In fact, I imagine Stevens sitting in his office right now chatting with assistant coach Matthew Graves

“Unless, of course, my nine all-stars fall victim to nine separate misfortunes and are unable to play tomorrow. But that will never happen.

Three misfortunes, that's possible. Seven misfortunes, there's an outside chance. But nine misfortunes? I'd like to see that!”

The fact is Butler is stacked this season and next, and barring a complete and total breakdown in recruiting and performance has established a stranglehold on the Horizon League that leaves the nine other teams fighting for the scraps. The Bulldogs have changed the way the rest of the teams in the Horizon League must now play the game. And the rest of the league has been slow to adapt.

Wright State has the best shot at competing with the Bulldogs this year. They’ve assembled a veteran team with some of the Horizon League’s better players in Vaughn Duggins, Todd Brown and John David Gardner. But what about next season when that senior laden crew is gone? It’ll be back to the drawing board and hoping to get back to the top of the league in two or three years.

Cleveland State was picked to finish third in the pre-season poll. After losing their top two players the Vikings find themselves trying to keep the momentum of last season’s Horizon League tournament championship and NCAA victory going. It’s going to be hard with Norris Cole having to take over a leadership role and seven returnees having to fill bigger roles. They’ll have their moments and third place seems like a fair assessment, but first place is out of the question. In fact, another 20-win season may be out of the question as CSU returns to mid-major obscurity after a year in the sun.

Milwaukee is coming off a fifth place finish a season ago and returns some nice players in James Eayrs and Tone Boyle. Both were named to the league’s pre-season second team. And you know what? Both are seniors, so this is the season for Milwaukee to try and compete for the league’s top third. It’s a far cry from the Bruce Pearl days when the Panthers had a nice run culminating in a Sweet 16 appearance. But like many other mid-majors it’s nearly impossible to sustain the momentum when your coach leaves for greener pastures and a built in succession plan is not in place.

Green Bay is going to be 14 years removed from their last NCAA tournament appearance when this season ends. Head coach Tod Kowalczyk had a really good team last season and managed a second place finish, but like many good mid-major teams none but the most loyal fans will remember the 22-11 season the 08-09 Phoenix put together. Three starters return for Green Bay, but anything more than a middle of the pack finish for a less talented team than last season would be a surprise.

Detroit has fallen on some hard times lately and hopes to rebuild with second year coach Ray McCallum. If he could land his son to play for the Titans next season it would be a step in the right direction. However, if they do land him it needs to be a starting point for rebuilding rather than the cornerstone of a three or four year project that ends right back where it started. All too many mid-major squads fall victim to playing for one season instead of playing for the future of the program. While an NCAA tournament win or two is nice and provides for some incredible memories for fans and players alike what good does it do if the team finishes 10th in conference two years later?

That’s what Butler has done and the rest of the league has failed to realize or adjust to. Reaching the NCAA tournament for nine of the ten teams in this league is when the head coach gets lowered from the rafters with smoke and lights and stands in front of a “Mission Accomplished” banner to give a speech to fans and alumni. For Butler that moment was another step in the right direction. They enjoyed the moment and then asked what’s next, made that happen and then asked what’s next again. For everyone else it’s a banner ceremony and then right back to the beginning.

Youngstown, Valparaiso, Loyola and UIC all have some serious issues to contend with. In most all publications these four were picked at or near the bottom of the league and are several years away from contending for the top third of the league. Youngstown returns several key players from a seventh place team, Valparaiso’s roster is almost like a perpetual motion machine. I don’t see Jimmy Collins making it through the season at UIC, where a major change is needed. The Ramblers lost three starters and will find it near impossible to score on some nights.

It’s not going to be an interesting season. Unless nine Butler players fall victim to nine separate misfortunes they are going to run away with the Horizon League title. The battle for their table scraps could be interesting as a few teams could snag the honor of playing Butler at Butler as Butler battles for a better NCAA tournament seed.