Battle of Middling Majors

Tonight's matchup between little-guy heavyweights Butler and Xavier will take on a different tenor than last year's thrilling buzzer-beater classic.  In 2009, both schools were already thinking about seeding and subsequent deep runs in the Tournament.  This year?  The loser finds themself as one of the first teams getting an early spot on the dreaded "bubble."

Butler enters at 4-3 with losses to Louisville, Evansville, and Duke.  Their best wins are over Siena and Loyola-Chicago.  Xavier enters at 5-2 with losses to Miami (OH) and Old Dominion but even their wins have been a little uneasy, needing overtime for IPFW and Wofford.

This year's game features a matchup of two of the better guards in the country, Butler's Shelvin Mack and Xavier's Tu Holloway.  However this game will likely be won by the team that can control the boards and the paint. 

Maniac's Pick:  Give me the hometown Muskies laying the two.

XAVIER - 2