FACTS & STATS: Hinkle Fieldhouse (11,043) -- Indianapolis, Indiana. Television: ESPNU. Home Record: UIC 12-2, Butler 12-1. Away Record: UIC 5-9, Butler 11-2. Neutral Record: UIC 1-3, Butler 4-0. Conference Record: UIC 9-9, Butler 16-2. Series Record: Butler leads, 24-11.

GAME NOTES: The 14th-ranked and top-seeded Butler Bulldogs make their first appearance in the 2008 Horizon League Tournament this evening, as they host the fourth-seeded Illinois-Chicago Flames in the semifinal round at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The winner of this bout will move on to the finals against either Valparaiso or Cleveland State on Tuesday. The Bulldogs ripped through the HL this season and earned the right to host this tourney by clinching their first outright title since 2002-03 and their seventh in the past 12 years. Butler's 16 conference victories and 27 overall wins represent the highest marks in league history during the regular season. The Bulldogs enter the tourney riding an 11-game win streak against conference foes and they also are a perfect 9-0 at home during league competition. Butler has won this tournament on four occasions, but it has lost in the last two championship games, with each setback coming on its opponents home floor. As for UIC, it went an even 9-9 within the league during the regular season and with that finish it was forced to start the tourney in the first round. After scoring a 70-59 victory over ninth-seeded Youngstown State to open the tourney, the Flames downed eighth- seeded Loyola-Chicago, 60-49, in the second round on Friday. With the victory, UIC improved to 15-11 all-time in this tourney, with its most recent title coming in 2004. With regards to the head-to-head series, Butlers owns a 24-11 advantage over UIC and it took both meetings during the regular season.

The Flames used a 23-of-26 performance at the charity stripe to overcome its lackluster 36.2 percent shooting effort from the floor in a win over Loyola last night. UIC also dominated the glass for the second straight game, outrebounding Loyola by a 36-20 margin. Josh Mayo, who scored 13 points in the first round, led the charge last night with 17 points. For the season, Mayo is the only player on the roster averaging in double figures with 17.5 ppg, and he is shooting an efficient 48.4 percent from long distance. As a team, UIC is draining 39.5 percent of his chances from beyond the arc for an average of 68.9 ppg.

The Bulldogs have done an excellent job in limiting opposing teams from scoring this season, as they are giving up a mere 58.1 ppg. At the other end of the court, Butler is turning in 68.4 ppg behind 45.0 percent shooting from the field and 37.3 percent from long range. Leading the way is Mike Green, who recently became the third Butler player in seven years to be named the HL Player of the Year. The versatile Green leads the squad in scoring (14.5 ppg), rebounding (6.4 rpg) and assists (5.1 apg) and he also has 41 steals to his credit. A.J. Graves is a veteran leader for Butler and he chips in 13.5 ppg, to go with a team-high 44 steals. Matt Howard adds 12.6 ppg and 5.6 rpg and he is shooting a blistering 60.6 percent from the floor. Peter Campbell rounds out the double-figure scorers with 11.3 ppg and he is the club's top three-point threat, hitting at a 43.8 percent clip for the season.

Butler is the more experienced and balanced team here and it should be able to handle a UIC club that is short on scoring options.

Predicted Outcome

Butler 59, Illinois-Chicago 48