Opponent: Winthrop (No. 13 Seed - South Region)
Specifics: Thursday, March 16  |  1:30 p.m. ET  |  BMO Harris Bradley Center  |  Milwaukee, Wis.
TV: TNT  |  Carter Blackburn, Mike Gminski, Debbie Antonelli & Lisa Byington
Radio: 107.5 FM (also streamed through TuneIn Radio App)  |  Mark Minner (play-by-play) & Nick Gardner (analyst)
Follow Along: @ButlerMBB

Full Notes (PDF)

ENJOYING THE MADNESS: Butler, the No. 4 seed in the South Region, travels to Milwaukee for an NCAA Tournament first round match-up with No. 13 seed Winthrop. The tip is set for 1:30 p.m. (Eastern) Thursday and will air nationally on TNT. The Bulldogs enter the NCAA Tournament with a record of 23-8. Winthrop, the champions of the Big South Conference, are 26-6.
 
HIGH SEED: The Bulldogs have put together arguably the most impressive regular season in program history, which was validated with a No. 4 seed by the NCAA Men's Basketball Committee. Butler was the No. 13 overall seed in the committee's 1-68 rankings, making Butler the highest-ranked of the four No. 4 seeds. The No. 4 seed is the best in Butler history. Butler's previous high seed was a No. 5 seed in both 2007 and 2010.
 
3 FOR 3: The Bulldogs secured their third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth under third-year coach Chris Holtmann. He and Brad Stevens are the only two coaches in Butler history to lead their teams to the NCAA Tournament in each of their first three seasons on the Butler sidelines.
 
PLAYING THE FIELD: Butler's season-long resume includes a 14-5 record against 12 teams that made the 2017 tournament field. The Bulldogs played NCAA Tournament teams in 19 of their 31 games this season, including non-conference wins over Arizona, Cincinnati, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Vermont, and Bucknell.
 
Winthrop will be the third of the four NCAA No. 13 seeds that Butler has played this season, after previously defeating Bucknell and Vermont.
 
THAT'S GOOD COMPETITION: Butler is 16-5 against teams ranked in the NCAA RPI Top 100, with nine of those wins coming against the Top 50 (not counting a win over No. 51 Northwestern). Those nine wins against the RPI Top 50 trail only Duke (13), Villanova (12), North Carolina (11), and Florida State (11). Baylor also has nine wins.
 
The Bulldogs went 2-0 this season against the NCAA Tournament's overall No. 1 seed and defending national champion Villanova. Butler provided the Wildcats with two of their three losses this season, ending a 48-game winning streak for Villanova at their on-campus arena, The Pavilion.
 
SEVEN OF TEN: The BIG EAST had 70 percent of its membership make the 2017 NCAA Tournament field as Butler joined Villanova, Creighton, Seton Hall, Providence, Marquette, and Xavier. The BIG EAST was tied with the Big Ten at seven bids, trailing only the nine from the ACC. However, no conference matched the BIG EAST's 70 percent placement rate.
 
WINNING THE FIRST ONE: The Bulldogs are 9-1 in their last 10 first round contests in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs' most recent first round loss came in 2009.
 
Butler is 8-0 in NCAA Tournament play as the better-seeded team.
 
HOT STREAK: Butler has been in the field for nine of the last 11 NCAA Tournaments, only missing out in 2012 and 2014. This is Butler's 15^th NCAA Tournament appearance and the Bulldogs have a 21-14 all-time mark in tournament play. After appearing in the 1962 NCAA Tournament, 14 of the appearances have come in the last 21 years.
 
FAMILIAR FOE: Butler and Winthrop have never met as men's basketball opponents, but coach Chris Holtmann is familiar with the Big South opponent from his days at Gardner-Webb. In Holtmann's three seasons guiding the Gardner-Webb program, he had a 2-4 record against Winthrop, which is coached by Pat Kelsey, a former player and assistant coach at Xavier.
 
'BIGLY' EAST PERFORMANCE: Butler's 12-6 BIG EAST record placed the Bulldogs solely in second place in the conference standings. The mark ties the 2014-15 team (Chris Holtmann's first season as head coach) as Butler's best record since joining the BIG EAST for the 2013-14 season. The 2014-15 team tied for second in the standings but entered the BIG EAST Tournament as the No. 3 seed.
 
