GAME 17: rv/rv Bulldogs (12-4, 2-1 BIG EAST) vs. #21/21 Seton Hall (13-2, 2-0)
Saturday, Jan. 6 | 2:30 p.m. ET
Indianapolis, Ind. | Hinkle Fieldhouse
TV: FS1 | @StevePhysioc & @NickBahe
Radio: 1070 AM, 107.5 FM & TuneIn Radio App | @MarkMinner & @n_gardner
@ButlerMBB | ButlerSports.com
Tickets: Still available -
purchase
Full Notes (PDF)
Butler and Seton Hall will meet for the tenth time with all nine previous games coming since the Bulldogs joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season. Butler has a 7-2 lead in the series. The teams split the regular season series in 2016-17 with each team winning on the other's home court. Seton Hall's other win came in the 2014 BIG EAST Tournament.
• In his last four games against Seton Hall,
Kelan Martin is averaging 16.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Those four games include two double-doubles.
•
Kelan Martin and
Kamar Baldwin combine to average 51.3 points per game in BIG EAST contests.
• Seton Hall is the third consecutive Top 25 opponent on the Butler schedule.
• The two highest-scoring games of
Kamar Baldwin's 50-game career (31 at Georgetown, 28 at Xavier) have come in the team's three most recent games.
• Butler had a season-low five turnovers in Tuesday's loss at Xavier.
• For the first time in program history, Butler played Top-five ranked opponents (No. 1 Villanova and No. 5 Xavier) in back-to-back games. Top 10 back-to-back had previously occurred twice (1962 and 2010 NCAA Tournaments).
• Butler made 10 straight three-pointers in the Dec. 30 win over No. 1 Villanova, a program record. The previous mark was seven (vs. Detroit, Feb. 4, 1993).
SCENE-SETTER: Butler returns to Hinkle Fieldhouse Saturday for a match-up with No. 21 Seton Hall. The Bulldogs carry a 2-1 BIG EAST mark into the contest. Seton Hall is the third consecutive Top 25 opponent for Butler, all of which have entered their match-up with the Bulldogs sporting an undefeated conference mark.
DYNAMIC DUO: Kamar Baldwin (26.0) and Kelan Martin (25.3) are combining to average 51.3 points per game through the team's first three BIG EAST contests. They have four 25-point performances between them in those three games. Butler had only 14 25-point outings in the 2016-17, 2015-16, and 2014-15 seasons combined.
In BIG EAST games only, Baldwin is tied for second in scoring and Martin is fourth.
WATCH THE AWARDS PILE UP: For his efforts in leading Butler to wins at Georgetown and over No. 1 Villanova last week, Kelan Martin was recognized as the BIG EAST Player of the Week. It is his second weekly award of the 2017-18 season and the sixth of his career. On the national level, Martin was named the Lute Olson Award Player of the Week (by CollegeInsider.com) and the Oscar Robertson Trophy Player of the Week (by the USBWA). Martin also received the Lute Olson Award recognition once last season.
SOPHOMORE SURGE: Entering BIG EAST play, sophomore Kamar Baldwin had one 20-point outing among his first 47 career games. He has two in the team's last three games, a career-high 31 points at Georgetown and a 28-point game in the team's most recent outing at Xavier. In between, he posted 19 points in the win over (then) No. 1 Villanova.
How impressive is this three-game streak? Baldwin has averaged double figures throughout his 50-game Butler career, but he has scored 13 percent of his career points in the team's most recent three games.
STELLAR SENIOR SEASON: For the tenth time this season, Kelan Martin registered 20 points with 25 at Xavier Tuesday night. That came one game after he scored 24 against Villanova, hitting all four of his three-point attempts, and scoring nine points over the final 5:05 of play to seal the win.
Martin has four double-doubles, and has led the Bulldogs in scoring nine times this season. Martin has 31 career 20-point outings and has led the team in scoring 40 times in his Butler career.
HANDLING AND APPLYING PRESSURE: Butler committed a season-low five turnovers Tuesday at Xavier. The Bulldogs are committing only 11.9 turnovers per game this season, while forcing 15.4 from their opponents. The +3.4 turnover margin is third in the BIG EAST. Butler is averaging 7.3 steals per game, highlighted by Kamar Baldwin and his 1.9 swipes per game. His mark is fourth in the conference. Kelan Martin, Paul Jorgensen and Aaron Thompson also average better than one steal per game.
