Opponent: #22 Creighton
Specifics: Tuesday, Jan. 31 | 7 p.m. | Hinkle Fieldhouse | Indianapolis, Ind.
TV: FS1 | Justin Kutcher and Bill Raftery
Radio: 93.5 FM & 1070 AM (also streamed through
TuneIn Radio App) | Mark Minner (play-by-play) & Nick Gardner (analyst)
Follow Along: @ButlerMBB
Tickets: Limited number remaining through Butler Ticket Office
Notes (PDF)
SECOND TIME AROUND: Butler and Creighton meet for the second time this season in a match-up of Top 25 teams. The Bulldogs will host this contest at Hinkle Fieldhouse Tuesday night, looking to improve upon their 18-4 overall record and 7-3 mark in BIG EAST play. The Bluejays enter at 19-3 (6-3 BIG EAST). The 7 p.m. tip will air nationally on FS1.
BIG EAST BREAKDOWN: Villanova leads the BIG EAST with a mark of 7-2. Butler and Creighton are two of the three teams that have three losses in conference play at this point in the season. The league standings are very congested with a majority of the second half of the conference slate remaining. As teams beat up on one another, the longest current winning streak among BIG EAST teams is Georgetown at two, with those wins coming against Creighton and Butler last week.
THE SERIES: This will be the 15th match-up between the two programs, including seven since the programs both joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season. The teams first met (twice) during the 1932-33 season. Creighton leads the all-time series, 8-6. The teams split a pair of games last season with each winning on its home court before the Bluejays took a 75-64 win Jan. 11 in Omaha. Including a sweep of the season series in 2014-15, Chris Holtmann is 3-2 against the Bluejays as head coach at Butler.
THE BOUNCE BACK: With the win Jan. 14 over Xavier on the heels of the Jan. 11 loss at Creighton, Butler is now 20-3 following a loss under coach Chris Holtmann. The Bulldogs will look to add to that win total Tuesday night.
LAST TIME OUT: Butler shot 55 percent, but allowed visiting Georgetown to shoot 64 percent as the Hoyas captured an 85-81 win Saturday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The back-and-forth contest included 19 lead changes and 10 ties. Georgetown's field goal percentage was a season-high for a Butler opponent and the first Bulldog foe to shoot better than 60 percent since Providence shot .667 (28-42) on Feb. 23, 2014.
STRONG RESUME: In Monday's RPI rankings released by the NCAA, the Bulldogs come in at No. 5. Butler has a record of 14-2 against teams currently ranked in the RPI Top 100. Butler owns wins against seven teams that were ranked in the Top 25 or received votes in either national poll this week.
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's 5-1 mark matches Villanova and Baylor, just one Top 25 win shy of Florida State's 6-1 mark.
IN THE POLLS: The Bulldogs are ranked No. 16 in the AP poll and No. 15 the USA Today coaches poll this week. Butler has been ranked since the Nov. 28, 2016 polls. The Bulldogs climbed to No. 9 (AP) and No. 10 (coaches poll) in the Dec. 28, 2015 polls last season.
PROTECTING THE ROCK: On the season, the Bulldogs are averaging only 9.8 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 12 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 tenth nationally. Butler is 10-2 this season when committing 10 or fewer turnovers.
HOUSTON, WE HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON: According to STATS, Inc., Butler and Houston share the longest current streak of games committing 15 or fewer turnovers. That streak is currently at 38. For Butler, that dates back to a win over St. John's Jan. 16, 2016.
SOMETIMES THE NUMBERS LIE: Several streaks ended with Saturday's loss to Georgetown as Butler lost for the first time this season when scoring at least 80 points or shooting at least 50 percent from the field or having a halftime lead. It also marked Butler's first loss under coach Chris Holtmann when scoring 80 points (now 30-1) or shooting 50 percent from the field (now 25-1).
HOME, SWEET HINKLE: Butler is now 11-1 at Hinkle Fieldhouse this season as Saturday's loss ended a 14-game home winning streak dating back to last season. The 14-game home winning streak is the eighth-longest in program history. Butler coach Chris Holtmann is 37-7 at Hinkle Fieldhouse as head coach of the Bulldogs.
HOME RIM ADVANTAGE: Kelan Martin is averaging 18.5 points per game at Hinkle Fieldhouse this season, including 22 points against Georgetown Saturday night. In home contests, he is shooting 47 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range. In road and neutral site games, Martin is still posting a respectable 14.3 points per game, shooting 34 percent from the field.
TOP DAWG: For the tenth time this season, Kelan Martin led Butler in scoring with 22 points Saturday night against Georgetown. He made eight of his 15 attempts, including 3-of-6 from three-point range. It was his eighth time scoring 20 or more points this season, something he has now done 19 times in his career.
SWEET 16: Senior Andrew Chrabascz posted 16 points for the second consecutive game. Three times in BIG EAST play, the power forward has registered 16 points. In non-conference play, he had games of 28 points (vs. Vermont) and 18 points (vs. Indiana State). Chrabascz is second on the team in scoring at 11.4 points per game. He is also second in assists and third in rebounding.
SHARING THE BALL: Butler had 16 assists Saturday against Georgetown, the team's highest total having 22 helpers against Central Arkansas Dec. 3. The 16 assists are the team's fourth-highest total of the season. Tyler Lewis led the team with five assists Saturday night, his highest mark in BIG EAST play this season.
Lewis leads the BIG EAST in assist/turnover ratio (3.36), a mark that is also tenth in the nation.
HALTING THE HALL: Butler limited Seton Hall to a season-low .286 shooting mark Jan. 25 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 at Seton Hall Jan. 25. The Bulldogs shot .352 at Seton Hall, 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 at Seton Hall were also a season-low.
DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Butler entered the Jan. 25 game at Seton Hall with three total double-doubles in its first 20 games of the season. The Bulldogs posted two against Seton Hall 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.
ON THE GLASS: Butler has been out-rebounded in its last two games, but they have been polar opposites of one another. Saturday against Georgetown, the Hoyas had a 22-19 rebounding edge. That was a Butler low and a Butler opponent low for the season. Seton Hall had a 52-43 rebounding advantage Jan. 25. The Pirates pulled down a season-high for a Butler opponent, while Butler's 43 caroms were just one shy of its season-high. 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.
SPREADING IT AROUND: Butler has put five players in double figures on three occasions this season, most recently against Marquette on Jan. 16. The Bulldogs are 3-0 in those games. In nine additional games, Butler has had four players in double figures, most recently at Seton Hall Jan. 25. In those contests, Butler is 8-1 with the only loss coming at St. John's Dec. 29.
BEAST IN THE BIG EAST: Kethan Savage is averaging 12.2 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 10 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.
SLOW STARTS: The Bulldogs have come back from 18-point and 20-point deficits, respectively, to post impressive wins over the past few 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. He had 18 points in the game.
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 71.2 points per game.
