Opponent: Georgetown
Specifics: Saturday, Jan. 28 | 8 p.m. | Hinkle Fieldhouse | Indianapolis, Ind.
TV: CBS Sports Network | Tom McCarthy, Doug Gottlieb & Melanie Collins
Radio: 93.5 FM & 1070 AM (also streamed through TuneIn Radio App) | Mark Minner (play-by-play) & Nick Gardner (analyst)
Westwood One (Brandon Gaudin & Donny Marshall) will also have a national radio broadcast.
Follow Along: @ButlerMBB
Tickets: Sold Out
Notes (PDF)
SATURDAY NIGHT IN INDY: The Bulldogs, winners of seven of their last eight games, return to Hinkle Fieldhouse to host Georgetown Saturday night in a BIG EAST contest. Butler is ranked No. 11 in both national polls this week and is 18-3 on the season. Georgetown enters at 11-10. The 8 p.m. tip will air nationally on CBS Sports Network.
In addition to the CBS Sports Network broadcast and the local radio broadcast on 93.5 FM, 1070 AM, and the TuneIn Radio app, Westwood One (with Brandon Gaudin and Donny Marshall on the call) will produce a national radio broadcast from Hinkle Fieldhouse Saturday night, while SiriusXM will pick up Mark Minner and Nick Gardner's call of the action on channel 81.
TOP OF THE CHARTS: Through nine conference games, Butler sports a 7-2 BIG EAST record. That mark is tied with Villanova atop the BIG EAST standings. This is the latest that the Bulldogs have ever had a share of the BIG EAST lead. In their fourth season in the BIG EAST, Butler's best league record through nine games was 6-3 in 2014-15. Saturday's game with Georgetown begins the second half of Butler's league schedule as the Bulldogs will play each of the nine opponents once more to conclude the regular season.
The Bulldogs' record of 18-3 is the team's best start since the 2008-09 team started 19-1.
THE SERIES: This will be the tenth match-up between the two programs with a majority of the games coming since Butler joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season. The teams first met in the 2009 Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. Georgetown leads the series, 5-4, but the Bulldogs swept the season series during the 2015-16 campaign and won an overtime contest in the nation's capital, 85-76, Jan. 7 for their third straight triumph in the series.
HALTING THE HALL: Butler limited Seton Hall to a season-low .286 shooting mark Wednesday night in Newark, using a strong defensive effort to take a 61-54 win. The field goal percentage was also a low for a Butler opponent this season. The Pirates made only four of their 24 three-point attempts.
Butler limited Seton Hall to 19 first-half points, the lowest output for a Bulldogs' opponent since Belmont only scored 18 points in the second half of their Dec. 28, 2014 game at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
UTILIZING EVERY POINT: For the second consecutive game, Butler was able to overcome a season-low shooting night to take the win. The Bulldogs shot .352 at Seton Hall Wednesday night, which was just below the previous season-low of .359 set in the team's last game Jan. 21 at DePaul. Butler won both games. Butler's 61 points Wednesday at Seton Hall were also a season-low.
DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Butler entered Wednesday night with three total double-doubles in its first 20 games of the season. The Bulldogs posted two on Wednesday night as Kethan Savage had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Kelan Martin had 10 points and a team-best 11 rebounds. All 21 of their combined boards came on the defensive end. Martin has pulled down 10+ rebounds 10 times in his Butler career, posting a double-double each time. This was his second of the season. Savage previously had two double-doubles while at George Washington, but this is first double-double in a Butler uniform.
TOP DAWG: Senior Andrew Chrabascz led Butler with 16 points at Seton Hall, just one game removed from going scoreless at DePaul Jan. 21. It was Chrabascz's first time leading the team in scoring since the win over Villanova on Jan. 4 when he and Kethan Savage each registered 13 points. Chrabascz is second on the team in scoring and assists this season, and he is third in rebounding.
ON THE GLASS: Seton Hall had a 52-43 rebounding advantage Wednesday night. Entering the game with the Pirates, Butler had out-rebounded six of its last seven opponents. Butler is 12-0 this season when out-rebounding opponents.
HOME, SWEET HINKLE: Butler is 11-0 at Hinkle Fieldhouse this season and carries a current 14-game home winning streak. Butler coach Chris Holtmann is 37-6 at Hinkle Fieldhouse as head coach of the Bulldogs.
FIRST GO ROUND: Nate Fowler scored five points in the final minute of regulation to force overtime as the Bulldogs then hit free throws in the extra session to take an 85-76 overtime win at Georgetown Jan. 7. The Bulldogs only shot 39 percent from the field, but made 10 of 20 three-point attempts and went 25-of-29 at the free throw line. The game featured 16 lead changes and eight ties. Kamar Baldwin led five Bulldogs in double figures with 16 points.
