Fairleigh Dickinson at Butler

Fairleigh Dickinson opened its season Monday with a 120-45 loss at third-ranked Illinois, and that score is a big reason the market has this number where it is. Butler opened the same night with a 96-60 win over Lafayette. The two games weren't comparable. The Knights faced a top-three team on the road, and Butler faced a Patriot League opponent at home. Butler's high scorer was Asim Djulovic with 19 points, so the 96 was spread across the roster. I read that as a deep rotation that goes to the bench early once a lead builds, and that slows a margin. The Knights bring size to that game. Pavle Stosic, a 6-foot-10 transfer from Pepperdine, and Bol Agu, a 6-foot-8 senior, give them bodies to contest the glass. JR Jacobs, a graduate student who has played at four programs, runs a veteran backcourt. Butler is a Big East program playing its second game of the year. The price is still reacting to Monday's box score, so side with Fairleigh Dickinson on the spread tonight.