Rahmon Fletcher and Cordero Barkley — the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's best player and best defender, respectively — were stuck on the bench in sweat suits, and freshman Rian Pearson was forced to make his first career start the last time the Phoenix played Butler.

Predictably, it wasn't pretty for UWGB, which lost 72-49 at Hinkle Fieldhouse on New Year's Eve in an early-season battle for first place in theHorizon League.

When the top-two teams meet again tonight at the Resch Center in a nationally televised game on ESPNU (8 p.m.), at least this time the second-place Phoenix (15-7 overall, 7-3 Horizon League) will be able to throw its best players at the first-place Bulldogs (16-4, 9-0). Fletcher and Barkley have returned from the knee injuries that kept them out of the first Butler game, and Pearson, the athletic wing who is coming off the best week of his young career, might have worked his way back into the starting lineup.

"I think it's going to make a difference just as far as what we can do, how we can get into them," Fletcher said. "We won't have to worry about getting tired because we've got people on the bench this time."

Having Fletcher back at point guard should be critical for a Phoenix offense that shot just 35.4 percent, including 6-of-21 in the second half, in the loss in Indianapolis. Without Fletcher, his backcourt mates Bryquis Perine and Troy Cotton combined for just 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting. Together, the trio has averaged 43 points per game this season.

Even if Fletcher hasn't played his best basketball in the last three games, when he has battled turnover problems, he's still the Horizon League's leading scorer (17.7 ppg) in conference games and the key to UWGB's offense. Perine is the top assist man (4.7 per game) in league games, while Cotton is third in 3-pointers made (2.2 per game).

Having Barkley back in the rotation off the bench should help the Phoenix's defense. Without him in the first meeting, coach Tod Kowalczyk started out in a 2-3 zone but had to come out of it quickly after Gordon Hayward buried 3-pointers on Butler's first two possessions. The problem was, it didn't have anyone who could match Hayward straight up, either. The lanky, 6-foot-5 Barkley could be the perfect guy to cover the 6-9 Hayward, who leads Butler in scoring (16.1 ppg) and as a sophomore already is drawing NBA interest. In fact, several NBA scouts are expected to be at the Resch Center tonight.

And then there's Pearson, who going into the first Butler game had averaged only 11.5 minutes and 3.7 points per game after missing the entire preseason and the first three regular-season games because of aknee injury. Since the first meeting with the Bulldogs, the 6-3 guard has emerged as the Phoenix's best newcomer. On the two-game road trip to Ohio last week, he averaged 12 points and 22 minutes per game, including a career-high 14-point performance against Cleveland State.

"I feel much more comfortable now than I did a month ago," Pearson said. "I was just adjusting to getting playing time and learning how to play against better players. Now that coach is playing me more, I feel like I'm better adjusted."

Pearson's athleticism could make him a viable option to guard Hayward or Butler's second-leading scorer, guard Shelvin Mack.