FACTS & STATS: Site: Greensboro Coliseum (23,500) -- Greensboro, North Carolina. Television: CBS. NCAA Tournament Record: Butler 8-8, LSU 23-22. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: Appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year, the Butler Bulldogs square off against the LSU Tigers in first-round action of the South Regional in Greensboro this afternoon.

The ninth-seeded Bulldogs have made it through the first round in each of their last four trips to this event and are taking part in the postseason for the 11th time in 13 years, including NIT action. This year Butler was on the national stage for much of the season with 26 wins in 31 attempts, but the team took a tumble in the Horizon League Tournament when it bowed to Cleveland State by a score of 57-54.

As for the Tigers, the eighth seed in the region, this is their 20th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, dating back to the 1952-53 campaign. The squad has been in the Final Four a total of four times, most recently in 2006 against UCLA. In terms of this season, the Tigers got off to a hot start with eight straight wins and 12 victories in the first 13 games overall, and also had a strong run in SEC play as well before losing back-to-back meetings with Vanderbilt and Auburn to close out the regular season. From there LSU defeated Kentucky (67-58) in the SEC Tournament in Tampa, Florida but then bowed to Mississippi State the next day (67-57).

As far as the all-time series between these two teams is concerned, this is the first-ever meeting for the squads. The winner of today's matchup will be back in action on Saturday versus the winner of the Radford/North Carolina bout.

Named to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team for two years in a row, Matt Howard is the player to watch for the Bulldogs. Howard became the third Butler player in the last four seasons to be named the top performer in the league overall for the campaign. In addition, Howard was also named to the Horizon League's first team and made the cut for the All-Defensive Team as well. Howard was fourth in the conference in scoring with his 14.6 ppg and ranked among the best with close to seven rebounds per game as well. Thanks to the efforts of Howard and his teammates the Bulldogs led the league in scoring defense for the fourth straight year and the eighth time in the last decade, permitting a mere 57.4 ppg. With a starting five that remained constant over the course of 31 games, it is no surprise that Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack also managed to average double-digit scoring for the program with 13.2 and 11.7 ppg, respectively.

One of the most exciting scorers in the SEC this season, Marcus Thornton heads the list for the Tigers with his 20.7 ppg, thanks in large part to his 70 three-point field goals and 142-of-192 shooting at the charity stripe. Thornton made sure he had his hand in nearly every aspect of the game for the Tigers as he averaged five and a half rebounds per game, handed out 70 assists over the course of 33 outings, and registered a 51 steals. Tasmin Mitchell checked in with 16.3 ppg as a 52.1 percent shooter from the floor, adding 7.2 rpg as well, while Bo Spencer responded with 11.6 ppg and 41.6 percent shooting from three-point range. Chris Johnson (7.6 ppg) was used sparingly at the offensive end of the floor, but more importantly, he was huge on defense for the Tigers with his 87 blocked shots and led the team with 7.3 rpg as well. Thanks to him and Mitchell the squad held a rebounding advantage over the opposition of almost six rebounds per game.

The fact that the Bulldogs were bounced out of their own tournament by Cleveland State means the group has something to prove, which might be enough to get them into the second round of this event.

Predicted Outcome

Butler 66, LSU 63