#15/19 BUTLER (7-1) vs. KENNESAW STATE (3-6)
Monday, December 8, 7 p.m. (ET)
Hinkle Fieldhouse - Indianapolis, Ind.
TV:  FOX Sports 1 (Cory Provus, Tarik Turner)
Radio:  1070 AM (Mark Minner, Nick Gardner)

Game Notes

NEW OPPONENT:  Butler will take a three-game winning streak into a first-ever meeting with Kennesaw State on Monday, Dec. 8.  The non-conference game at Hinkle Fieldhouse will tip at 7 pm. (ET) and will be televised nationally on FOX Sports 1.  Butler is looking to stretch a success streak that began with a victory over Georgetown in the third place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.  The Bulldogs then picked up a road win at Indiana State, 77-54, four days after returning from the tropical holiday tournament, before adding a home win against Northwestern, 65-56, on Saturday (Dec. 6).  The three victories lifted the #15/19 Bulldogs to 7-1 on the young season, including a 4-0 mark at home.  Kennesaw State, out of the Atlantic Sun Conference, is coming off its first home loss of the season, a 58-46 setback to Kent State on Saturday.  That loss dropped the Owls to 3-6 on the year.  Butler will have a week off following the game with Kennesaw State, before visiting Tennessee for a non-conference test on Sunday, Dec. 14.                                                            
   
Butler has 17 straight non-conference wins in Hinkle Fieldhouse.

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.  The Bulldogs also moved in 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 has been ranked in the "Top 25" in seven of the past nine seasons.        

LAST OUTING:  Butler never trailed in its win over Northwestern, but the outcome wasn't secured until the Bulldogs closed with an 8-2 run in the final three minutes of the contest.  The game was tied five times in the first half, and Butler led by just three points, 57-54, with three minutes remaining.  Junior Kellen Dunham hit a jump shot with 2:48 left on the clock to give the Bulldogs a five-point lead, and then senior Alex Barlow came up with a steal at mid-court and a lay-up to put Butler on top by seven.  That sequence proved decisive.  The Bulldogs held on with four free throws in the final 2:17.  The victory was Butler's fourth straight against a team from the Big Ten.

Butler has won eight of its last ten games against teams from the Big Ten.     

GUARD 'DOGS:  The Bulldogs again turned defensive to nail down their home win against Northwestern.  Butler limited the Wildcats to just five points in the final five minutes of the game to claim their seventh victory in eight outings.  The Bulldogs also held Northwestern scoreless for the final two minutes of the first half to break a 28-28 tie and take a 34-28 halftime lead.  Three days earlier, Butler held Indiana State to a season-low 54 points, 12 below the team's season average.  The Sycamores shot just 29.6% in the first half and 37.5% for the game.  Butler has held seven of its first eight opponents under 60 points and all eight foes under 70 points.

Butler currently leads the BIG EAST in scoring defense (54.6).

HOME SECURITY:  Butler improved to 4-0 in Hinkle Fieldhouse this season with its victory over Northwestern.  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 39-15 at home.

Butler is 238-41 in Hinkle Fieldhouse since the start of the 1995-96 season.

ON TARGET:  Junior Kellen Dunham attempted just nine shots against Northwestern, but still led all players in the game with 19 points.  He hit six of the nine shots from the field, including his only three-point attempt, and he cashed six of six shots from the free throw line.  That performance came just three days after he hit five of seven shots and shared the team scoring lead with 14 points at Indiana State.  For the week, Dunham shot .688 (11-16) from the field, 1.000 (4-4) from beyond the three-point arc and .875 (7-8) from the free throw line.  The 6-6 guard has had at least a share of Butler's scoring lead in six of the first eight 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.

TOTAL PACKAGE:  In the Northwestern win, junior Roosevelt Jones gave Butler fans another glimpse of what they missed a year ago, when he was sidelined for the entire season with a wrist injury suffered during the Bulldogs' summer tour of Australia.  Jones played 38 minutes against Northwestern and finished with 12 points, six rebounds, a team-high four assists, a game-high three blocked shots and one steal.  Earlier in the week, he shared Butler's scoring lead with 14 points, while adding four rebounds and four assists, against Indiana State.  Jones leads the team in assists, ranks second in scoring and rebounding, is tied for second in 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 eight Butler games this season.

Roosevelt Jones ranks third in the BIG EAST in assists (5.1).

