#24/23 BUTLER (23-10) vs. #8 NOTRE DAME (30-5)
2015 NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional Third Round
When:  Saturday, March 21, 9:40 p.m. (ET)
Where:  CONSOL Energy Center - Pittsburgh, Pa.
TV:  TBS (Brian Anderson, Steve Smith, Dana Jacobson)
Radio:  1070 AM/107.5 FM (Mark Minner, Nick Gardner)

Purchase Tickets Here Butler Game Notes

STATE MEET:  Butler has advanced in the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship for the ninth time in school history and will meet one of its longest-standing opponents in the third round of the tournament on Saturday, March 21.  The Bulldogs will face #8 Notre Dame at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., in an all-Indiana match-up at 9:40 p.m. (ET).  Butler reached the third round with a 56-48 victory over Texas in the second round on Thursday (March 19).  It marked the fourth straight NCAA Tournament that the Bulldogs picked up a win in their first game.  The NCAA victory lifted to the Bulldogs to 23-10 on the season.  Notre Dame, riding a six-game winning streak and coming off a championship in the ACC Tournament, improved to 30-5 on the year with a 69-65 victory over Northeastern in the first game of the second round in Pittsburgh.  The 30 wins are the second-most in Notre Dame basketball history.  Butler and Notre Dame will be meeting for the 103rd time overall and for the first time since 2006.  Only five schools (Ball State, DePauw, Evansville, Indiana State and Wabash) have played Butler more often.  The two Indiana schools will be meeting for the first time as NCAA Tournament opponents.  Butler has won its last six meetings with the Fighting Irish.       

Butler improved to 20-12 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

TOP TWENTY:  The 2014-15 Bulldogs became the 20th Butler team to record 20 victories in a season with their win over Marquette on Feb. 25.  Butler has won at least 20 games in nine of the past 10 campaigns.  This year's team is tied for 11th on Butler's single season wins chart with 23 victories.  Chris Holtmann is the fourth head coach in Butler history to win 20 games in his first season.

RANKING WINS:  Butler's five wins against teams ranked in the "Top 25" this season matches the most "Top 25" wins in school history.  The Bulldogs defeated #5/6 North Carolina at the Battle 4 Atlantis and picked up victories over #15/17 St. John's, #21 Seton Hall, #24 Seton Hall and #24/23 Providence during the BIG EAST season.  The five ranked victories ties the 2009-10 Butler team, which had wins over #13/15 Ohio State, #25 UTEP, #4 Syracuse, #7 Kansas State and #13 Michigan State on the way to the national championship game.

Butler is 5-3 against teams ranked in the "Top 25" this season.
   
LAST OUTING:  Butler used a strong defense and a solid performance at the free throw line to defeat Texas, 56-48, and advance to the third round of this year's NCAA Tournament.  The Bulldogs, who led for 32 minutes of the game, secured the win with a 12-5 run in the final two minutes of the game.  With Butler clinging to a one-point lead, 44-43, junior Kellen Dunham started the run with a free throw and a three-point field goal.  The Bulldogs then held on by hitting eight of 10 at the charity stripe in the final minute.  Butler converted only five field goals in the second half, but hit 19 of 26 free throw attempts in the final 20 minutes to secure the victory.  The Bulldogs held Texas to its lowest scoring output of the season.     

Butler improved to 17-3 when holding an opponent under 65 points this season.

POINTING UP:  Butler scoring leader Kellen Dunham led all players with 20 points in the Butler-Texas game and boosted his season scoring total to 553 points.  He currently owns the sixth-highest single season scoring total by a Butler junior, 38 points behind A. J. Graves (2006-07) in the No. 5 spot.  Dunham has scored in double-figures in 30 games this season and in 72 games during his Butler career.

Kellen Dunham ranks third in the BIG EAST in scoring (16.8).

TRIPLE THREAT:  Kellen Dunham extended his streak of consecutive games with a three-point field goal to 16 straight with two three-pointers against Texas on Thursday.  The 6-6 guard has hit at least one three-point field goal in 31 of 33 games this season and in 87 career games.  He sits in sole possession of fifth place on Butler's all-time list for three-point field goals with 210 career three-pointers.

1,000-POINT CLUB:  Juniors Kellen Dunham and Roosevelt Jones both scored their 1,000th career point this season.  Dunham reached the 1,000-point plateau in Butler's game at Tennessee in December, while Jones reached the milestone at home in the Bulldogs' victory over Marquette.  The last time Butler had two players score their 1,000th career point in the same season was in 2006, when both Avery Sheets and Bruce Horan topped the mark.  Dunham stands in 14th place on Butler's all-time scoring list with 1,403 career points, 36 points shy of Bobby Plump (1954-58) in the No. 13 position.  Jones is 34th on the all-time list with 1,054 career points.

