GAME NOTES
 
WATCH | LIVE STATS
 
INDIANAPOLIS – Butler will host St. John's on FS2 Wednesday night in BIG EAST action. The Bulldogs will be looking for their fourth-straight win after going undefeated last week. The Red Storm have also found recent success having won two-straight against conference foes.
 
Bulldog Bits
- BU has won seven of their last eight games and are 5-1 overall at Hinkle Fieldhouse
- Kristen Spolyar tied her season-high scoring total with 20 points off the bench on Sunday
- Shae Brey scored a season-high nine points in the win over Seton Hall
- Butler won the points in the paint battle vs. Seton Hall 30-8
- Butler is only allowing 56.8 points per game against conference opponents (3-1)
- Tori Schickel and Maya Singleton are the only BIG EAST players to avg. a double-double
- Butler leads the BIG EAST Conference in rebound margin (+6.1)
- Whitney Jennings is the second highest scorer in the BIG EAST at 18.9 ppg
- Butler upset #21 Villanova 76-53 to earn their first conference win of the season
- BU's last win over a ranked opponent was recorded on 11/27/98 (81-65 vs #25 Illinois)
 
2017-18 BIG EAST STANDINGS
Marquette  4-0, 10-5
DePaul  3-1, 11-5
Butler  3-1, 11-5
Creighton  3-2, 9-6
Villanova  2-2, 12-2
Georgetown  2-2, 7-7
St. John's  2-3, 9-7
Xavier  1-3, 8-7
Seton Hall  1-4, 9-7
Providence  1-4, 8-9
 
Schickel Named BIG EAST Player of the Week
In a 3-0 week for the Bulldogs, Schickel averaged 22.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and .667 shooting. The junior sparked Butler to its first win over a top-25 opponent since 1998 with 26 points off 10-of-11 shooting, seven rebounds and six assists in Tuesday's win over then-No. 21 Villanova. Schickel followed that with a monster performance at Georgetown of 28 points and 15 boards, before ending the week with 12 points, nine rebounds and three steals in Sunday's victory over Seton Hall. This is the first Player of the Week certificate for Butler this season and Schickel's third career honor.
 
RPI Rankings
Butler climbed 21 spots to No. 55 in the RPI poll after defeating Villanova, Georgetown and Seton Hall. The BIG EAST is well represented in the Top 50 of the RPI with Villanova coming in at 13, Marquette at 21, DePaul at 33, St. John's at 39, and Creighton at 49.
 
Scouting St. John's
The Red Storm use a seven player rotation with five of the seven players averaging double figures in the scoring column. The balanced offensive attack features five student-athletes averaging 11 points per game. Maya Singleton averages a double-double by pulling down 12.2 rebounds per contest and guard Tiana England currently ranks second in the BIG EAST in assists (5.9). The start of conference play has been up and down for STJ. They nearly pulled off the upset at Marquette in overtime, but the Golden Eagles would hang on for a 74-72 win. The Johnnies would also stick around in the DePaul game (76-67) before losing at home to Providence (49-44). They have won two-straight heading into Wednesday night by recording victories over Creighton (72-65 OT) and Xavier (67-63).
 
A Year Ago vs. St. John's
St. John's dominated the first and fourth quarters in the first meeting of the 2016-17 season to record a 62-41 victory. The Bulldogs only hit one of their 10 attempts in the first frame to face a 16-5 deficit after the opening 10 minutes. The final 10 minutes was more of the same with STJ winning that span 17-6. The second meeting at Carnesecca was much closer, but the Red Storm would earn the sweep by claiming a 62-55 win. Tori Schickel led Butler with 20 points and 11 rebounds, but four members of the Red Storm starting five unit would hit double figures in scoring to lift St. John's to victory.
 
All-Time Series
The all-time series between St. John's and Butler favors the Johnnies 6-2. Butler's first win over St. John's came in Coach Godlevske's first season at the helm. BU won 55-50 at St. John's, a signature win coming in the middle of an eight-game winning streak. Butler also came out victorious in the second meeting of the 2015-16 season. BU again won at home 62-58.
 
Feeling Good
Butler's 76-53 win at #21 Villanova was the program's first win over a ranked opponent since the 1998-99 season. Butler defeated #25 Illinois 81-65 in the San Diego Masry and Vititoe Classic. The game was played on 11/27/98. The Bulldogs were able to win on the road against a tough opponent by winning the rebound battle 43-19, limiting their turnovers to just 10, and dishing out 16 assists. 43 rebounds tie the team's best effort this season, 10 turnovers are Butler's second-lowest total of the year and 16 assists from six different players is the team's third-highest total.
 
D Up
Butler went 3-0 last week to move into a tie for second place in the conference standings and improve their conference record to 3-1. A total team effort defensively allowed BU to rattle off three-straight conference wins. BU allowed just 52.7 points per game during that time, holding the opposition to 53, 57 and 48 points respectively. Butler was also +17.0 in rebound margin during that run.
 
What A Difference A Year Makes
The Bulldogs are 11-5 overall with a 3-1 record against conference opponents. One year ago at this time they were 5-11 overall with a 2-3 mark in the league. The biggest difference is found in the scoring column. BU averages 68.2 points per game this season compared to just 55.9 a year ago. Butler has a higher field goal percentage (42.4/38.2), 3-point field goal percentage (31.3/26.5) and free throw percentage (78.1/66.0) than last year's team.
 
Knock Them Down
Butler has made more free throw attempts than any other school in the BIG EAST Conference. They are shooting 78.1% from the charity stripe, posting the second-best percentage in the league and the ninth-highest percentage in the NCAA.
 
One-Two Punch
Tori Schickel and Whitney Jennings account for 53% of Butler's scoring this season. Jennings ranks second in the BIG EAST with an 18.9 scoring average. Schickel ranks fifth in the league by averaging 17.0 points per contest.
 
All-Time Great
Tori Schickel has 724 rebounds in her Butler career, a total that ranks her seventh place all-time at Butler. She is on pace to become the top rebounder in program history.
 
1,000 Point Watch
Junior Tori Schickel has 985 career points. She is on pace to become just the 22nd player in Butler women's basketball history to reach 1,000.
 
Protect The Rim
Tori Schickel ranks 8th all-time at Butler in career blocks. She leads the team with 28 on the year, moving her career total to 108.
 
Bring It Back
Butler brought back nine of ten players from the 2016-17 roster allowing them to bring back 95 percent of their scoring. As far as just playing time, 87 percent of the minutes played last season were from student-athletes who are still on the roster this season. The return of Tori Schickel helps BU return 93 percent of its rebounding from 2016-17.
 
Boo Crew
Butler's BIG EAST game vs. St. John's on Wednesday night will be televised live on FS2. @LisaByington and @LaChinaRobinson will have the call.
 
Up Next
Butler will play at Marquette on Friday night. Tip-off is slated for 8 PM.