Opponent: DePaul
Specifics: Sunday, Feb. 19 | 1:30 p.m. ET | Hinkle Fieldhouse | Indianapolis, Ind.
TV: FS1 | Tim Brando & Dickey Simpkins
Radio: 93.5 FM & 1070 AM (also streamed through TuneIn Radio App) | Mark Minner (play-by-play) & Nick Gardner (analyst)
Follow Along: @ButlerMBB
Follow Along: Sold Out
Full Notes (PDF)
SUNDAY AT HINKLE: Butler continues a two-game homestand at Hinkle Fieldhouse Sunday when DePaul visits Indianapolis for a 1:30 p.m. tip. The game is sold out. The Bulldogs enter the game at 20-6 overall and 9-5 in BIG EAST play. DePaul is 8-18 (1-12 BIG EAST). This is the second match-up between the two teams this season. The game will be aired nationally on FS1.
Butler is 12-2 at Hinkle Fieldhouse this season and 38-8 at home under head coach Chris Holtmann.
THE SERIES: Butler and DePaul will meet for the 14th time Sunday as the Bulldogs hold a 7-6 series lead. The Bulldogs have won six straight in the series and coach Chris Holtmann is 6-0 in his career against the Blue Demons (that includes one win as the head coach at Gardner-Webb). The series dates back to the 1938-39 season. Two of the match-ups came with DePaul ranked in the top five nationally as the #1 Blue Demons won in 1979-80 and the #3 Blue Demons won during the 1980- 81 season. Butler won the first meeting this season, 70-69 in overtime, in Illinois Jan. 21.
FIRST TIME AROUND: DePaul led the Bulldogs, 25-5, with 12:52 remaining in the first half of the first meeting before Butler mounted a comeback to take a 70-69 overtime win. Kethan Savage led Butler with 20 points, a season and Bulldog-high for him. Kamar Baldwin added 18 points. Butler overcame 36-percent shooting to get the win, its second-lowest shooting efficiency of the season. The Bulldogs' largest lead was two points (25 seconds remaining in overtime) and Butler led for only 1:41 on the clock.
GETTING DEFENSIVE: Over the final 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.
LAST TIME OUT: Butler's offense exploded for a 110-86 win over St. John's Wednesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Wednesday night's win avenges a loss to the Red Storm Dec. 29 in Queens, N.Y. Butler's largest lead was the 24-point final margin. The Bulldogs' offense was so efficient that they won by 24 points despite allowing St. John's to post a season-high (86 points) for a Butler opponent. The 110 points are the most scored by the Bulldogs in a BIG EAST game, bettering the previous mark of 95 scored in a win over Marquette on Senior Day last season.
SEEING 20/20: Butler is 20-6 overall, posting its 11th 20-win season in the last 12 years. The Bulldogs are one of only 15 programs that have posted at least 11 20-win seasons during that stretch (there are six additional teams who could achieve this mark later this season). The Bulldogs have previously posted 20 or more wins on 21 occasions. Seventeen of those 20-win seasons have come since 1996-97.
HOT SHOTS: The Bulldogs shot 57.6 percent against St. John's, the team's fourth-highest mark of the season. The Bulldogs matched a season-high with 13 three-pointers (shooting 50 percent from behind the arc). Butler made nine triples in the first half. Entering the game, Butler had only made nine three-pointers in two of its 13 BIG EAST games.
SCORING 20/20: Andrew Chrabascz and Avery Woodson led the Bulldogs against St. John's, each scoring 20 points in the win. It was the second time this season that a pair of Bulldogs each had 20 points (Chrabascz and Kelan Martin achieved the feat against Vermont Dec. 21).
Woodson's 20 points were a season-high and his best scoring performance in a Butler uniform. He had two 20-point games while playing at Memphis. Woodson tied his career-high with six three-pointers. Wednesday was Chrabascz's third 20-point game of the season and the seventh of his Butler career.
ON THE BOARDS: Butler out-rebounded St. John's, 40-25, Wednesday. It was Butler's largest rebounding advantage of the season. The Bulldogs are now 13-2 on the season when out-rebounding opponents.
DOUBLING DOWN: Tyler Wideman posted the second double-double of his career with 14 points and 10 rebounds against St. John's. The 10 rebounds matched his career-high and the fourth time he pulled down 10 caroms. Wideman has led the Bulldogs in rebounding in eight games this season and 18 times in his career.
Wideman's 14 points came on 6-of-7 shooting. According to STATS Inc., Wideman entered the game tied for fifth among active Division I players in field goal percentage at home (67.1 percent).
BREAKING OUT: Kelan Martin scored 19 points against St. John's to go along with nine rebounds. It was his highest-scoring game since posting 22 points against Georgetown Jan. 28. Martin got to the free throw line a season-best 12 times.
NEW HEIGHTS: According to STATS Inc., Kamar Baldwin is one of only four players standing 6-feet or shorter since the 2000-01 season to post a game with at least 10 rebounds and a game with at least four blocks in the same season. Baldwin pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds against Providence Feb. 11 and he had four blocks in the game at Marquette Feb. 7.