TOP THREE:  Senior Kameron Woods became just the third player in Butler basketball history to record 900 career rebounds in the Bulldogs' home game against Georgetown.  He grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds against Xavier in the BIG EAST Tournament, and then had a team-high nine rebounds against Texas on Thursday, boosting his career total to 941 heading into Saturday.  The 6-9 forward joined all-time leading rebounder Daryl Mason (961 rebounds, 1971-74) and Jeff Blue (953 rebounds, 1961-64) in Butler's 900-rebound club.  Woods has led the Bulldogs in rebounding in 17 of the past 19 games and in 26 games overall this season.

Kameron Woods is second in the BIG EAST in rebounding (9.8).

STEAL WILL:  Senior Alex Barlow enters the the third round of the NCAA Tournament with a team-leading 72 steals, two shy of the Butler single season record held by Thomas Jackson (2001-02).  Barlow has had at least one steal in Butler's last 16 games and in 30 total games this year.  He ranks second in the BIG EAST in steals per game (2.18).

KNEE INJURY:  Butler fans held their collective breath when junior Roosevelt Jones limped off the court in the second half against Texas.  Jones, Butler's second-leading scorer fell to the floor in pain and had to be helped to the locker room.  He was treated for a sprained left knee and re-entered the game nine minutes later.  Jones will continued to receive treatment, but is expected to be available for Saturday's game against Notre Dame.  

SEASON TURNABOUT:  Butler tied the fourth-best turnaround in BIG EAST history with its 12-6 league record this season.  The Bulldogs, 4-14 a year ago, had an improvement of +8 games to tie Connecticut (1997-98) and Boston College (1995-96) for fourth place on the all-time BIG EAST list.

NCAA EXPERIENCE:  Six members of this year's Butler squad have previously been on an NCAA Tournament team, including four who have seen action in an NCAA Tournament game.  Seniors Kameron Woods, Alex Barlow and Jackson Aldridge and juniors Roosevelt Jones and Kellen Dunham were part of the 2012-13 Butler team that reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament.  Jones and Barlow were in the starting lineup for Butler's two NCAA games that season, while Woods and Dunham saw action in both games off the bench.  Transfer forward Austin Etherington was a member of Indiana's NCAA Tournament teams in 2011-12 and 2012-13, though he didn't see action in any of the games.

DANCE INVITE:  Butler earned an at-large bid to this year's national championship on the strength of a 22-10 season, a tie for second place in the BIG EAST regular season race and a strong non-conference showing.  Included in Butler's 22 wins are five victories over teams ranked in the "Top 25" at the time and six wins over teams in the top 50 of the RPI.  Butler opened the season with eight wins in its first nine games, including a victory over then No. 5-ranked North Carolina at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.  The lone setback during that opening stretch was to then No. 21 Oklahoma in the Bahamas.  The Bulldogs were ranked in the "Top 25" for three weeks in December and for eight consecutive weeks since late January.  Butler is returning to the NCAA Tournament after finishing 14-17 a year ago and missing last year's tournament.  The Bulldogs gained national attention with back-to-back appearances in the NCAA title game in 2010 and 2011.  Butler was runner-up to Duke in the 2010 tournament and then finished second to Connecticut in 2011.  The Bulldogs reached the third round of the national championship in 2013.
 
BULLDOG BITS:

•Head Coach Chris Holtmann currently ranks fourth in wins among Butler coaches in their first year, trailing Brad Stevens (30), Todd Lickliter (26) and Thad Matta (24).

•Chris Holtmann is the third coach in Butler history to reach the NCAA Tournament in his first season.  Thad Matta earned a tournament berth in 2000-01, while Brad Stevens did it in 2007-08.

•Kameron Woods ranks first in the BIG EAST and 17th in the NCAA Division I in total rebounds (322).  He's had nine or more rebounds in 20 games this season.

•Kameron Woods is first in the BIG EAST in defensive rebounds (6.8) and second in the league in offensive rebounds (2.9).

•Kameron Woods has moved into third place on Butler's single season rebounding list with 322 rebounds this season.  He trails Jeff Blue (1961-62) in the No. 2 position by 14 rebounds.  Daryl Marson (1972-73) holds the Butler single season record (354).

