Opponent: Northwestern
Specifics: Wednesday, Nov. 16  |  7 p.m.  |  Hinkle Fieldhouse  | Indianapolis
TV: FS1  |  Tim Brando (play-by-play) & Bill Raftery (analyst)
Radio: 107.5 FM (also streamed through TuneIn Radio App)  |  Mark Minner (play-by-play) & Nick Gardner (analyst)
Tickets: Still available through Butler Ticket Office and Ticketmaster.com (as of Tuesday morning)
Follow Along: @ButlerMBB

Full Notes (PDF)

EARLY SEASON TEST: The Bulldogs welcome Northwestern to Hinkle Fieldhouse Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. tip that is part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games series. Butler is 1-0 on the young season while the Wildcats are 2-0. The game will air nationally on FS1.
 
The Gavitt Tipoff Games is an annual series between the BIG EAST and Big Ten Conferences and named in honor of Dave Gavitt, founder of the BIG EAST and basketball visionary.  The series continues this season and will span eight total years with games being played at home sites. The Gavitt Tipoff Games will annually be played in the first full week of the basketball season.
 
THE SERIES: Butler and Northwestern have met 26 times over the years, with the Wildcats holding a 16-10 advantage in the all-time series. However, the recent trend has skewed toward Butler, which has won five straight, including a 65-56 decision Dec. 6, 2014, in the most recent match-up between the teams. The series dates back to the 1934-35 season.
 
STARTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT: Butler cruised to an 89-52 win over Northern Colorado in its season-opener Saturday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs out-scored UNC, 48-21, in the second half. Limiting the Bears to 21 points in the second half matched Butler's best defensive output from the 2015-16 season, as Villanova only scored 21 points in the first half of the Jan. 10 game in Indianapolis.
 
All 10 scholarship players who saw action in the contest had both at least one made field goal and at least one rebound.  
 
BACK TO HIS OLD TRICKS: Junior Kelan Martin led the Bulldogs in both scoring and rebounding in the opener against Northern Colorado. He scored 21 points, including 17 in the first half, in only 26 minutes of action. He added a game-high six rebounds. A season ago, Martin led the Bulldogs in scoring 14 times and also led the team in rebounding on 14 occasions.
 
SEASONED VETERANS: Butler graduated experienced players Roosevelt Jones and Kellen Dunham from last season's line-up, but the starting five that Coach Chris Holtmann sent out against Northern Colorado combines for 20 seasons of experience in college programs. The backcourt of Tyler Lewis and Avery Woodson are fifth-year players, while Andrew Chrabascz is a traditional senior. Tyler Wideman and Kelan Martin have appeared in every Butler contest over their two-plus seasons in Indianapolis. The quintet combines for 208 career starts with Martin's 15 being the low mark.
 
HOME COOKING: Butler has now won 29 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents. The streak dates back to a loss to Pittsburgh in the 2012 College Basketball Invitational (CBI).
 
Butler coach Chris Holtmann is 27-6 at Hinkle Fieldhouse as head coach of the Bulldogs.
 
MAKE MORE THAN YOU MISS: Butler shot 53 percent in the win over Northern Colorado. Butler shot 50 percent or better from the field in 11 games last season. Under head coach Chris Holtmann, Butler is now 19-0 when shooting at least 50 percent from the field.
 
Tyler Lewis went a perfect 7-of-7 from the field Saturday night. The seven made field goals set a new career-high for Lewis, while the 16 points were just one shy of his personal-best. He also had a game-high five assists.
 
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CHARITY: The Bulldogs shot 76 percent from the free throw line against Northern Colorado. Kelan Martin highlighted that effort with an 8-of-8 performance from the charity stripe.
 
AFTER 20 MINUTES: Butler took a 10-point lead into the half against Northern Colorado, and ended up scoring the win. That has been a typical occurrence under Chris Holtmann as the Bulldogs are 41-7 when leading at the half during his time on the Butler sidelines.
 
ON THE GLASS: Butler's 35-24 rebounding advantage Saturday against Northern Colorado included six from Kelan Martin. The final carom was his 300^th career rebound.
 
FIRST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs put up 89 points in the season opener, which was actually the lowest output in Chris Holtmann's three seasons as head coach at Butler. The Bulldogs averaged 121.5ppg in their regular season opener in his first two seasons. Much of that is attributed to the 144 points put up against The Citadel last season that featured a non-stop fullcourt pressing defense for the visitors. The 144-71 victory set several records for the Butler program, including points in a game, points in a half, and margin of victory. Butler also scored 99 points in the 2014-15 season-opening win over Maine.
 
LIVING IN THE 80s: Butler was 15-0 last season when scoring at least 80 points, a feat that it also accomplished in this season's opener. Butler eclipsed the 80-point plateau in its last seven wins of the 2015-16 regular season. In the regular season finale, Butler scored 95 points in the win against Marquette, its highest scoring output since the Bulldogs put up a school-record 144 against The Citadel in the season opener.
 
Butler's scoring average of 79.9 points per game last season was second in the BIG EAST and 24th nationally.
 
EARLY PREDICTIONS: Butler was picked to finish sixth in the BIG EAST standings in a preseason vote of the conference's head coaches. The poll was announced at BIG EAST Media Day Oct. 11 (full poll on page 2). The Bulldogs are looking to finish in the top half of the BIG EAST after achieving the feat in each of Chris Holtmann's first two seasons.
 
The Bulldogs are receiving votes in the both the preseason USA Today Coaches Poll and AP Poll, and are No. 19 in the preseason KenPom statistical rankings.
 
PRESEASON HONORS: Kelan Martin, the leading returning scorer in the BIG EAST, was chosen as a Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team selection by the league's head coaches. Martin finished the 2015-16 season by earning All-BIG EAST Second Team honors (again voted on by the conference's coaches).
 
Martin is also one of 15 small forwards on the Watch List for the Julius Erving Award, presented to the nation's top player at that position. This week, Martin was named to the Watch List for the Lute Olson Award, given to the nation's top player with at least two seasons of collegiate experience.
 
ALL-RETURNING: Among the 11 players who received first or second team All-BIG EAST honors last season, Kelan Martin is just one of four who return for the 2016-17 season.
 
TALKING ABOUT PRACTICE: The Bulldogs posted a 2-0 mark in exhibitions. Butler shot a combined 58 percent in the two contests while limiting opponents to a 33-percent mark. Five players scored in double-figures in Butler's 77-50 win over Saginaw Valley State following four Bulldogs reaching at least 10 points in the 100-53 triumph over Wabash.
 
BOARD WORK: Butler out-rebounding its exhibition opponents, 77-48. A good portion of that discrepancy can be traced to Tyler Wideman, who pulled down 17 rebounds in only 33 minutes of combined action in the two games.
 
SIZE ADVANTAGE: The Bulldogs had a combined 86-26 advantage in points in the paint over the two exhibitions.