GAME PREVIEW: No. 8 Butler Faces No. 9 Snow in Second Round of NJCAA National Tournament

HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Butler and Snow will face off in the Second Round of the NJCAA National Tournament on Tuesday from the Sports Arena in Hutchinson, Kansas. 

The Teams: No. 8 Butler (24-9) vs. No. 9 Snow (29-4)

Where: Hutchinson, Kan.

Arena: Hutchinson Sports Arena

Time: 12 p.m. CT

Streaming Platform: https://www.espn.com/watch/browse/

Radio:  97.5 & 1240 KFH (https://www.audacy.com/stations/kfh)

The No. 8 seeded Butler Grizzlies will play the No. 9 seeded Snow Badgers on Tuesday from the Sports Arena in Hutchinson, Kan.

No. 8 Butler Grizzlies (24-9)

The Grizzlies are fresh off of winning their first KJCCC regular season title since the 2014-15 season and their first Region 6 Tournament Championship since the 2022-23 season. Head coach Eric Nitsche is in his second season at the helm of the Grizzlies and has an overall record of 46-20. Butler is 24-9 on the season and rank second in the NJCAA in total points per game (104.1) and are the highest shooting three-point team in the country, hitting 435-1,262 threes on the season (13.2-38.2 per game) at a 34.5 percent clip. The Grizzlies rank fourth in the NJCAA in offensive rebounds per game (16.3) and have the number one turnover defense, forcing 20.6 per game, mostly due to the Grizzlies elite full-court press. Butler allows a 50.1 percent opponent shooting percentage and 95.5 points per game. 

Nitsche was named the 2025-26 KJCCC Coach of the Year and the Grizzlies had five members earn All-KJCCC honors, including freshman guard Tristan Hankins being named the 2025-26 KJCCC Player of the Year, as well as being named the 2026 Region 6 Tournament MVP. 

Last Time Out:

The Grizzlies last played on March 14 in the Region 6 Championship against a team that beat them two times in the regular season, the Barton Cougars. In the third time around, the first half was similar to the two previous matchups with Barton. The Cougars led 48-37 at the break and the Grizzlies were held to only 29.4 percent shooting and were five of 28 from deep. Butler would go onto rebound in the second half, scoring an astonishing 74 points in the final 20 minutes to Barton's 55. After shooting only four free throws in the first half, Butler was more aggressive in the second, going to the line 37 times and converting 30 of them at an 81.1 percent clip. Hankins scored a team-high 35 points on 10 of 22 shooting, 13-17 from the charity stripe. The Grizzlies would go onto win the game 111-103. 

No. 9 Snow Badgers (29-4)

The No. 9 seeded Snow Badgers have been one of the most consistent teams in the NJCAA this season and are led by fourth-year head coach Andrew May. May has an overall record of 102-25 (80.3%) and has led Snow back to the national tournament for the second consecutive season. The Badgers finished 32-2 overall last season and were the number one overall seed. Snow lost in the second round of the national tournament last season to No. 17 Connors State 63-62. Snow was the preseason No. 10 team in the country and were in all 14 of the season rankings. After starting the season 27-1, Snow was ranked as the number one team in the country for the final three weeks of the NJCAA poll and looked poised to earn the number one overall seed for the NJCAA National Tournament. Snow would then lose three of their last four games, twice to the College of Southern Idaho, including in the Region 18 Tournament Championship. The Badgers slipped to the No. 9 seed after the conclusion of their regular season and conference tournament. The Badgers rank ninth in the NJCAA in points per game (91.9) and 10^th in assists per game (19.0). Snow allows 74.1 points per game on the year, and their average margin of victory is 17.8.

Last Time Out

Snow played No. 24 seed Trinidad State (17-17) on Sunday in the First Round of the National Tournament. Snow defeated Trinidad State 128-86 to move onto the second round to face the Grizzlies. Despite Trinidad State having two players score 25 points or more, and one other player scoring 16, no other player scored more than six. The Badgers cruised to the win and had five players score in double-figures. Snow shot an impressive 63 percent from the field in the win and were an incredible 18 of 27 from three (66.7 percent). Snow's leading scorer on the season, McCaden Adams (18.1 per game), led the badgers with 30 points and was 10 of 13 shooting and seven of nine from behind the arc. Snow's 6'11 big man Sean Felts also stuffed the stat sheet, as he finished his afternoon with 27 points and 12 rebounds, going 12 of 18 from the floor. Felts can spread the floor and has proven to be an efficient deep threat, going three of four from behind the arc on Sunday.  Snow outrebounded Trinidad State 47-20 for the game, had 42 assists on 51 made baskets (both are season-highs) and scored 74 total points in the second half.