No. 25 Butler hosts UAB in non-conference clash

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12/30/2008 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 25th-ranked Butler Bulldogs will try to build off their biggest win of the season, as they entertain the UAB Blazers in non-conference play at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Despite fielding a young team, the Bulldogs have gotten off to a terrific start, winning 10 of their first 11 outings. The most recent of those triumphs came on December 23rd in a 74-65 upset of then 14th-ranked Xavier. It was Butler's first victory over a ranked foe in more than a year, as it won its second game in a row following a tough 54-51 loss to Ohio State on December 13th. The Bulldogs now return to the friendly confines of Hinkle Fieldhouse where they have gone a perfect 5-0 thus far.

As for UAB, it was in action just this past Saturday, dropping an 82-62 decision at nationally-ranked Louisville. The loss put the brakes on a three- game win streak and dropped the Blazers to 8-4 overall and 3-2 on the road.

UAB won the only other meeting with Butler, capturing an 87-58 victory during 1980-81 season.

UAB not only allowed Louisville to shoot an efficient 50.0 percent from the field on Saturday, but it was also dominated on the boards, 40-26, in a 20- point loss. Robert Vaden paced the Blazers in defeat with 22 points on the strength of 5-of-12 three-pointers. Lawrence Kinnard posted 19 points and eight rebounds, while Paul Delaney III had 16 points and six steals. On the season, Vaden tops the roster in scoring at 19.6 ppg and he is also grabbing 6.3 rpg and hitting 36.9 percent of his long-range attempts. Kinnard nearly averages a double-double with 16.8 ppg and a team-best 9.0 rpg, while Delaney III adds 16.7 ppg and 4.9 rpg to the mix. UAB, as a team, is generating 74.0 ppg behind 45.3 percent shooting from the floor.

Like years past, Butler has gotten the job done with stingy defense, as it is limiting foes to only 55.8 ppg and just 38.5 percent shooting from the floor. Matt Howard has been a factor at each side of the court and he leads the Bulldogs with 13.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 16 blocks. Gordon Hayward is next in line with 13.2 ppg and 5.7 rpg, and Shelvin Mack contributes 12.5 ppg and a team- best 3.6 apg. Both Howard and Hayward notched a double-double to pace Butler in the upset of Xavier, with each scoring 19 points, Howard grabbing 14 caroms and Hayward adding 10. Butler knocked down 26-of-33 free-throw attempts in the game and committed only 10 turnovers compared to 17 by the Musketeers.

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NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

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