David Woods

david.woods@indystar.com

Xavier at Butler, 2 p.m., Saturday, FS1

INDIANAPOLIS — Butler fans consider Xavier players to be a bunch of thugs. Xavier fans consider Butler irrelevant except for a couple of lucky March runs.

Ah, college basketball.

The twice-a-year hatefest resumes Saturday when No. 14 Xavier meets No. 13 Butler in an important Big East game at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Xavier is 3-1 and Butler 3-2 in the conference, trailing 4-1 co-leaders Villanova and Creighton.

Butler-Xavier is a rivalry more applicable to fans than players themselves. Athletic director Barry Collier said Butler has not required extra security for this game. But he added: “I think it’s safe to say our fans know when we’re playing Xavier.”

Coaches Chris Holtmann of Butler and Chris Mack of Xavier speak respectfully of each other’s teams. Play has been spirited. Nothing more.

“I don’t see any cheap shots,” Mack said.

No. The cheap shots are reserved for fans shouting from the stands or posting on social media. What happens between fan bases, well, that’s on them, Mack said.

“I can’t worry about what grown men do on their computers in their living rooms,” Mack said.

That quote was seen by more than 20,000, according to Twitter. Many posts on @FakeBradStevens, run by a Butler graduate, are swipes against Xavier. A Xavier fan has claimed accounts for mascot @ButlerBlue5 through @ButlerBlue10 so that Butler cannot use them.

Familiarity has bred contempt.

The Indianapolis and Cincinnati campuses are 117 miles apart, and the private universities are similar in enrollment and values. Xavier has the Xavier Way and Butler the Butler Way. They have been colleagues in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, Atlantic 10 and Big East. Indeed, Xavier was supportive of Butler’s recent moves in conference realignment.

The programs have often changed coaches but sustained success. Indy players have chosen Xavier, and Cincinnati players have chosen Butler.

“I hear it from all sides here,” said Lance McAlister, a Butler graduate who has been a Cincinnati radio sportscaster for 19 years. “It never ends for me.”

Both sides have reason to be envious of the other.

Since joining the Big East, the Musketeers are 6-1 against the Bulldogs. Xavier has been to 10 of the past 11 NCAA tournaments, exceeding what Butler has done, and to the Sweet 16 five times in that span (and Elite Eight twice).

Butler? Back-to-back appearances in the NCAA championship game in 2010 and 2011.

For the Musketeers, “that sticks in their craw,” McAlister said. “Xavier wants to be Butler from that standpoint.”

Neither side will hear the end of the infamous 2009 game featuring a clock controversy in Butler’s 69-68 victory. A Xavier player destroyed a water fountain outside the locker room afterward. McAlister said Xavier fans call it the “Shot Clock Game” and Butler fans call it the “Water Fountain Game.”

Butler senior Brendan King, a member of the Dawg Pound’s executive board, wasn’t around for that one but has heard all about it. King said incoming students are simply told Xavier is a rivalry game, “and you’re going to be on your ‘A’ game cheering.”

King promised the Dawg Pound would “hit J.P. Macura hard” after an offseason incident in which he was charged with disorderly conduct at a bar. Macura was accused of pulling down his pants and using a fake ID under “Myles Fox Morrisey,” the name of a Xavier golfer.

Macura dunked against Butler late in last year’s 74-57 victory at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

“We were going back and forth with him all game,” King said. "I think it's going to be a lot of fun."

Inciting Macura might not be ideal strategy. McAlister said the shooting guard, who was once recruited by the Bulldogs, is made for a moment like this.

“He’s kind of Dennis the Menace, but he looks like Shaggy from Scooby Doo,” the sportscaster said. “He’s one of those guys, you love him if he’s on your team and hate him if he’s not.”

Butler fans were vexed by timing of Myles Davis’ return. He faced two criminal charges involving a former girlfriend. Davis was suspended until this week — when the Musketeers were to play Butler and No. 1 Villanova. Davis’ suspension lasted a semester, so reinstatement coincided with the start of second semester.

Park Tudor’s Trevon Bluiett, also recruited by Butler, chose Xavier. Sophomore center Nate Fowler is the latest Cincinnati Moeller player to choose Butler.

Can’t we all get along? When it comes to Butler and Xavier, absolutely not.

Call IndyStar reporter David Woods at (317) 444-6195. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.

NO. 14 XAVIER at NO. 13 BUTLER

Tipoff: 2 p.m. Saturday, Hinkle Fieldhouse.

TV: Fox Sports 1.

Radio: WNFI-AM (1070), -FM (93.5).

Storylines:

• This will be the third time in Hinkle Fieldhouse history that Butler (14-3, 3-2) and its opponent both rank in the Top 15. The two others: Jan. 19, 2013, when No. 13 Butler beat No. 8 Gonzaga 64-63; Dec. 31, 2015, when No. 12 Providence beat No. 9 Butler 81-73.

• Under coach Chris Holtmann, Butler is 19-3 in the next game after a defeat. The Bulldogs have a 12-game home winning streak. Butler is 9-0 at home and Xavier 1-3 on the road.

• Both teams are coming off season-worst defeats. Xavier (13-3, 3-1) lost at No. 1 Villanova 79-54 on Tuesday, and Butler lost at No. 8 Creighton 75-64 on Wednesday.

• Top scorers for Butler and Xavier are both in the midst of shooting declines. Butler’s Kelan Martin is at 30 percent (20-of-66) in Big East games and 22 percent (6-of-27) on 3-pointers. Xavier’s Trevon Bluiett is shooting 20 percent (6-of-30) over three games.

— David Woods