Opponent: Kennesaw State
Specifics: Friday, November 10 | 7 p.m. ET | Hinkle Fieldhouse | Indianapolis, Ind.
TV: FOX College Sports | Wayne Randazzo & Jordan Cornette
Radio: 1430 AM & the
TuneIn Radio app | Mark Minner (play-by-play) & Nick Gardner (analyst)
Follow Along: @ButlerMBB
Tickets: Still Available -
purchase
Full Notes (PDF - additional information included)
PRACTICE EXAM: Butler opened the 2017-18 season with a pair of exhibition wins. In the team's last outing, the Bulldogs defeated NCAA Division II Final Four team Lincoln Memorial, 86-79, Saturday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler shot 56 percent from the field with
Kelan Martin leading four Bulldogs in double figures with 19 points.
THE SERIES: In the only previous meeting, Butler defeated Kennesaw State, 93-51, on Dec. 8, 2014 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. (Then freshman)
Kelan Martin had 17 points in 20 minutes.
Tyler Wideman added six points.
TO THE POINT:
--Kennesaw State is approximately 60 miles from
Kamar Baldwin's hometown of Winder, Ga.
--In 2016-17, Kennesaw State made 41.6 percent of its three-point attempts, third nationally.
--Butler has won 35 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents. The streak dates back to a loss to Pittsburgh in the 2012 College Basketball Invitational (CBI).
--Butler is receiving votes in both national polls (AP and Coaches polls), just outside the Top 25
--Butler opens the regular season with four games in nine days, followed by a flight to Portland, Ore., for the PK80 event, which features three games in four days.
HINKLE (RE)DEBUT: LaVall Jordan, who helped Butler to conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances as both a player and an assistant coach, returns to his alma mater as the 24th head coach in men's basketball program history. Butler Vice President and Director of Athletics Barry Collier made the announcement June 12. Friday's game will be his first official game in charge of the Butler program.
Jordan served as the head coach at Milwaukee during the 2016-17 season after six seasons as an assistant coach at Michigan.
'TAPAS' PERFORMANCES: The Bulldogs utilized a four-game foreign tour to Spain to prepare for the 2017-18 campaign. The team went 4-0, playing professional teams in Madrid, Albacete, Valencia, and Barcelona, from August 2-12. The team flew to Spain on coach LaVall Jordan's 50
th day as Butler's head coach. The Bulldogs did extensive sight-seeing throughout the country, literally only touching a basketball during the four games.
BEST GUESS: BIG EAST coaches picked Butler to finish eighth in the league's preseason poll, which was released at BIG EAST Media Day Oct. 18. The Bulldogs finished second in the league standings a season ago after being picked sixth in the preseason poll.
HE'S BACK: Senior Kelan Martin has been named to the 20-member watch list for the 2018 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award. A national committee comprised of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates. Martin earned one of the spots on the preseason All-BIG EAST first team after averaging 16.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game a season ago. Those marks placed eighth and ninth, respectively, in the BIG EAST for the 2016-17 season. He shot 78 percent from the free throw line, also in the Top 10 among conference players.
He has been voted an All-BIG EAST second team performer by the conference's head coaches following each of the past two seasons.
BACK FOR MORE: The Bulldogs return three starters, including preseason All-BIG EAST first team selection
Kelan Martin. He joins
Kamar Baldwin and
Tyler Wideman as players who started at least 21 games a season ago. They are three of six returning letterwinners.