PROTECTING THE ROCK: On the season, the Bulldogs are averaging only 9.9 turnovers per game. That mark is third 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 11 games this season, including only six in the overtime game at DePaul Jan. 21.
Butler's turnover margin of +4.0 leads the BIG EAST and is 13th nationally. Butler is 10-1 this season when committing 10 or fewer turnovers.
FOND MEMORIES: The last time that Georgetown visited Hinkle Fieldhouse, the Bulldogs came away with an 87-76 win Feb. 2, 2016, and Kelan Martin came away with a career-best 35 points. He went 10 of 18 from the field, and posted a 12-of-13 mark at the free throw line. He added eight rebounds.
BEAST IN THE BIG EAST: Kethan Savage is averaging 12.7 points per game in BIG EAST play. That is up from his average of 2.3 points per game during the non-conference portion of the schedule. He has scored in double figures in eight of the team's nine BIG EAST games.
Savage led Butler with 20 points in the Jan. 21 win at DePaul. It was a season-best for the redshirt senior and also his highest point total in a Bulldogs uniform.
RANK AND FILE: Butler is now 5-1 against ranked teams this season, including a 4-1 mark against teams that were ranked in the Top 15 at the time of the contest. Butler owns wins against seven teams that were ranked in the Top 25 or received votes in either national poll this week.
Butler is 14-1 against the RPI Top 100 (as of Thursday, Jan. 26). The Bulldogs are ranked third in the NCAA RPI metric; Georgetown is 80th.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: The Bulldogs are ranked No. 11 in both the AP poll and the USA Today coaches poll this week. That is the highest position in either poll this season. The Bulldogs climbed to No. 9 (AP) and No. 10 (coaches poll) in the Dec. 28, 2015 polls last season.
SLOW STARTS: The Bulldogs have come back from 18-point and 20-point deficits, respectively, to post impressive wins over the past two weeks. Marquette led Butler, 43-25, with 19:17 to play in the second half Jan. 16. DePaul led the Bulldogs, 25-5, with 12:52 remaining in the first half Jan. 21.
In Butler's 70-69 overtime win at DePaul Jan. 21, the Bulldogs' largest lead was two points (25 seconds remaining in overtime) and Butler led for only 1:41 on the clock. To put that in context, Butler led for 2:20 at Creighton Jan. 11, which turned out to be the Bulldogs' largest loss of the season.
DOWN THE STRETCH: Freshman Kamar Baldwin scored Butler's final five points at DePaul, all in the last 25 seconds of overtime. His three-pointer gave Butler a 68-66 lead and his two free throws with three seconds to play proved to be the game-winner as they gave Butler the 70-69 win.
Baldwin earned Freshman of the Week honors from the BIG EAST for his performance last week. He had 18 points at DePaul after also posting 18 points in the win over Marquette. This is Baldwin's second (Dec. 19) freshman honor from the conference this season.
A DROUGHT IN ROSEMONT: DePaul jumped out to a 25-5 lead in the first 7:08 of play Jan. 21 in Rosemont, Ill. Over the next 37:52 of game action, Butler limited the Blue Demons to only 45 points. The Bulldogs also held DePaul without a field goal for a 15:02 stretch as the Blue Demons made a shot with 13:39 to play in the second half and their next made field goal came at the 3:37 mark of overtime. DePaul scored two points over the final 7:25 of regulation.
In BIG EAST games, Butler ranks second in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 69.7 points per game.
PLAYING FROM BEHIND: The Bulldogs had a halftime lead against Seton Hall Wednesday, the first time in their last seven games that has happened. However, Butler posted a 5-1 mark in those six consecutive games where they were down at the half. Butler has led at the half in 11 games this season. When leading at the half, the Bulldogs are 11-0 this season and 51-7 during Chris Holtmann's time on the Butler sidelines.
WINNING THE CLOSE ONES: The Bulldogs are 5-2 this season in games decided by five points or less. Butler is also 2-0 in overtime games.
SECOND UNIT: Led by 20 points from Kethan Savage, Butler's bench out-scored their counterparts from DePaul, 32-4, Saturday afternoon. Butler's second unit has out-scored the opposition in 18 of the team's 21 games this season, including all nine BIG EAST games.
In BIG EAST play, Butler's bench has a 248-103 advantage, which averages out to 16.1 more points per game than the Bulldogs' BIG EAST opponents.
