#15/19 BUTLER (8-1) at TENNESSEE (3-3)
Sunday, December 14, 2 p.m. (ET)
Knoxville, Tenn. - Thompson-Boling Arena
TV:  ESPNU (Mike Morgan, Darrin Horn)
Radio:  93.1 FM (Mark Minner, Nick Gardner)

Game Notes

INITIAL VISIT:  Butler will be looking to extend a four-game winning streak and protect a "Top 25" national ranking when it visits Tennesse for a non-conference game on Sunday, Dec. 14.  The game at Thompson-Boling Arena is scheduled for 2 p.m. (ET) and will be televised nationally on ESPNU.  The Bulldogs (8-1), ranked 15th in the Associated Press Poll and 19th in the USA Today Coaches Poll, will be playing at Tennessee for the first time.  The two teams have faced each other three previous times, twice on neutral courts and once at Hinkle Fieldhouse, and will meet again next year in Indianapolis.  Tennessee (3-3) is 2-0 in Thompson-Boling Arena this year and boasts a five-game homecourt winning streak, dating back to last season.  The Volunteers picked up their second home win of the season on Saturday (Dec. 6) with a 65-64 decision over Kansas State.  Tennessee limited the visiting Wildcats to just 17 points in the first half and then held off a late Kansas State rally to secure the victory.  Butler won its fourth straight game with a 93-51 victory over Kennesaw State on Monday (Dec. 8).                                                                  
   
Butler is 8-1 for the first time since 2008-09.

POLLING DATA:  The Bulldogs' performance at the Battle 4 Atlantis earned Butler a spot in the Associated Press "Top 25" for the first time since 2012-13.  Butler, ranked No. 23 a week ago, climbed to No. 15 in this week's A. P. poll and moved into the the USA Today Coaches Poll at No. 19.  The last time Butler was ranked in both polls was on Feb. 25, 2013 (No. 20 in the A. P. poll and No. 21 in the coaches' poll).

Butler currently has it's highest national ranking since Feb. 11, 2013 (#11/10).        

LAST OUTING:  Butler scored on 15 of its first 16 possessions against Kennesaw State and went on to post a 42-point victory in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.  The Bulldogs opened the game on a 14-5 run and stretched the lead to double-figures less than seven minutes into the contest.  The visiting Owls never got closer than 12 points over the final 32:47.  Butler led 52-27 at halftime, behind a 64% shooting performance, and added to that margin in the final 20 minutes, despite "cooling" off to 54.2% from the field.  Coach Chris Holtmann used all 12 Butler players in the win, and ten different Bulldogs scored in the contest, led by junior Roosevelt Jones with 19 points.  

The Bulldogs matched their biggest margin of victory this season on Monday.     

TOTAL GAME:  On Monday afternoon, the BIG EAST announced that Butler junior Roosevelt Jones was named to the league's Weekly Honor Roll for his performance in the Bulldogs' wins at Indiana State and over Northwestern.  Monday night, Jones added his own exclamation point.  The 6-4 guard, who missed all of last season with a wrist injury, led Butler against Kennesaw State with a game-high 19 points, team-highs of seven rebounds and seven assists, one blocked shot and one steal in just 29 minutes of action.  He hit seven of ten shots from the field and five of six attempts from the free throw line.  Jones leads the team in assists, ranks second in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, and stands third in steals.  The powerful 6-4 guard has had at least a share of the team lead in assists in all nine Butler games this season.

Roosevelt Jones ranks third in the BIG EAST in assists (5.3).

THEFT RING:  The Bulldogs, paced by senior Alex Barlow, racked up 17 steals against Kennesaw State, which helped contribute to a 28-7 Butler advantage in points off turnover.  The 17 steals were the most by a Butler team since Dec. 15, 1990, when the Bulldogs recorded a school-record 18 steals against Wisconsin.  Barlow led the assault with a career-high five steals, while sophomore Andrew Chrabascz added three.  Ten different Butler players had at least one steal in the game.  The last time a Butler team had as many as 15 steals in a game was on Dec. 18, 2000, when the Bulldogs recorded 15 thefts in a victory at home over UT-Martin.

Butler ranks second in the BIG EAST in steals (9.1).  

DEFENSIVE 'DOGS:  Butler continued to develop its identity at the defensive end of the floor, holding Kennesaw State ten points below its season scoring average.  The Owls shot just 36% in the second half and scored just 51 points for the game.  Since returning from the Bahamas, Butler has held Indiana State to a season-low 54 points, 12 below the team's season average, and Northwestern to its second-lowest total of the year (56 points).  The Bulldogs have held eight of their first nine opponents under 60 points and all nine foes under 70 points.

Butler leads the BIG EAST and ranks 12th nationally in scoring defense (54.2).

ON TARGET:  Junior Kellen Dunham is shooting 58.1% (18-31) from the field, 61.5% (8-13) from three-point range and 90% (18-20) from the free throw line during Butler's current four-game winning streak.  He hit two of three shots from the three-point arc and seven of eight from the charity stripe, while scoring 13 points against Kennesaw State.  The 6-6 guard has had at least a share of Butler's scoring lead in six of the first nine games this season.  He was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Battle 4 Atlantis after leading the Bulldogs in scoring in two of the three games and finishing with a 14.7 average for the three games.

