In wins against Ohio State and Detroit, Butler was able to overcome poor games by A.J. Graves and Mike Green. Freshman forward Matt Howard had strong games and Butler prevailed without playing their best. The third time wasn't the charm, however, as Graves played poorly again and the Bulldogs were knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten at Wright State. To be fair, his teammates weren't much better in the 43-42 loss. They shot 32% from the floor as a whole, led by their backcourt's 4-of-23 brickfest. Graves had a chance to win the game at the buzzer but missed a three and Wright State's fans flooded the court in a frenzy after knocking off the nation's 13th ranked team.Unlike those previous games, though, Howard couldn't pick up the slack. He finished with just five points to complete a defensive effort that should make coach Brad Brownell very proud of his Raiders. Offensively, Wright didn't do much to overwhelm the Bulldogs but they moved the ball, found the open man and made the most of their limited opportunities.
Elsewhere on the mid-major hardcourts:
