RV/-- Butler (7-2) vs. #25/RV Indiana (8-2)
Crossroads Classic
Saturday, Dec. 15; 3:45PM
Bankers Life Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
TV: CBS - Brad Nessler, Bill Raftery & Jamie Erdahl
RADIO: 107.5 FM, 1070 AM, TuneIn Radio App, XM 381, SiriusXM Internet 972 - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)

Full Notes (PDF)

• Butler is 5-2 in the Crossroads Classic and 11-4 in games played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.  
• The Bulldogs are 6-0 this season (and 25-1 under coach LaVall Jordan) when shooting a better field goal percentage than its opponent.
• Sean McDermott scored a career-high 23 points (on seven three-pointers) in the team's 95-68 win over Northern Illinois Saturday.
• The Bulldogs assisted on 27 of the team's 34 makes against Northern Illinois. Aaron Thompson posted a career-high nine assists. 
• Only one of Butler's nine opponents this season have scored 70 points. The Bulldogs' 63.3 points per game allowed lead the BIG EAST and are Top 40 nationally. 
• The Bulldogs have committed a season-low seven turnovers in each of its last two games. Butler is Top 20 nationally in fewest turnovers committed per game. 
• Including a 10-for-10 performance in its last outing, Butler leads the BIG EAST in free throw percentage at 75.8 percent.
• Paul Jorgensen and McDermott are tied for fourth in the BIG EAST in three-pointers made per game (3.1).
• On the season, Baldwin is in the BIG EAST Top 10 in points, assists, steals, minutes, and free throw percentage. He is 13th in rebounding.
• Butler went 17-of-32 from behind the arc against Northern Illinois, its first 50-percent mark from 3 since a Feb. 20, 2018 win over Creighton. 
• The BIG EAST and Madison Square Garden have announced an extension that will keep the BIG EAST Tournament at MSG through at least 2028. 
• Butler has won 48 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents. The streak dates back to a loss to Pittsburgh in the 2012 College Basketball Invitational (CBI). That current streak trails only Duke and Arizona nationally.
• Butler is one of just eight programs to win at least one game in each of the last four NCAA Tournaments. 
• The Bulldogs have made the NCAA Tournament field in 10 of the last 12 seasons (four consecutive). 

SEE YOU AT THE CROSSROADS: Butler and Indiana meet Saturday afternoon in downtown Indianapolis as part of the annual Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs enter at 7-2; the 8-2 Hoosiers are ranked No. 25 in this week's AP poll. 

The 3:45 p.m. tip will air nationally on CBS. The Butler duo of Mark Minner and Nick Gardner will have the radio call on 107.5FM, 1070AM and the TuneIn Radio app.  

Butler is 5-2 in the Crossroads Classic, rotating between match-ups against Indiana and Purdue. The Bulldogs are 11-4 in games played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. 

COMING IN HOT: Butler scored a season-high 95 points in a win over Northern Illinois in the team's most recent outing Saturday. The Bulldogs registered season-bests with 17 three-pointers and 27 assists on the team's 34 field goals. 

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).

SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY: Kelan Martin led the Bulldogs with 28 points in Butler's 83-78 win over Indiana in the 2016 Crossroads Classic. It was the most recent meeting between the two programs. Martin his five of Butler's 10 three-pointers in the game, as the Bulldogs went 10-of-21 from behind the arc and committed only six turnovers. Kamar Baldwin started that game as a freshman and had 14 points to go along with five rebounds. Sean McDermott and Nate Fowler also saw meaningful minutes. 

The teams have split the most recent eight match-ups in the series (dating back to 2001). Six of those games have been played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse; the other two were played on IU's home court in Bloomington. Butler is 2-1 against Indiana in the Crossroads Classic. That includes a 2012 win over the then No. 1-ranked Hoosiers, which is one of three wins by Butler over the No. 1-ranked team in the country (the other two wins have come over Villanova the past two seasons). 

CAREER DAY: Sean McDermott led the Bulldogs with a career-high 23 points in the win over Northern Illinois. He hit seven three-pointers, which also tied a career-high. McDermott is tied with teammate Paul Jorgensen for fourth in the BIG EAST in three-pointers made, each averaging 3.1 makes per game. 

SO YOU WON'T BE LONELY: McDermott was one of five Bulldogs in double figures in the win over Northern Illinois. It marked Butler's first game with five players in double figures since a road win at Marquette Jan. 31, 2018. 

ASSISTED GIVING: Aaron Thompson handed out a career-high nine assists as part of Butler's 27-assist performance Saturday. Thompson has registered at least four assists in six of the team's nine games this season. Thompson is fourth in the BIG EAST in assist/turnover ratio (2.4) and seventh in assists (4.2). 

Senior Nate Fowler had a career-high five assists against Northern Illinois as well. 

HANDLE WITH CARE: The Bulldogs have committed only seven turnovers in each of the past two games. That represents a season-low. Butler is averaging only 10.2 turnovers per game, which leads the BIG EAST and is top 15 nationally. Butler is also in the top 30 nationally (again leading the BIG EAST) in assist/turnover ratio (1.5). 

DIGGING IN: Only one of Butler's nine opponents this season has scored more than 70 points (which came in Butler's 83-76 win over Ole Miss, Nov. 16). The Bulldogs' defense is allowing only 63.3 points per game on average, which is the stingiest mark in the BIG EAST and Top 40 nationally. 

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. 

'PAULING' OUT: Paul Jorgensen's 17.2 points per game are sixth in the BIG EAST and lead the Bulldogs. He's shooting 43 percent from behind the arc this season. Earlier this season, he set career-highs with 27 points and six three-pointers in the win over Ole Miss Nov. 16. Jorgensen has led the team in scoring in four games this season. 

FILLING THE STAT SHEET: On the season, Baldwin is in the BIG EAST Top 10 in points, assists, steals, minutes, and free throw percentage. He is 13th in rebounding. Baldwin has posted four or more assists in eight of the team's nine games. 

Baldwin's 125 career steals are tenth on Butler's all-time list. 

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). Baldwin was a perfect 12-of-12 on the night. On the season, Butler leads the BIG EAST with a 75.8 percent mark from the free throw line. Incarnate Word leads the nation in free throw percentage. Bulldog alum Darnell Archey, who set an NCAA record by making 85 consecutive free throws during his playing days, is a first-year assistant coach at Incarnate Word.

POINT-BRUNK RANGE: Redshirt sophomore Joey Brunk is shooting .833 (25-30) from the field this season. Four of Brunk's five career double-digit scoring performances have come this season. Brunk has posted 7-of-7 (vs. Miami Nov. 10) and 6-of-6 (vs. Northern Illinois Dec. 8) performances already in 2018-19. 

ON THE WAY: Now that the fall semester has concluded, Duke transfer Jordan Tucker is eligible to play for the Bulldogs. Prior to his semester at Duke and transferring prior to the Spring 2018 semester, Tucker was ranked as the No. 40 overall prospect nationally by ESPN in the Class of 2017.

NOT A WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT: Including the win over Northern Illinois, Butler has now won 48 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 Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Northwestern (twice), Utah, Princeton (twice), Saint Louis, Chattanooga, Belmont, and Vermont. 

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.