Part one of our preview for this weekends game, we bring back David Woods who covers the Butler Bulldogs for the Indianapolis Star and delivers the Bulldogs Insider. His book The Butler Way: The Best of Butler Basketball published in November and is available on amazon.com.

The last time we asked him about his favorite moments covering Butler basketball from his book as well as some background behind Butler’s play over the last few months, dominating the Horizon League and are almost 100% in the NCAA Tournament field. We caught up with him about Saturday morning’s game.

Part one of our interview is here and a scouting report of Butler star Gordon Hayward. Stay tuned for more coverage from SienaSaintsBlog and follow us on twitter.

SienaSaintsBlog: How would you explain Gordon Hayward’s game?

David Woods/Indianapolis Star: He is a 6-foot-9 wing who rebounds like a center and handles the ball like a guard. He needs some physical maturity before he is ready for the NBA, but he will be there someday. He is in a horrible slump from 3-point arc (4-of-27 over seven games) after shooting 45 percent on 3s last season. He is clearly the league’s Player of the Year. He sometimes takes a deferential role, but he usually comes up big in Butler’s biggest games.

SienaSaintsBlog: Have you ever seen anyone at Butler comprable to Hayward’s raw talent?

David Woods/Indianapolis Star: Wisconsin Green Bay head coach Tod Kowalczyk said Hayward is “the best player this league will ever see.” That might be hyperbole, but you get the idea. Hayward looks that good sometimes, but not always.

SienaSaintsBlog: How tough is it to play at Hinkle Fieldhouse?

David Woods/Indianapolis Star: Butler is now 41-3 over the last three years at home. Actually, it’s not as tough as you might think. If Butler students — and there aren’t many on this small campus — are not into it, the crowd can be restrained. But Hinkle can also be loud with as few as 3,000 in attendance. Butler lost home BracketBuster games to Southern Illinois in 2007 and to Drake in 2008.

SienaSaintsBlog: What do you think will be the key matchup in this game?

David Woods/Indianapolis Star: Probably the two point guards, Ronald Nored vs. Ronald Moore. Nored is a wonderful defender, and if can restrain Moore, the Saints’ offense will suffer. On the other hand, if Moore is as effective in distributing the ball as he usually is, Siena can beat Butler.

SienaSaintsBlog: You told us last time that Butler revolves around Matt Howard inside but his game has been erratic this year. How do you see Howard and 6′3″ Willie Veasley handling a team with quality big men like the Saints?

David Woods/Indianapolis Star: Surprisingly, Butler usually fares well against teams featuring a big center. Long, quick wings (i.e. Minnesota and UAB) have caused more trouble. An exception was Georgetown center Greg Monroe, who had 24 points and 15 rebounds vs. Butler. Hayward can defend the post, too, and will probably help out down there. Veasley plays like he is 6-foot-7 and excels against athletic opponents. But if Howard gets in foul trouble, the Bulldogs will flounder.

We thank David for taking our questions and recommend you buy his book The Butler Way: The Best of Butler Basketball, available on amazon.com.