#--/rv Butler (5-1) at Saint Louis (5-1)
Saturday, Dec. 1; 5PM (Eastern)
Chaifetz Arena; St. Louis, Mo.
TV: FOX Sports Midwest/Indiana - Dan McLaughlin & Scott Highmark
RADIO: 107.5 FM, 1070 AM, TuneIn Radio App - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)

Full Notes (PDF)

The Bulldogs make the drive to Saint Louis for their first true road contest of the season, facing off with the Billikens Saturday afternoon. The 5 p.m. (Eastern/4 p.m. Central) tip will air on FOX Sports Midwest, including FOX Sports Indiana. The Butler duo of Mark Minner and Nick Gardner will have the radio call on 107.5FM, 1070AM and the TuneIn Radio app.  

Both Butler and Saint Louis enter the game with 5-1 records. 

ONE YEAR AGO: Butler used a huge first half to overpower Saint Louis, 75-45, Dec. 2, 2017 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Kelan Martin led the Bulldogs with 20 points and 12 rebounds. The Bulldogs jumped on the visiting Billikens early and never looked back. Butler used a 9-0 run to take a 24-6 lead with 7:54 to play in the opening half. The lead would swell to 29 at the half (42-13) as the Bulldogs shot 54 percent over the opening 20 minutes. The lead would extend to 40 six minutes into the second half. Kamar Baldwin (14) and Paul Jorgensen (11) also reached double figures for the Bulldogs, who ended up shooting 49 percent for the game. 

BULLDOGS AND BILLIKENS: Saint Louis owns a 19-12 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs. The two teams spent one season together in the Atlantic 10 (2012-13) as well as several seasons in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. 

ON THE DEFENSIVE: Butler leads the BIG EAST, allowing just 63.8 points per game so far this season. That mark is Top 50 nationally. The Bulldogs are allowing opponents to shoot only 41.6 percent from the field (second in the BIG EAST) and are forcing teams into 14.3 turnovers per game. Among Butler's six opponents, only Ole Miss has scored more than 70 points (an 83-76 Butler win Nov. 16). Butler's last two opponents, Middle Tennessee and Florida, have been held to 53 and 54 points, respectively. 

In the Nov. 23 win over Florida to conclude the Battle 4 Atlantis, Butler limited the Gators to 22 points in the second half on 29-percent shooting. Florida made only one of its 12 three-point attempts after the break. 

1,000: Junior Kamar Baldwin became the 40th Butler Bulldog to post 1,000 career points, going over the mark in the team's Nov. 23 win over Florida at the Battle 4 Atlantis. Baldwin hit 1,000 points in just 75 career games. 

CAREER NIGHT: Sean McDermott set a career-high with 21 points on seven three-pointers in the Nov. 22 Thanksgiving Night win over Middle Tennessee. He had 18 the night before against Dayton, which was his previous career-high. His seven three-pointers tied the Battle 4 Atlantis single-game record, which was set by Wisconsin's D'Mitrik Trice earlier in the day. Trice's father, Travis, played at Butler (1993-95). Entering the Battle 4 Atlantis, McDermott had scored a total of 19 points in the team's first three games.

LONG RANGE: Butler hit 16 three-pointers against Middle Tennessee Nov. 22, which also set a Battle 4 Atlantis single-game record (previously held by UMass in a 2011 game against Utah). The 16 three-pointers were the most by Butler since the Bulldogs hit 15 in a Dec. 30, 2017 home win over No. 1 Villanova (101-93).

CLIMBING THE LIST: Baldwin has 120 career steals, just two shy of tenth place on Butler's all-time list. 
 
SCORING IN BUNCHES: Paul Jorgensen scored 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting against Middle Tennessee, including 5-of-8 from three-point range. He matched McDermott for the team lead. It marked Jorgensen's third straight game leading the Bulldogs in scoring, after 18 points against Dayton and registering career-highs with 27 points and six three-pointers in the Nov. 16 win over Ole Miss. Jorgensen's 18.5 points per game trail only Baldwin (19.7). (Baldwin led the team in scoring against Florida in the team's most recent game.)

WE'LL TAKE THAT: Butler forced Middle Tennessee into 20 turnovers Nov. 22 at the Battle 4 Atlantis, converting those into 28 points. Eight of the 10 Bulldogs who dressed for the contest registered at least one steal. Butler had 12 steals total. Butler's defense also limited the Blue Raiders to 32-percent shooting.

HANDLE WITH CARE: Butler committed only 10 turnovers in each of the team's three games at the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Bulldogs are averaging only 10.5 miscues per game this season, which leads the BIG EAST and is Top 25 nationally. 

HANDING THEM OUT: Baldwin's average of 5.5 assists per game leads the BIG EAST at this point in the season. Baldwin matched his career-high with seven assists in the Nov. 21 game against Dayton. He has registered at least four assists in every game this season. On the season, Baldwin leads the Bulldogs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and free throw percentage.

Aaron Thompson tied his career-high with eight assists in the Nov. 22 win over Middle Tennessee. Butler registered a season-high 22 assists on 31 made field goals. 

CELEBRATING THE HOLIDAYS: Butler has posted a winning record in each of its last five Thanksgiving Week tournaments. The Bulldogs won the 2016 Las Vegas Invitational, and went 2-1 in the other four events: the PK80 event in 2017 in Portland, the 2015 Puerto Rico Tip-Off, and the 2014 and 2018 Battle 4 Atlantis. 

CLUTCH PERFORMANCE: Butler made all 18 of its second-half free throw attempts in solidifying the win over Ole Miss. For the game, Butler went 23-of-27 (85 percent). Junior Kamar Baldwin was a perfect 12-of-12 on the night. 

NOT A WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT: Including the win over Ole Miss, Butler has now won 46 consecutive home games against non-conference foes. The streak dates back to a loss to Pittsburgh in the 2012 College Basketball Invitational (CBI). That current streak trails only Duke and Arizona. Opponents who have fallen victim at Hinkle Fieldhouse during the streak include Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Northwestern (twice), Utah, Princeton (twice), Saint Louis, Chattanooga, Belmont, and Vermont. 

POINT-BRUNK RANGE: Redshirt sophomore Joey Brunk is shooting .857 (18-21) from the field through the Bulldogs' six games this season. That leads the BIG EAST. Three of Brunk's four career double-digit scoring performances have come this season. Brunk went a perfect 7-of-7 from the field against Miami (Ohio), registering a career-best 17 points in the season-opening win.