INDIVIDUAL HONORS: A trio of Bulldogs earned All-BIG EAST honors as announced by the BIG EAST Conference March 5. The league's 10 head coaches made the selections. Senior forward Andrew Chrabascz was selected to the first team, while junior forward Kelan Martin earned second-team honors. Kamar Baldwin was a unanimous selection to the conference's All-Freshman Team.
 
HEAD HONCHO: Butler's Chris Holtmann was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year on March 8. The 10 BIG EAST coaches voted for the Coach of the Year. Holtmann, while at Gardner-Webb, was selected as the 2013 Big South Conference Coach of the Year. In his first season at Butler, Holtmann was selected as a finalist for both the Naismith and Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Awards. Butler's win over Vermont Dec. 21 was Holtmann's 100^th career win. The last Butler coach to earn conference Coach of the Year honors was Brad Stevens, who was selected for the Horizon League accolades in 2010.
 
EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS: BIG EAST coaches picked Butler to finish sixth in the league's preseason poll this season. The Bulldogs finished second in the league standings. It is reminiscent of Chris Holtmann's first season as head coach at Butler (2014-15) when the league's coaches picked Butler to tie for seventh and the Bulldogs instead finished in a tie for second place.
 
SOMETIMES THE REASONS ARE SIMPLE: Butler has shot 50 percent or better from the field 12 times this season. The Bulldogs are 11-1 in those games. When shooting a better percentage than its opponent, Butler is 18-0 this season and 53-2 under head coach Chris Holtmann.
 
THAT BELONGS TO US: On the season, the Bulldogs are averaging only 10.2 turnovers per game. That mark is eighth nationally. Butler had a season-low four turnovers – including none in the second half – against Marquette Jan. 16. The Bulldogs have posted 10 or fewer miscues in 15 games this season and is 12-3 in those games.
 
Butler committed a season-high 16 turnovers at Villanova Feb. 22 and still got the win. It marked the first time that Butler had committed more than 15 turnovers in 44 games, dating back to the Jan. 16, 2016 game against St. John's.
 
OFF THE BENCH: In BIG EAST play, Butler's bench out-scored the opponent's reserves by a combined score of 514-255, which is a 14.4-point advantage on average per game. Butler's bench out-scored the opponent's in 16 of its 18 BIG EAST games this season.
 
STOPPING A SKID: Following a loss, the Bulldogs are now 22-5 under coach Chris Holtmann. That includes a 5-2 mark this season. Butler has never had a three-game losing streak under Holtmann, a streak they look to continue Thursday against Winthrop after dropping their last two games entering NCAA Tournament play.
 
MAGIC NUMBER: Butler is now 33-1 under Chris Holtmann when scoring 80 or more points, including a 12-1 mark this season. The Bulldogs have gotten to 80 points thanks to strong 20-minute performances on several occasions. Butler scored 50 points in the second half of its win at Xavier Feb. 26. It was the sixth time this season that the Bulldogs posted 50 or more points in a half. It was the second time against Xavier this season. Butler also put up more than 50 in both halves against St. John's Feb. 15 (110-86 win).
 
THE WIN AT VILLANOVA: Butler's win snapped a 48-game winning streak for the Wildcats at The Pavilion, one that dates back to 2013. No. 2 Villanova also serves as Butler's highest-ranked true road win in program history, besting a win at No. 10 Wisconsin during the 2000-01 season.
 
Butler has three wins in program history against teams ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the AP Poll. Two of the three wins have come this season (both over Villanova), joining a 2012 Crossroads Classic victory over Indiana.
 
ON THE DEFENSIVE: The Bulldogs held Xavier to just 62 points in the BIG EAST quarterfinal March 9.  It was the first time this season that Butler has lost when holding its opponent to less than 70 points. Butler is 17-1 when its opponent scores less than 70 points and are 6-7 on the season when their opponent scores 70 or more.
 
BALANCED ATTACK: Butler had five players in double-figures against St. John's Feb. 15. It was the fourth time this season that Butler had five players score 10+ points. Butler is 4-0 in those contests. Butler is also 5-1 in games where the Bulldogs have four players score at least 10 points, including the Feb. 19 win against DePaul.
 
