Game Notes
 
St. John's at Butler
Live Stats | Watch

Gameday Information
Date: Thursday, January 5, 2017 / 7:00 PM
Location: Indianapolis, Ind. / Hinkle Fieldhouse
Live Stats: ButlerSports.com | Watch: BEDN
Series History: St. John's leads the all-time series vs. Butler 4-2
Last Meeting: Butler defeated St. John's 62-58 during the 2015-16 season
 
Butler at Xavier
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Gameday Information
Date: Sunday, January 8, 2017 / 2:00 PM
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio / Cintas Center
Live Stats: GoXavier.com | Watch: BEDN
Series History: Butler leads the all-time series against Xavier 20-16
Last Meeting: Butler defeated Xavier 48-47 during the 2015-16 season
 
INDIANAPOLIS – The Bulldogs will host St. John's on Thursday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The game will stream live on BEDN with Mark Minner handling the play-by-play, Tara Miller providing the analysis and Matt Schumacker in the building as the sideline reporter. Butler's third and final game of the week will be played at Xavier on Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs will tip at 7 PM inside Hinkle Fieldhouse on Thursday and at 2 PM when they face the Musketeers inside the Cintas Center on Sunday.
 
Bulldog Bits
- Kristen Spolyar scored a career-high 28 points against Seton Hall (1/2)
- Spolyar notched her first-ever double-double by adding 10 rebounds
- Tori Schickel posted 23 points and 16 rebounds, two season-high totals
- Schickel has led BU in rebounds in each game this season, avg 10.2 per game
- Sydney Shelton scored a career-high 16 points in the win over Seton Hall
- Spolyar, Schickel and Shelton combined for 67 of Butler's 79 points Monday night
- Butler shot 50% from the field against Seton Hall, making 30 of their 60 shots
- Butler is a young team with four freshmen, four sophomores and two juniors
- Sydney Buck is out indefinitely with a lower extremity injury
 
Make a Statement
The Bulldogs snapped a three-game losing streak on Monday night by posting a 21-point win over Seton Hall in the conference home opener. After averaging just 51 points per game over the first two BIG EAST contests of the season, BU dropped a season-high 79 points on the Pirates, 46 of which came in the second half. The two teams were tied up at 11-11 after 10 minutes of action, but the Bulldogs would hit their groove by scoring 20 points in each of the last three quarters. Before the Seton Hall game, Butler had only scored 20 points in a single quarter six times.
 
All-Time Series
St. John's holds a 4-2 lead over Butler in the all-time series. The two programs have split the regular season series in each of the last two years, but the Red Storm swept BU in 2013-14 to earn the advantage. The first-ever meeting was a 58-55 home win for the Red Storm at Carnesecca Arena. They moved up 2-0 in the series with yet another 58-55 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse a month later. The Bulldogs earned their first win over STJ under the guidance of Head Coach Kurt Godlevske in the first meeting of the 2014-15 season. BU won 55-50 at St. John's, but lost at home in the rematch 60-49. A year ago, St. John's won 68-41 on their home court while Butler claimed a 62-58 win at Hinkle.
 
Butler holds the upper hand in the all-time series against Xavier 20-16. These two teams most recently met in the 2016 BIG EAST Conference Tournament with Butler advancing after a 48-47 win. Xavier swept the regular season series vs. BU in 2015-16, something Butler pulled off in 2014-15. Butler also swept the head-to-head matchups in 2013-14.
 
New Year, New Team
Butler and St. John's each lost two standout players to graduation which makes Thursday night's contest intriguing. The Red Storm relied heavily on the one-two punch of Aliyyah Handford and Danaejah Grant, a pair of First Team All-BIG EAST players. Butler is a young group that has moved forward without the services of Blaire Langlois and Belle Obert. Only four players on the current BU roster has logged minutes against the Red Storm. Tori Schickel only appeared in one contest in 2015-16 and Michelle Weaver was inactive for both. Sydney Buck, Taylor Buford and Alexa Bailey all saw playing time, but Buck will likely miss Thursday's game. St. John's will rely on Jade Walker, Akina Wellere, Aaliyah Lewis and Imani Littleton. All four of those players had a large role on the team a year ago.
 
