Basketball Game Preview: Butler Bears vs. Pleasure Ridge Park Panthers

The Butler Bears will be taking part in a tournament against the Pleasure Ridge Park Panthers at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Butler knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 13 matchups -- so hopefully Pleasure Ridge Park likes a good challenge.

Last Tuesday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Butler beat Fern Creek 71-66. Given the Bears' advantage in MaxPreps' Kentucky basketball rankings (they are ranked 21st, while the Tigers are ranked 93rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Pleasure Ridge Park came tearing into Tuesday's game with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 16 points), and they left with even more momentum. They took down the Eagles 61-47.

Pleasure Ridge Park pushed their record up to 24-4 with the win, which was their ninth straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.8 points over those games. As for Butler, they are on a roll lately: they've won 12 of their last 13 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 25-4 record this season.

Butler beat Pleasure Ridge Park 65-54 in their previous matchup back in February. The rematch might be a little tougher for Butler since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.