, but for the sake of this preview, lets just say it is Barlow.  Hearn has been scoring the ball well this season, but Barlow is one of Butler's best defenders ever.  It will be interesting to see if Hearn's offense of Barlow's defense wins out in this matchup

Point Guard: Rotnei Clarke vs. Dave Sobolewski
Two good three point shooters, Sobolewski a better passer, Clarke a better scorer.  Neither one is known for their defense, so I would expect a lot of points and assists out of both them.  Overall, Clarke is the better player, and if he can outplay Sobolewski, Butler is in good shape to win this game.

Backup Guard: Chase Stigall vs. Alex Marcotullio
I know I said I was only previewing the starters, but the career paths of these two players is eerily similar.  Both played big minutes towards the end of their sophomore season, they both averaged exactly 5.2 ppg last year, and they are both struggling from the field this season in increasingly limited minutes.  One of these two could be a huge spark off the bench to help their team win the game.