Two with 20
Kristen Spolyar and Tori Schickel ignited the Butler offense against Seton Hall. Each player set a new season-high point total and ended the contest with a double-double. Spolyar and Schickel are the first BU teammates to record 20 points in the same game this season. Last year Schickel posted 22 points at Providence on Jan. 8 while Blaire Langlois chipped in with 21 points.
 
Injury Bug
The Bulldogs used seven different starting lineups during the non-conference schedule due to a slew of injuries. Sharpshooter Sydney Buck has been out of the lineup since Nov. 16 with a foot injury (10 Games). Michelle Weaver has battled a back injury (2 Games), Alexa Bailey missed time with a concussion (3 Games), Sydney Shelton missed time with a foot injury (4 Games), the same goes for Taylor Buford (3 Games). The only player to start in all 13 games this year has been sophomore Tori Schickel.
 
BIG EAST Rankings
Tori Schickel finds herself ranked in the top-five of multiple BIG EAST statistical categories. Schickel ranks 2nd in rebounds (10.2) 2nd in minutes (33.6), 3rd in field goal percentage (52.6) and 4th in steals (2.5). A closer breakdown shows Schickel leading the league in offensive rebounds (4.6) and ranking second in defensive boards (5.6). The sophomore forward also ranks sixth in blocked shots (1.4) and 11th in scoring (13.6).
 
National Rankings
Butler ranks 79th in the NCAA by averaging 9.6 steals per game. Tori Schickel ranks 27th in rebounds per game (10.2) and 8th in offensive rebounds per game. The talented forward also ranks 59th in steals per game (2.5)
 
Season-High Totals
Butler's offense clicked over the final three quarters of the Seton Hall game allowing BU to set multiple season-high totals. As a team, BU set season-high marks in points (79), field goals made (30), field goal percentage (50.0) and assists (17). Schickel, Spolyar and Shelton all set season-high totals in points, field goals made and rebounds.
 
Heavy Lifting
Kristen Spolyar and Tori Schickel have scored nearly half of Butler's points this season. Spolyar has 195 points on the year, just four more than Schickel. The duo comes together for 386 points while the rest of the roster accounts for 403.
 
Schickel Eyes Single-Season Rebound Record
Tori Schickel is currently on pace to break the Butler school record for most rebounds recorded in a single-season. Through 14 games, Schickel has pulled down 143 rebounds. The school record of 302 was set by Beth Piepenbrink during the 1981-82 season.
 
Fast Starts
Butler outscored the opposition 160-142 over the opening 10 minutes of the game against non-conference opponents. Fast starts helped BU reach that overall total. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-0 lead vs. Ball State, a 7-0 lead vs. USF and a 12-0 start at TCU. Butler also posted fast starts at Wisconsin (7-1), vs. Fort Wayne (17-4) and vs. Bradley (18-2). In the victory over Indiana State on Dec. 11, BU opened the game by scoring the first 15 points of contest at Hinkle Fieldhouse to help secure the 66-48 win.
 
Spolyar Can Score
Kristen Spolyar set the Indiana single-season high school scoring record during her senior year at Lebanon with 1,031 points. That effort helped her finish third all-time in the state of Indiana with 2,882 career points. The newcomer made an immediate impact at Butler by earning BIG EAST Freshman of the Week accolades two times at the start of the season. Spolyar averaged 17.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game over her first four collegiate games, shooting 47 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3-point range.
 
Up Next
One of the toughest road trips of the season is on the horizon for Butler as the Bulldogs prepare for a road trip that includes #21 DePaul and Marquette. Butler will play at DePaul on Friday, Jan. 13 on BEDN. Sunday afternoon's contest at Marquette will air live on FS1.