Opponent: Marquette
Specifics: Tuesday, Feb. 7 | 9 p.m. ET | BMO Harris Bradley Center | Milwaukee, Wis.
TV: CBS Sports Network | Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas & Allie LaForce
Radio: 93.5 FM & 1070 AM (also streamed through
TuneIn Radio App) | Mark Minner (play-by-play) & Nick Gardner (analyst)
Follow Along: @ButlerMBB
Full Notes (PDF)
BACK TO WORK: Butler looks to quash a two-game losing skid as the Bulldogs travel to Milwaukee for a Tuesday night match-up with Marquette. The Bulldogs enter the contest at 18-5 overall and 7-4 in BIG EAST play. Marquette is 15-8 (6-5 BIG EAST). The 9 p.m. (Eastern, 8 p.m. Milwaukee/Central) tip will air nationally on CBS Sports Network.
Tuesday's game matches up the only two teams this season to defeat BIG EAST-leading Villanova. Butler knocked off the Wildcats at Hinkle Fieldhouse Jan. 4, while Marquette defeated Villanova Jan. 24 in Milwaukee.
IT'S NOT OVER UNTIL IT'S OVER: An incredible second half by the Bulldogs allowed Butler to erase a 16-point halftime deficit and take an 88-80 win over Marquette Jan. 16 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Sixty-three of Butler's points came in the second half as Butler shot 19-of-27 from the field, 4-of-5 from behind the arc, and 21-of-26 at the free throw line…all without committing a turnover. Marquette's took its largest lead of the game by scoring the first two points of the second half before Butler mounted the comeback.
Butler overcoming a 16-point lead was reminiscent of a Nov. 23, 2011 contest at Hinkle Fieldhouse when the Bulldogs turned a 50-35 halftime deficit to Gardner-Webb into a 68-66 win. The coach for Gardner-Webb on that trip to Hinkle Fieldhouse? Chris Holtmann.
THE SERIES: Butler holds a 19-17 advantage in the all-time series with Marquette. The teams first played Dec. 16, 1922. The last seven match-ups have been as BIG EAST foes as Butler joined the league prior to the 2013-14 season. The teams actually met twice in the 2012-13 season prior to Butler joining the league as the Bulldogs won in the Maui Invitational and Marquette won in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, which ended up being Brad Stevens' final game as coach of the Bulldogs. Chris Holtmann is 4-1 against Marquette as head coach at Butler.
BREAK IN THE ACTION: Butler will have seven days off prior to Tuesday's game at Marquette. This is the Bulldogs' longest rest since the gap between their Dec. 21 and Dec. 29 games. After playing only six games in December, Butler had 10 games in the 31 days of January. Butler's only other seven-day gap between games was Dec. 10 to Dec. 17 as the Bulldogs took the week off for final exams.
IN THE POLLS: The Bulldogs are ranked No. 22 in the AP poll and No. 21 the USA Today coaches poll this week. Butler has been ranked each week since the Nov. 28, 2016 polls.
THE BOUNCE BACK: For just the fourth time in Chris Holtmann's three seasons as head coach at Butler, the Bulldogs are on a two-game losing streak. Following a loss, the Bulldogs are now 20-4 under Holtmann.
Butler has never had a three-game losing streak under Holtmann.
A NICKEL WITH A DIME: In the Jan. 16 win over Marquette, the Bulldogs had five players in double-figures (as did Marquette). It was the third time this season that Butler had five players score 10+ points. Butler is 3-0 in those contests. Butler is also 4-1 in games where the Bulldogs have four players score at least 10 points.
OUT OF THE ORDINARY: Butler's last two opponents have shot the best marks of the season from both the field and behind the arc. On Jan. 28, Georgetown shot 64 percent overall and 10-of-20 from three-point range. On Jan. 31, Creighton shot 56 percent from the field and 13-of-21 (.619) from behind the arc. Entering those two contests, Butler was limiting opponents to a 42.5-percent mark from the field and 30.7 from three-point range.
STRONG RESUME: In Monday's RPI rankings released by the NCAA, the Bulldogs come in at No. 13. Butler has a record of 14-3 against teams currently ranked in the RPI Top 100. Butler owns wins against six teams that were ranked in the Top 25 or received votes in either national poll this week.
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.
PROTECTING THE ROCK: On the season, the Bulldogs are averaging only 10.0 turnovers per game. That mark is fourth 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 +3.8 leads the BIG EAST and is 13th nationally. Butler is 10-2 this season when committing 10 or fewer turnovers.
SOMETIMES THE NUMBERS LIE: Several streaks ended with the Jan. 28 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).
Butler out-rebounded Creighton, 35-27, Jan. 31. It was the first time this season that Butler had out-rebounded the opponent and lost (previously 12-0).
18-5: Despite the two-game losing streak, Butler is still 18-5 on the season. That winning percentage of 78.3 percent is 30th in the country.
SHARING THE BALL: Butler had 16 assists Jan. 28 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, his highest mark in BIG EAST play this season. Butler shot 55 percent against the Hoyas.
Lewis leads the BIG EAST in assist/turnover ratio (3.35), a mark that is also ninth in the nation.
WINNING THE CLOSE ONES: The Bulldogs are 5-3 this season in games decided by five points or less. Butler is also 2-0 in overtime games.
KID AT PLAY: Freshman Kamar Baldwin led Butler with 14 points in the Jan. 31 game against Creighton. It was his third time leading the Bulldogs in scoring and his 14th time in double figures. Baldwin is the team's third-leading scorer and his 40 steals are fourth in the BIG EAST this season.
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 16.3 points per game lead the Bulldogs. His 5.7 rebounds are also the team-high.
Martin has scored in double figures in 22 of the team's 23 games this season. The junior had a team-best 22 points in the win over Marquette Jan. 16, one of eight times scoring 20 or more points this season, something he has now done 19 times in his career.
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.
EXTRA POSSESSIONS: Tyler Wideman is fifth in the BIG EAST in offensive rebounding as 2.3 of his 5.3 caroms per game are on the offensive glass. Wideman is just two rebounds shy of 400 for his career.
SHOTS FIRED: Graduate student Avery Woodson has plugged into the Butler rotation and has been strong from behind the arc. His 40.0-percent mark from three-point range is 14th in the BIG EAST (among those with enough attempts to qualify). Kamar Baldwin (.426), Tyler Lewis (.450) and Nate Fowler (.538) all fall into the category of shooting better than 40 percent from three-point range without enough attempts to qualify for the league rankings.