•Kameron Woods has led the Bulldogs in rebounding in four straight games and in 11 of the past 12 contests.

•Kameron Woods tied Butler's eighth-highest single game NCAA total for rebounds with nine against Texas.

•Kameron Woods stands fourth on Butler's all-time list for blocked shots (122).

•Alex Barlow has started 66 consecutive games for the Bulldogs.  The former walk-on has started 87 career games.

•Alex Barlow was named recipient of the 2014-15 BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award prior to the start of the BIG EAST Tournament.

•Alex Barlow, a 2014-15 Academic All-American, received the BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award for the second straight year at the conference tournament in New York.

•Alex Barlow is ranked second in the BIG EAST and 16th in the NCAA Division I in total steals (72).

•Alex Barlow is second in the BIG EAST and 15th in the NCAA Division I in steals per game (2.18).

•Alex Barlow had two steals against Texas and moved into sole possession of third place on Butler's all-time list for steals (185).

•Alex Barlow stands ninth in the BIG EAST in three-point field goals (1.7).  He's shot 42.3% (22-52) from three-point range over Butler's last 11 games.

•Alex Barlow matched his season-high with eight rebounds against Texas.  He had a season-high seven defensive rebounds in the Butler win.

•Alex Barlow tied a Butler NCAA Tournament record with three blocked shots against Marquette in 2013.  He also tied Butler's tournament record with four blocked shots in 2013.  He had one blocked shot against Texas.

•Alex Barlow has hit 11 of 12 free throw attempts in three NCAA Tournament games.  He was perfect on four attempts against Texas.

•Kellen Dunham earned All-BIG EAST honors for the second straight year.  He was named first team All-BIG EAST this season, after earning second team honors a year ago.

•Kellen Dunham is fourth in the BIG EAST in three-point field goals made (2.3).  He hit a season-high six three-point field goals in a victory over St. John's in January.

•Kellen Dunham ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in three-point field goal shooting (.410), one of just six players shooting better than 40% from beyond the three-point arc.

•Kellen Dunham, who hit eight of 11 free throw attempts against Texas, stands third in the BIG EAST in free throw shooting (.848).

•Kellen Dunham became the 12th Butler player to score 20 points in an NCAA Tournament game.  He tied Butler's 14th-highest NCAA single game scoring total.  

•Roosevelt Jones made his 100th consecutive start for the Bulldogs against Texas on Thursday.

•Roosevelt Jones ranks second in the BIG EAST in minutes played (35.2).

•Roosevelt Jones is 12th in the BIG EAST in scoring (12.4), 18th in rebounding (5.2) and sixth in assists (3.7).

•Roosevelt Jones is tenth in the BIG EAST in offensive rebounds (2.1).

•Roosevelt Jones is the 16th player in Butler history to record 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds.

•Roosevelt Jones earned conference recognition in his third different conference when he was named second team All-BIG EAST this year.  He was named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team in 2011-12 and the Atlantic 10 Conference All-Defensive Team in 2012-13.

•Sophomore Andrew Chrabascz averaged 17.8 points during Butler's five-game BIG EAST winning streak in late January/early February, before suffering a broken bone in his right hand against Villanova.

•Andrew Chrabascz had seven points, five rebounds, three assist and one blocked shot against Texas in his first NCAA Tournament appearance.

•Andrew Chrabascz owns Butler's highest single game scoring total this season with 30 points against Marquette.

•Freshman Kelan Martin scored seven points in 15 minutes against Texas in his first NCAA Tournament appearance.

•Butler Coordinator of Basketball Operations Brandon Crone was a starting forward for the Bulldogs the last time Butler played Notre Dame.  He had five points and five rebounds in the Bulldogs' win.

•Butler had a season-low five turnovers against Texas.  It's a record-low total for games played at CONSOL Energy Center.

•Butler leads the BIG EAST and ranks 25th in the NCAA in rebounding margin (+5.9).  The Bulldogs have out-rebounded 25 of 33 opponents this season.

•Butler is ranked first in the BIG EAST in def. rebounding percentage (.748) and second in off. rebounding percentage (.349).

•Butler is third in the BIG EAST in three-point field goal percentage defense (.307).  It's the top three-point field goal percentage defense mark in school history.

•Butler has not lost an NCAA Tournament game as the higher-seeded team.

•Butler has had a single-digit seed in its last seven NCAA Tournament appearances.

•Butler has 18 wins in its last nine trips to the NCAA Tournament.