GAME 12:  --/-- Bulldogs (8-3, 0-0 BIG EAST) vs. Morehead State (4-6)
Tuesday, Dec. 19  |  8:30 p.m. ET  
Indianapolis, Ind.  |  Hinkle Fieldhouse
TV: FS1  |  @VinceWelch & @JordanCornette
Radio: 1070 AM, 107.5 FM & TuneIn Radio App  |  @MarkMinner & @n_gardner 
@ButlerMBB  |  ButlerSports.com
Tickets: Still available - purchase

Full Notes (PDF)

This is the first meeting between Butler and Morehead State as men's basketball opponents. The two universities are both members of the Pioneer Football League, a non-scholarship conference at the FCS level. Butler defeated the Eagles, 44-6, Oct. 7. The teams have met 22 times in football.
 
• Butler has won 41 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents. The streak dates back to a loss to Pittsburgh in the 2012 College Basketball Invitational (CBI). That current streak trails only Duke (138) and Arizona (45) nationally. (Arizona plays at home Monday night.)
• Over the past five games, Kelan Martin is averaging 21.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game; he has made 15 of 16 free throw attempts
• Paul Jorgensen is 19-of-37 (51 percent) from three-point range over the team's last six games; he is averaging 13.5 points per game during that stretch.
• Largely due to 18 offensive rebounds, Butler out-rebounded Purdue, 37-31, Saturday in the Crossroads Classic. It was Butler's first loss this season when out-rebounding an opponent (now 6-1).
• Sean McDermott, sidelined since Nov. 24 with an ankle sprain, returned to action Saturday against Purdue. McDermott started the first six games of the season before the injury. His 41-percent shooting from three-point range is second on the team.
• Dec. 19 is Tony Hinkle's birthday. He was born in 1899.
 
STREAK-SNAPPER: Butler had its five-game winning streak end Saturday at the hands of No. 17 Purdue, falling 82-67 in the Crossroads Classic in downtown Indianapolis. The Boilermakers limited Butler to 21-percent shooting in the first half, jumping out to a 35-19 halftime advantage that the Bulldogs could not overcome.
 
TALE OF TWO HALVES: Butler's 19 points in the first half Saturday tied a season-low for the Bulldogs (first half vs. Texas, Nov. 23). However, the second half – as Butler shot 53 percent including six three-pointers – tied for the best offensive 20 minutes this season for the Bulldogs. The 48 points equaled the best output for a half so far this season (previously done twice).
 
FORCING THE ISSUE: Butler forced Purdue into 18 turnovers Saturday, a common theme for the Bulldogs' defense this season. Butler has turned its opponent over an average of 16.4 times per game this season. That has contributed greatly to a +3.7 turnover margin on the year. The Bulldogs average 7.5 steals per game. Butler had nine steals against the Boilermakers, just off the season-high 11 steals Butler swiped in the win over Ohio State Nov. 26.
 
Butler's 7.5 steals per game are second in the BIG EAST, while the team's +3.7 turnover margin is third.
 
THE ARC: The three-point line has not been kind to the Bulldogs this season. Offensively, Butler is hitting only 31.4 percent of their long-range attempts. Defensively, Butler's opponents are making 40 percent of their attempts. Both of those averages are last in the BIG EAST. However, the discrepancy narrows to .315-.350 over the Bulldogs' five most recent games.

DAWGS GO AS THEY GO: Tyler Wideman and Paul Jorgensen combine to average 24.4 points per game on 60.3-percent shooting in Butler's eight wins. The duo are scoring a combined 10.0 points per game on 35-percent shooting in the team's three losses.
 
Wideman is third in the BIG EAST in field goal percentage (66.2) and fifth in offensive rebounding (2.4 per game).
 
CLIMBING THE HILL: Purdue led Butler by 26 points with 13:37 to play Saturday. The Bulldogs trimmed the lead to nine points with 3:03 to play. Much of that was due to Paul Jorgensen and Kamar Baldwin. The duo started the game a combined 2-of-18 from the field before hitting nine of 13 shots down the stretch.
 
TOO HOT FOR THE PENGUINS: Butler put up its most impressive offensive numbers of the season in a 95-67 win over Youngstown State Dec. 9. The Bulldogs shot a season-best .585, which led to those season-high 95 points. For the first time this season, five Bulldogs reached double figures.
 
SEASON-BESTS: Kamar Baldwin led the Bulldogs with 19 points against Youngstown State, the season-high for the sophomore and just the fifth time in his 44 career games that he has led Butler in scoring. Nate Fowler posted a season-high 12 points (on 6-of-7 shooting), while freshman Christian David went 5-of-5 from the field to register a career-high 10 points.
 
PAINT JOB: Butler has won the points-in-the-paint battle in all eight of its wins this season. The Bulldogs had a season-best 62 points in the paint against Youngstown State Dec. 9. The +36 discrepancy in paint points was also a season-best for the Bulldogs. On the season, Butler is averaging a +13.8 edge in points in the paint.
 
DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Senior Kelan Martin posted his second consecutive double-double with 29 points and 11 rebounds against Utah Dec. 5. Martin now has three double-doubles on the season and 13 in his career.
 
Martin has 26 career 20-point outings and has led the team in scoring 37 times in his Butler career.
 
MORE ON MARTIN: The 29 points against Utah were a season-high for Martin, and the third-best scoring output of his Butler career. He made a career-best 12 field goals in the game against the Utes, and in doing so, passed Bobby Plump for 15th on Butler's career scoring list. Martin, now with 1,497 career points, is 14^th in all-time scoring, 30 points shy of Shelvin Mack.  
 
Martin leads the BIG EAST in minutes per game so far this season (35.5). Sophomore Kamar Baldwin (at 31.8 minutes per game) is eighth.
 
HOME BASKET ADVANTAGE: The Bulldogs are 6-0 at Hinkle this season. In those six games, the Bulldogs are averaging 83.3 points per game while shooting 54 percent from the field. Butler is 2-3 away from its home court, averaging 63.6 ppg on 38-percent shooting.
 
QUICK HANDS: Kamar Baldwin is fourth in the BIG EAST, averaging 2.0 steals per game. He had a four-game stretch earlier this season (Nov. 15 at Maryland through Portland State on Nov. 24) where he had three steals in each contest. Baldwin had 59 steals last season, a mark that is eighth on Butler's single-season list. He had seven games of three or more steals last season.
 
WHEN SHOTS FALL: The Bulldogs are undefeated when any of the following occur: leading at halftime (7-0), shooting a better percentage from the field than their opponent (6-0), or shooting 50 percent or better from the field (6-0).
 
FIRST FIVE: All 81 points Dec. 5 against Utah came from Butler's starting five. That is uncharacteristic for the Bulldogs this season as the Butler bench had outscored the opponent's in six games this season.
 
DOING THE DISHES: Aaron Thompson tied his career-high with six assists against Youngstown State Dec. 9. That came one game after Kamar Baldwin set a new career-high with five assists against Utah. Thompson has four or more assists in seven games so far this season.
 
SHARING IS CARING: Paul Jorgensen is third on the team in assists (26), and has only committed six turnovers on the season. Kamar Baldwin has 29 assists through 11 games after handing out only 50 assists in 34 games last season.