Eight different players have led the Bulldogs in scoring in at least one game this season. Six different Bulldogs have scored 20 points or more in a contest. In BIG EAST play, Butler had eight players averaging between 5.4 and 14.3 points per game.
 
SEEING 20/20: Butler is 23-8 overall, posting its 11th 20-win season in the last 12 years. The Bulldogs are one of only 17 programs that have posted at least 11 20-win seasons during that stretch (Michigan State and Syracuse could achieve this mark later this season). The Bulldogs have posted 20 or more wins on 22 occasions. Eighteen of those 20-win seasons have come since 1996-97.
 
HOME, SWEET HINKLE: Butler ends the home portion of its schedule with a 13-3 mark at Hinkle Fieldhouse this season and is now 39-9 at home under head coach Chris Holtmann.  
 
IN THE POLLS: The Bulldogs are ranked No. 21 in the AP poll, and Butler is No. 24 in the USA Today coaches poll this week. Butler has been ranked each week since the Nov. 28, 2016 polls.
 
THOSE COUNT FOR MORE: Butler hit 10 three-pointers at Villanova Feb. 22, the seventh time this season that the Bulldogs have made 10 or more behind the arc. Butler is 7-0 in those games. Butler's season average of 7.6 three-pointers per game is fifth in the BIG EAST.
 
LONG-TIME LISTENER, FIRST-TIME PARTICIPANT: While this is Butler's third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, it will be the first tournament action for several Bulldogs. Graduate student Avery Woodson is on his first NCAA Tournament team. Transfer Kethan Savage was part of a George Washington team that played in the 2014 Tournament, but he did not play due to injury. Redshirt freshman Sean McDermott joins Butler's current freshmen as first-time participants. Tyler Lewis played in two NCAA Tournaments with North Carolina State and has been on the Butler roster in each of the last three seasons (sitting out a transfer season for the 2015 Tournament before appearing in both the 2016 and 2017 Tournaments with Butler).
 
LEADING THE WAY: Junior Kelan Martin has led the team in scoring in four straight games entering the NCAA Tournament. In three of those games (and seven times this season), Martin has led the Bulldogs in both scoring and rebounding. On the season, Martin has led the team in scoring 14 times and has pulled down the team's most rebounds on 14 occasions. He has 10 20-point games on the season and his 25 points against Xavier Feb. 26 were his best performance in a BIG EAST game this season.
 
Over the past six games, Martin is averaging 19 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. In the three games prior to this stretch, Martin averaged 6.7 points and 4.7 rebounds. Martin had nine points during a decisive 18-0, second-half run for the Bulldogs at Villanova Feb. 22.
 
POINT GUARD AND POINT FORWARD: Teammates Tyler Lewis (3.9) and Andrew Chrabascz (3.2) rank third and tenth, respectively, in the BIG EAST in assists per game. The duo is also first and third in the conference in assist/turnover ratio. Lewis's mark of 3.78 is third in the nation. Chrabascz's eight assists against Villanova Feb. 22 tied his career-high and matched the team output by the Wildcats. Against Villanova, Butler assisted on 21 of its 27 field goals.
 
GET HOT: Avery Woodson is 18-of-34 from three-point range over his last six games. That is a 53-percent clip. Woodson leads the Bulldogs with 65 three-pointers on the season. He is tied for tenth in the BIG EAST in three-pointers made and eighth in three-point percentage (.417).
 
GRAND THEFT: Butler's backcourt of Kamar Baldwin and Kethan Savage combined for nine steals in the Feb. 26 win at Xavier. Baldwin's five steals matched his career-high. It was Savage's second consecutive game with a season-best four steals. Four of those nine steals came during a decisive 15-3 run.
 
Baldwin has 55 steals so far this season, a mark that is third in the BIG EAST and eighth on Butler's single-season list. Baldwin's 311 points this season are ninth all-time for a Butler freshman.
 
ON THE BOARDS: Butler out-rebounded Villanova, 32-31, Feb. 22, which was Butler's fourth straight game leading the rebounding category before being on the wrong side of the rebounding margin in the last three games. The Bulldogs are 15-2 on the season when pulling down more caroms than their opponents. Butler out-rebounded St. John's, 40-25, Feb. 15. It was Butler's largest rebounding advantage of the season.