YSU out to end seven-game skid

The Penguins will take on a Butler team that has lost five of its last six.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State returns to the Horizon League tonight, when the Penguins visit Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The game, which will be broadcast on WNIO-AM (1390), is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
The Penguins (3-13, 1-5) have lost seven straight games, the latest a 79-59 setback at Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne on Saturday.
IPFW shot 56 percent from the floor, while the Penguins made only 31 percent of their shots.
Junior guard Zach Silverman came off the bench to score 19 points for the Penguins. Silverman was 5-of-9 from the floor and 7-of-7 at the line.
Brian Radakovich added 12 points, and the senior forward is nearing career plateaus of 600 points and 400 rebounds.
Butler (6-8, 1-3) has lost five of its last six games. The Bulldogs last played on Saturday, losing 72-59 at Detroit. Bruce Horan had 15 points to lead Butler, which trailed by just one at halftime. The Bulldogs started the season 3-0 but have dropped eight of their last 11 contests.
Butler's other league losses have come to Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Wisconsin-Green Bay. The Bulldogs' only league win -- like YSU -- came against Loyola of Chicago.
YSU, Butler and Cleveland State -- the Penguins' opponent at Beeghly Center on Saturday, all begin tonight's games with one league win. Loyola is just ahead of those three teams with two victories, while Wright State and UIC both have three league wins. UW-Milwaukee, UW-Green Bay and Detroit are atop the league standings with only one loss apiece.
Rely on 3-pointer
Once again, the Bulldogs rely heavily on the 3-pointer. Of their field-goal attempts, 48.4 percent (343-of-709) have come from 3-point range, while 37.2 percent (119-of-320) of their made field goals are 3-pointers.
A.J. Graves leads the team averaging 11 points per game. Graves has made 21 3-pointers to rank second on the team, while Horan has made a league-high 45.
This marks the third consecutive game between YSU and Butler in Indianapolis. Youngstown State lost 81-76 in the final week of the regular season last year before suffering an 88-57 defeat in the first round of the Horizon League tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse. In the tournament game, Butler made 59.6 percent of its field goals (31-of-52) and 12 3-pointers.
In the regular-season meeting in Youngstown, YSU lost 67-66 in overtime.
The Bulldogs have won seven straight in the series since YSU won the first meeting between the two programs. Since the Penguins joined the Horizon League, they are winless against Butler, but three of those games have been decided by five points or less.