GAMEDAY IN THE GREENHOUSE: Seward County vs. Butler
The Seward County Saints and Butler Grizzlies kick off a new era of Jayhawk Conference basketball tonight in the Greenhouse as the two play the opening game of 19 league tilts in the Jayhawk's new 'Super Conference'. There is no more Jayhawk East and no more Jayhawk West, it is 14 teams vying for one conference title in 2015-2016.
The Saints have had trouble with the Grizzlies in the past couple of years, with their last win against Butler all the way back in February of 2013. However, the Greenhouse has been a tough place for the Grizzlies to pick up wins as Butler's last victory in Liberal before last seasons sweep came during the 2008-2009 season.
Seward County enters Jayhawk Conference action as one of two 10 win teams in the non-conference. The Saints did have a much lighter non-conference slate than usual, playing just three NJCAA opponents, but in those three contest, Seward was able to pick up quality wins over #4 South Plains and Frank Phillips, with their only loss coming to a very talented Midland team by four here in the Greenhouse. The Saints offense has been nearly unstoppable for opposing defenses this season as Seward is averaging 97.7 points per game which currently ranks 12th in the country while leading the Jayhawk Conference. The wheels behind that well oiled machine are veterans Niem Stevenson, Charles Beauregard, and Marcus Mathieu. Stevenson leads the conference and ranks in the top 10 nationally at 23.3 points per game while Beauregard and Mathieu each average over 15 points a night which makes Seward one of just two teams in the league to have three players averaging 15 or more per game.
After a slow start to the season, Butler has won eight straight coming into tonight, but like the Saints, have seen just three NJCAA opponents during that stretch. The Grizzlies have fought through a rash of key injuries in the early going thus far, watching top returners Chris Howell and Jacolby Harris both succumb to injuries that will likely cost them the year. They have a balanced attack offensively with three players averaging double figures on the year. Caelan Neal leads them at 11.5 points per game while Derrick Byrd and Travis House average 11.2 and 10.1 respectively per night.