BOARD CHAIRMAN:  Senior Kameron Woods led the Bulldogs in rebounding for the sixth time in eight games this season, finishing with a game-high nine rebounds against Northwestern.  It was the fourth time this year that he recorded at least nine rebounds in a game.  The 6-9 forward continued his climb on Butler's all-time rebounding list, moving into the No. 9 spot with 692 career rebounds.  He trails Joel Cornette (1999-2003) in the No. 8 spot on the all-time list by 20 rebounds, and he's 27 caroms away from the No. 7 position, currently held by Jon Neuhouser (1994-98).  Woods has led Butler in rebounding in the past three victories.

Kameron Woods currently ranks third in the BIG EAST in rebounding (9.1).

GRAND THEFT:  Right before halftime of the Northwestern game, senior Alex Barlow came up with a steal and a conventional three-point play to give the Bulldogs a six-point halftime lead.  At the time, it was one of the biggest plays of the game.  He repeated that performance in the closing minutes of the contest, picking off a Northwestern pass and turning it into a lay-up for a 61-54 Butler lead.  The 5-11 guard finished with a game-high four steals and boosted his career total for thefts to 133, which ranks seventh all-time at Butler.

Alex Barlow ranks third in the BIG EAST in steals (2.5).

BULLDOG BITS:

•Kameron Woods posted his 11th career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds at Indiana State.  He has two double-doubles this season.

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

•Kameron Woods is third in the BIG EAST in offensive rebounds (3.1) and tied for fourth in defensive rebounds (6.0).

•Kameron Woods stands fourth on Butler's all-time list for blocked shots (103).

•Alex Barlow has started 41 consecutive games for the Bulldogs.  The former walk-on has 62 career starts in his four seasons at Butler.

•Alex Barlow leads the Bulldogs in minutes played (33.4).  He played 37 minutes against Northwestern.

•Alex Barlow has averaged 9.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.0 steals during Butler's current winning streak.

•Kellen Dunham currently ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in scoring (16.4).  He finished seventh in the conference a year ago.

•Kellen Dunham has scored in double-figures in all eight games this season and in 23 of his last 27 Butler games.

•Kellen Dunham is averaging 19.0 points in Butler's four games in Hinkle Fieldhouse this season.

•Kellen Dunham has hit at least one 3-point field goal in 38 of Butler's last 40 games.

•Kellen Dunham ranks third in the BIG EAST lead in three-point field goals (2.4).

•Kellen Dunham has moved up to seventh in the BIG EAST in three-point field goal shooting (.463).

•Kellen Dunham is shooting 60% from the field, 69% from three point range and 85% from the free throw line in Butler's four home games this season.

•Kellen Dunham has shot .615 from the field and .600 from three-point range during Butler's current winning streak.

•Kellen Dunham has hit seven consecutive free throws and 13 of his last 14 attempts.  He currently ranks seventh in the BIG EAST in free throw shooting (.861).

•Junior Roosevelt Jones was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for his performance in Butler's two games last week.  He averaged 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the two wins.

•Roosevelt Jones made his 75th consecutive start for the Bulldogs in the game against Northwestern.

•Roosevelt Jones is averaging 11.0 points in Hinkle Fieldhouse this season.

•Roosevelt Jones currently ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in assist/turnover ratio (2.3).

•Sophomore Andrew Chrabascz is shooting 60.9% from the field in his four games in Hinkle Fieldhouse this season.

•Austin Etherington, a graduate transfer from Indiana, has his top two career scoring performances (11 vs. Maine; 9 vs. Loyola Maryland) in his first four games in Hinkle Fieldhouse this season.

•Austin Etherington has hit 10 of the 14 (71.4%) shots he's attempted in Hinkle Fieldhouse.  He's hit three of six shots from three point range at home.

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

•Freshman Tyler Wideman matched his career-high with eight points against Northwestern.  He had a career-high six free throw attempts in the game.

•Guard Jackson Aldridge has played in Butler's last three games, after missing four games with an ankle injury suffered against Maine in the season-opener.

•Butler is shooting 54.4% (117-215) in Hinkle Fieldhouse this season.

•The Bulldogs have won their first four home games this season by an average margin of 28.5 points.

•Butler is ranked second in the BIG EAST in scoring margin (+17.2).

•The Bulldogs lead the BIG EAST and rank 15th in the NCAA Division I in three-point field goal percentage defense (.255).

•Butler is second in the BIG EAST in turnover margin (+5.3).