Having just played yesterday, the Butler Bulldogs will head out on the road to face off against the Independence Patriots at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Butler can't be too worried about heading out to take on Independence: they just beat Charlotte Catholic at home, who had been dominant on their own court up to that point. Butler secured a 65-61 W over Charlotte Catholic on Thursday. The score was all tied up 26-26 at the break, but the Bulldogs were the better team in the second half.
Meanwhile, Independence waltzed into their matchup on Thursday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They came within five points of losing the streak, but they secured a 60-55 W against the Panthers. Given the Patriots' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 32nd, while the Panthers are ranked 264th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Independence's win came from a few key players Butler will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Nick Barnes, who went 5-for-8 en route to 15 points and three steals. That's the most points he has posted since back in February of 2024. Another player making a difference was Lusemo Macharia, who almost dropped a double-double with nine points and ten rebounds.
Independence's win was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 20-5. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.8 points over those games. As for Butler, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 15-11.
Butler came up short against Independence when the teams last played on Friday, falling 48-44. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Independence's Kaleb Jasper, who went 8-for-12 to rack up 25 points. Now that Butler knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
