Sleeping with the Enemy: The Bulldogs of Butler

Your Fighting Hoyas of Georgetown begin its run towards an UNDEFEATED FEBRUARY with a trip to Indiana and as usual THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON is bringing you everything you need to know about Georgetown's next opponent. Here with us is @ButlerVictory, our go-to twitter guy for dropping Butler knowledge.  Let's do this!

Butler! How are things going in your neck of the woods?
First off, why do you care what I think?! When the top thing on the resume is "former blogger" you might be asking the wrong guy, but I digress. Yeah things aren't exactly rainbows and unicorns at the moment, but I suppose it could be worse. Have had two chances to lose to DePaul and one against the Johnnies...conquered those obstacles.

Who are some of the guys that the Hoyas will need to watch out for Tuesday night?
Well, see, you're kind of hitting on the problem with that question itself. As in, not enough guys to really have to watch out for. The usual suspects you're tired of hearing about are what you will mostly hear about: Rose Jones and Kellen Dunham. The development and production from sophomore Kelan Martin has been fun to watch, and the kid can fill it up when he gets rolling, but still hard to predict in any given game. Outside of that, not a whole lot to watch out for. The regression from Andrew Chrabascz has probably been the biggest disappointment overall. The point guard spot continues to be a problem, and there is not much size and production in the post. The team really misses the identities of Alex Barlow and Kam Woods, on both ends of the floor. Haven't come close to replacing it, and depth is a big issue.

Butler hasn't beaten anyone since November - on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being HOLY SHIT, how much does this concern you as we flip the calendar to February? Gun to your head, does Butler make the Dance?
Coming in with the chin music now, gotcha. The concern is more than real, partly because of all things I just mentioned, and partly because the non-conference slate is looking worse almost by the day. Basically it comes down to (barring a run at the Garden), can Butler go 6-3 the rest of the way? HOLY SHIT, that's hard to see happening right now. Still, gun to head, Bulldogs will make the dance because they'll win a game (or two) they shouldn't and there are a lot of average teams out there to fill the last spots.

Which of the following is likely to occur first: Pigs Fly or Roosevelt Jones Goes to His Left?
Or, somebody stops him from going right?

What's your take on this Hoyas squad?
You don't want to know. But if you perhaps you do want to know, I don't think much of this Hoyas squad -- not because I think they're terrible, but because of the stale coach. This really isn't about this year itself, it's about how it seems from the outside that there isn't a coach in the country who consistently does less with more. As a Butler fan, we have gotten spoiled by the exact opposite for the most part. Can't say that I watch the Hoyas a lot, but I do know if I was a fan/alum, I would be past the end of the rope in the big picture. You well know, JT3 isn't going anywhere as long as Dad is around. He still gets plenty of talent. There will be plenty of Tourney appearances. But what are the expectations? I didn't really answer your question. Sorry.

If I'm making my first trip to Hinkle, tell me where I need to go and what I need to do in order to get the full experience.
A spot in the Crow's Nest, perched above the basket, would be pretty awesome. Get there a little early to walk around (they did a good job with the renovation). To me, the full experience of Hinkle comes when there's a sellout and you just sit there and appreciate the sensory overload. The sights and sounds of the building are what it's all about. You feel how old and ornate it is, and that's the cool part.

Do you have an anecdote about Andrew Smith that you'd like to share?
Given the type of small community that Butler is -- and how basketball is the center of it -- really made Andrew's battle for his life very personal and touching for so many. Beyond that, he was such a humble guy and I always really respected that. I can't say I really knew him, but I did have the opportunity to interview him on many occasions. The one thing that I will always remember is what he accomplished and overcame as a senior, and I was around the team a lot at that time. The guy had unrealistic expectations as a player from the day he arrived, and that tends to happen when you are a 7 footer. Most of us could have never imagined the vocal leader and very productive player he became in his final year, in the face of a lot of naysayers. He busted his tail. I remember just prior to that season starting, I was doing a podcast with Yahoo's Jeff Eisenberg for a preview. Jeff asked me point blank, "Will Andrew Smith be any different than what we have seen to this point?" I said no. I said, "I hate to say it, but he is what he is." And I couldn't have been more wrong.

Final score prediction?
81-80 Butler, in double OT.