Stuck on 499 career wins for nearly four weeks, it took Butler coach Thad Matta seven attempts to gain his milestone victory. Like everything else in this injury-riddled season, it has been a struggle for the Bulldogs.
The same can be said for Xavier, which needs a strong finish to avoid its second losing season in the last three years. The last time the Musketeers had two losing seasons in a span of three years was more than four decades ago.
When Butler (14-13, 5-11 Big East) hosts Xavier (13-13, 5-10) on Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis, it will be a matchup of teams hoping to salvage something from their lackluster seasons.
The Bulldogs, who have been hampered by season-ending injuries to their top two point guards, snapped their six-game losing streak with a 93-89 victory Wednesday at Georgetown.
Finley Bizjack returned after missing a game with a wrist injury and delivered 19 points and six assists while Michael Ajayi put up 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists as Butler delivered Matta his 500th win.
“More (important) to me is the number of guys I’ve coached. That’s more important than the wins and losses,” said Matta, who played at Butler and gained his first win as a college coach at the school in 2000.
Even with the health issues in his backcourt, Matta has found a way to get solid ball-handling, often using Bizjack and Ajayi out of position at the point. Against the Hoyas, the Bulldogs committed just six turnovers.
Mistakes with the ball were the undoing of Xavier in Tuesday’s 92-89 overtime loss at home to Villanova. The Musketeers committed 16 turnovers to just six for the Wildcats.
“Just some very, very uncharacteristic turnovers down the stretch,” said coach Richard Pitino. “Very devastated locker room in there, but they care. They’re still battling.”
The Musketeers wasted perhaps the best all-around game this year from Tre Carroll who produced 28 points on 11-of-14 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds.
Xavier won the first meeting with Butler 89-75 on Jan. 14 as Carroll delivered 29 points, nine rebounds and five blocks while Filip Borovicanin put up 14 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
