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GAME NOTES: The two top teams in their respective conferences kick off BracketBusters Saturday, as the Siena Saints come calling on the 18th-ranked Butler Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Winners of nine straight non-conference games at home the Bulldogs, who have already clinched the regular-season title in the Horizon League, became the first team in league history to open conference play with a 17-0 mark, thanks to a 73-55 rout of Illinois-Chicago at home. The win improved Butler's overall win streak to 16 in a row, setting a new school record and matching Murray State for the longest current run in the nation.

Ironically, the Saints are no strangers to win streaks themselves, having put together a run that saw them cruising along with a 15-game run just last week, but that came to an end with their 87-74 loss to Niagara on the road eight days ago. Last Sunday Siena, which still has Rider and Marist on the schedule but has already won the regular-season title over in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, bounced back with a 74-57 victory against the Canisius Golden Griffins.

This bout marks the first-ever meeting between these two teams, but they are scheduled for a second-round of play on Siena's home floor next season as a condition of this event.

After losing for the first time in a long time, the Saints rebounded last Sunday as they defeated Canisius on the road by 17 points. Ryan Rossiter erupted for 15 points and a game-high 17 rebounds as he shot 6-of-8 from the floor for the visitors, while Alex Franklin led all scorers with his 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field. Clarence Jackson contributed another 16 points as the starting five for the Saints accounted for all but six of the unit's 74 points on the afternoon. One of four players scoring in double figures on a regular basis, Franklin checks in with 16.3 ppg while shooting a substantial 58.1 percent from the field. Franklin is also responsible for close to eight rebounds per game, which is second only to Rossiter (14.5 ppg) who accounts for 10.8 ppg and is also one of the top shooters in the MAAC at the moment at 59 percent. Ronald Moore (7.0 ppg), one of four players to have started all 27 games this season, has made good on just 32.1 percent of his field goal attempts and 21.5 percent beyond the arc but more importantly, he is the one who makes the offense hum with his 208 assists, ranking him among the best in the nation for a program that is outscoring opponents by 10 ppg.

Except for Shelvin Mack who finished with eight points on 3-of-10 shooting from the floor, including 2-of-7 behind the three-point line, every starter for the Bulldogs hit for double figures against UIC in the last outing. Matt Howard converted all 11 of his free-throw attempts to arrive at 17 points, followed by Ronald Nored with 16, while Willie Veasley and Gordon Hayward both tacked on 11 points. Hayward made up for his mere 1-of-6 shooting effort behind the three-point line by clearing a team-best 11 rebounds as well. The team shot just 39.3 percent from the floor and 6-of-24 beyond the arc, but it didn't matter seeing as how they turned the ball over just six times. Howard, the leading scorer in two straight and three of the last four games, is responsible for 12.0 ppg, placing him third on the scoring list behind Hayward (15.9 ppg) and Mack (13.5 ppg) but he is also costing himself plenty of opportunities with his physical play which has resulted in nine disqualifications already. Hayward accounts for a team-best 8.4 rpg, which is all the more reason for him to understand that his strength lies in the paint and not out on the perimeter where he has converted just 29.8 percent of his three-point tries.

The Bulldogs didn't reach the national rankings by beating up on weak teams, but still the Horizon League is far from a dominant conference, as is the case with the MAAC. However, being at home and having an early wake-up call can only help Butler as it gets the spotlight all to themselves this morning.