AT THE LINE: Butler lost at Xavier, 86-79, Tuesday night. The host Musketeers went to the line 37 times, hitting 24, in posting the win. Butler attempted only eight free throws (making six). In Butler's 12 wins, the Bulldogs are averaging 18.6 free throw attempts per game. That number drops to 8.5 in the team's four losses. On the season, Butler is converting on 75 percent of its free throw attempts.
BOARDS OFF THE BENCH: In Tuesday night's game at Xavier, Sean McDermott came off the bench to pull down 11 rebounds, while Nate Fowler collected nine. Those were the two high marks for Butler as each player saw 25 minutes of action. It was the second-best rebound total of their respective careers.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Butler ran its record to 9-0 this season at Hinkle Fieldhouse with the win over Villanova. In those nine home wins, the Bulldogs are averaging 88.1 points per game while shooting 54.5 percent from the field. Butler has reached 80 points in eight of the games. Butler is 3-4 away from its home court, averaging 69.7 ppg on 40-percent shooting.
HOT DAWGS: Butler went 15-of-22 from three-point range in the Dec. 30 win over Villanova. The Bulldogs made their final five attempts of the first half and then went 5-of-5 from behind the arc in the second half. Those 10 consecutive makes are a program record, bettering the previous mark of seven (vs. Detroit, Feb. 4, 1993).
Butler made a season-best 18 three-pointers Dec. 21 against Western Illinois. That total was just two shy of Butler's team record.
BOOK-ENDING 2017: Butler's 60-percent performance from the field (36-60) Dec. 30 against Villanova was the team's best mark since shooting .619 (26-42) against Providence on Jan. 1, 2017.
HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT: How good was Butler's offensive execution against Villanova? The Bulldogs were able to out-score Villanova, which registered season-highs of 45 and 48 points, respectively, for a Butler opponent in each half. Villanova shot 54 percent from the field, made 12 three-pointers, committed only four turnovers…and still lost.
Butler's 101 points were the first time that Villanova had given up 100 points since a 2014 loss to Creighton and Doug McDermott.
SHOTS WERE 'PAULING': Paul Jorgensen netted a career-best 23 points against Villanova, making a career-high eight field goals and tying his personal-best with four three-pointers. Sixteen of his points came in the first half. His first-half total alone was two shy of his previous career-best.
Jorgensen is third on the team in scoring at 12.1 points per game. He has reached double figures in 10 of the last 11 games (12 total this season) after hitting the mark only eight times in 73 career games at George Washington before transferring to Butler.
ALL-AROUND PERFORMANCE: In addition to his 19 points Dec. 30 against Villanova, sophomore Kamar Baldwin handed out a career-high seven assists to go along with a season-high nine rebounds (his career-high is 11). Villanova's four turnovers included two steals by Baldwin, his 11th game this season with two or more steals.
20/20: Butler has had two players score at least 20 points in each of the last four games. Butler only had two games all of last season where two players each scored at least 20 points in the same game.
THAT'S OFFENSIVE: Butler is now 8-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points, and 10-1 when scoring north of 70. The Bulldogs are 9-0 when shooting a better field goal percentage than their opponent and 10-0 when shooting better than 50 percent from the field.
THE SIZE OF THE FIGHT IN THE DOG: Down 20 late in the first half and 18 at halftime, Butler rallied for a 91-89 double-overtime win Dec. 27 at Georgetown in the BIG EAST-opener for both schools. Butler also trailed by 15 against Ohio State with less than four minutes to play in regulation Nov. 26 before winning that match-up in overtime.
That was Butler's fourth comeback of 15 or more points of 2017, joining efforts to erase 18 points (vs. Marquette, Jan. 16) and 20 points (at DePaul, Jan. 21) last season.
CAREER NIGHT: Sophomore Kamar Baldwin posted a career-high 31 points in the double-overtime win over Georgetown. It bested his previous career-best of 21 points set last season against Xavier. Baldwin made 12 of his 21 attempts from the field and hit six of eight free throw attempts. Twenty-three of his points came after halftime.
Baldwin played 49 of a possible 50 minutes in the win at Georgetown.
SENIOR MOMENT: Senior Kelan Martin scored the game-winner in double overtime in the BIG EAST opener at Georgetown, hitting a contested floater in the lane to give Butler a 91-89 lead with 2.6 seconds remaining. Martin also scored the game-winner in the closing seconds of overtime of the Nov. 26 win over Ohio State. Martin had 27 points against Georgetown.