BOARD WORK:  Senior Kameron Woods enters this weekend's action in ninth place on Butler's all-time rebounding list with 694 career rebounds.  He trails Joel Cornette (1999-2003) in the No. 8 spot on the all-time list by 18 rebounds, and he's 25 caroms away from the No. 7 position, currently held by Jon Neuhouser (1994-98).  Woods has led Butler in rebounding in six of the team's nine games, including three of the past four.  The 6-9 forward led the BIG EAST in rebounding (9.0) a year ago.

Kameron Woods currently ranks third in the BIG EAST in rebounding (8.3).

BENCH MARK:  Led by freshman Kelan Martin, Butler compiled a sizeable, 41-11, advantage in "bench" points against Kennesaw State.  Martin, a 6-6 guard, entered the game midway through the first half and immediately hit a three-point field goal.  He went on to score 17 points in 20 minutes in the victory.  The Bulldogs also picked up a double-figures scoring performance off the bench from senior Jackson Aldridge, who finished with ten points in 18 minutes.

CHARITABLE SEASON:  The Bulldogs shot a season-high 39 free throws and connected on a season-best 28 charity tosses against Kennesaw State.  Butler currently ranks second in the BIG EAST and 27th in the nation in free throw attempts (229).

HOME SECURITY:  Butler improved to 5-0 in Hinkle Fieldhouse this season with its victory over Kennesaw State.  The Bulldogs have posted a winning record at home in each of the past 24 seasons and have at least ten wins at home in 18 of the past 19 campaigns.  Butler's current seniors are 40-15 at home.

Butler is 239-41 in Hinkle Fieldhouse since the start of the 1995-96 season.

BULLDOG BITS:

•Kameron Woods has the league's second-highest single game rebounding total with 16 rebounds against Chattanooga.

•Kameron Woods is third in the BIG EAST in offensive rebounds (2.9) and sixth in the league in defensive rebounds (5.4).

•Kameron Woods stands fourth on Butler's all-time list for blocked shots (104).

•Alex Barlow has started 42 consecutive games for the Bulldogs.  The former walk-on has 63 career starts in his four seasons at Butler.

•Alex Barlow leads the Bulldogs in minutes played (32.0).

•Alex Barlow leads the BIG EAST in steals (2.8).  He's had nine steals in Butler's past two games.

•Alex Barlow ranks seventh in the NCAA Division I in total steals (25) and 14th in steals per game (2.78).

•Alex Barlow has averaged 3.5 steals during Butler's current winning streak.

•Kellen Dunham currently ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in scoring (16.3).  He finished seventh in the conference a year ago.

•Kellen Dunham has scored in double-figures in all nine games this season and in 24 of his last 28 Butler games.

•Kellen Dunham has hit at least one 3-point field goal in 39 of Butler's last 41 games.

•Kellen Dunham ranks fourth in the BIG EAST lead in three-point field goals (2.3).

•Kellen Dunham has moved up to fifth in the BIG EAST in three-point field goal shooting (.477).

•Kellen Dunham ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in free throw shooting (.864).

•Junior Roosevelt Jones is averaging 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists during Butler's current winning streak.

•Roosevelt Jones made his 76th consecutive start for the Bulldogs in the game against Kennesaw State.

•Roosevelt Jones currently ranks third in the BIG EAST in assist/turnover ratio (2.4).

•Roosevelt Jones is ranked 27th in the NCAA Division I in total assists (48).

•Sophomore Andrew Chrabascz matched his career-high with three steals against Kennesaw State.

•Guard Jackson Aldridge had his top scoring output (10 points vs. Kennesaw State) since Feb. 9, 2012, when he scored 15 points at Youngstown State.  Aldridge missed four games this season with an ankle injury suffered against Maine in the season-opener.

•Austin Etherington, a graduate transfer from Indiana, matched his Butler career-high with three rebounds against Kennesaw State.  He added five points in 14 minutes.

•Freshman Kelan Martin has come off the bench and scored in double-figures in six of his first nine collegiate games.

•Kelan Martin hit a career-high four three-point field goals against Kennesaw State.

•Freshman Jackson Davis had career-highs for points (3) and rebounds (4) against Kennessaw State.

•Freshman Tyler Wideman has come off the bench with a career-high eight points and six points in Butler's last two outings.

•Butler Coordinator of Basketball Operations Brandon Crone was a starter for the Bulldogs in the 2006 meeting with Tennessee in New York.  He had 10 points and four rebounds in the Butler win.

•Butler is shooting 51.5% (103-200) during its current four-game winning streak.

•Butler leads the BIG EAST and ranks 10th nationally in scoring margin (+20.0).

•The Bulldogs lead the BIG EAST and rank 11th in the NCAA Division I in three-point field goal percentage defense (.253).

•Butler leads the BIG EAST and ranks fifth nationally in turnover margin (+5.9).

•The Bulldogs rank third in the BIG EAST in team rebounding margin (+4.3).  Butler has out-rebounded seven of nine opponents.