DISHING THEM OUT: Tyler Lewis had nine assists, including seven in the first half. The nine assists are a season-high for Lewis. Lewis is fourth in the BIG EAST at 4.0 assists per game.
Lewis leads the BIG EAST and is seventh in the nation with a 3.55 assist/turnover ratio.
BALANCED ATTACK: The Bulldogs have scored an even 2,000 points through 26 games this season. Leading scorer Kelan Martin accounts for 20.2 percent of the team's scoring, but Butler has eight players who are contributing at least 6.7 percent of the team's points on the season so far.
Butler had five players in double-figures against St. John's. It was the fourth time this season that Butler had five players score 10+ points. Butler is 4-0 in those contests. Butler is also 4-1 in games where the Bulldogs have four players score at least 10 points.
EARLY LOOK: For the first time, the NCAA Men's Basketball Committee revealed its top 16 seeds in a midseason preview for fans. The seeds were announced Saturday, Feb. 11. Butler was announced as the No. 13 overall seed (the equivalent of being the top No. 4 seed in the bracket).
STRONG RESUME: In Thursday's RPI rankings released by the NCAA, the Bulldogs come in at No. 13. Butler has a record of 15-4 against teams currently ranked in the RPI Top 100. Those 15 wins against the Top 100 are tied with Kansas for the most in the nation (through the games of Wednesday, Feb. 15).
Butler is now 5-2 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 this season against five teams that are currently leading their respective league standings: Villanova (BIG EAST), Vermont (America East), Cincinnati (tied in the loss column; American), Arizona (Pac-12), and Bucknell (Patriot).
MAGIC NUMBER: The Bulldogs held Marquette to 65 points in a road win Feb. 7. Butler is now 15-0 on the season when holding its opponent to less than 70 points. The Bulldogs are 5-6 on the season when their opponent scores 70 or more. Butler is allowing an average of 68.3 points per game through the first 26 games of the season. That is third in the BIG EAST. That average increases to 72.1 points per game in league play, which is also third.
BIG EAST BREAKDOWN: The Bulldogs currently stand alone in second place in the BIG EAST standings (through the games of Wednesday, Feb. 15). Villanova leads the league at 12-2, while Butler is 9-5. Xavier and Creighton are tied for third at 8-5. Teams 5-9 are separated by only one game in the standings as we are in the final three weeks of BIG EAST play leading into the 2017 BIG EAST Tournament.
IN THE POLLS: The Bulldogs are ranked No. 24 in the AP poll and No. 25 the USA Today coaches poll this week. Butler has been ranked each week since the Nov. 28, 2016 polls.
STOPPING A SKID: Following a loss, the Bulldogs are now 22-4 under coach Chris Holtmann. That includes a 5-1 mark this season.
PROTECTING THE ROCK: On the season, the Bulldogs are averaging only 10.2 turnovers per game. That mark is sixth 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 +3.3 leads the BIG EAST and is 21st nationally. Butler is 10-2 this season when committing 10 or fewer turnovers.
WINNING THE CLOSE ONES: The Bulldogs are 6-3 this season in games decided by five points or less. Butler is also 2-0 in overtime games.
CAREER DAY: Sophomore Nate Fowler came off the bench to lead the Bulldogs with 19 points Feb. 11 at Providence. The 6-10 center went 7-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-3 from three-point range. All of those figures, in addition to his 23 minutes played, were career-highs. It was the third double-figure scoring performance of Fowler's career and his second time pacing the Bulldogs in scoring. His 5.1 points per game average is eighth on the Butler roster this season.
ELDER STATESMEN: Butler's seniors scored 51 of the team's 68 points in the 68-65 win over Marquette Feb. 7 in Milwaukee. Andrew Chrabascz led the Bulldogs with 21 points, while Avery Woodson added 17. Butler shot 49 percent in the game.
NOT TOO CHRABBY: Andrew Chrabascz's game-high 21 points Feb. 7 came via an 8-of-11 shooting performance from the field. In one of the most well-rounded games by a Bulldog this season, Chrabascz added five rebounds, a career-high five steals, and four assists to his 21 points.
Chrabascz ranks second on the team in scoring, assists and steals this season, and third in rebounding.
WHEN IT MATTERS MOST: Kethan Savage has scored in double figures in 10 of the team's 14 BIG EAST games. Savage is averaging 11.2 points per game against BIG EAST opponents, the fourth-best mark on the team. Savage had a season-best 20 points at DePaul Jan. 21.
NATIONALLY-SPEAKING: Kelan Martin is included among the 10 finalists for the Julius Erving Award, presented to the nation's top small forward. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 10 watch list finalists Feb. 1. Martin's 15.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game lead the Bulldogs.
The junior has eight games scoring 20 or more points this season, something he has now done 19 times in his career.
THE HALF OF IT: Butler posted 54 points in the first half Wednesday against St. John's, the team's highest output in the first half this season. The Bulldogs followed that up with 56 points in the second half, which trailed only the team's 63 points in the second half against Marquette Jan. 16 and the 58 points scored in against Xavier Jan. 14.
