Butler (8-3) vs. UC-Irvine (11-2)
Friday, Dec. 21; 6:30PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
TV: FS1 - @StevePhysioc & Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow)
RADIO: 93.1FM, TuneIn Radio App, XM 380, SiriusXM Internet 971 - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
Full Notes (PDF)
The Bulldogs finish off the 2018 portion of the Hinkle Fieldhouse schedule Friday night, hosting UC-Irvine for a 6:30 p.m. tip. This is the first meeting between the two programs.
The game will air nationally on FS1. The Butler duo of Mark Minner and Nick Gardner will have the radio call on 93.1FM and the TuneIn Radio app.
Butler enters the game with an 8-3 record, including a 6-0 mark at Hinkle this season. The Anteaters of UC-Irvine are 11-2 on the season, which includes five true road wins (most notably against Texas A&M and St. Mary's). UC-Irvine finished fifth in the nation last season in defensive field goal percentage, allowing opponents to shoot only 39 percent. The Anteaters return 94 percent of their offensive production from a season ago, and were picked as the preseason favorite to win the Big West Conference.
CAREER NIGHT: Sophomore guard Aaron Thompson led the Bulldogs to a 76-67 win over Presbyterian Tuesday night. Thompson netted a career-high 18 points, topping his previous high of 15 which came in his second career game (vs. Princeton, Nov. 12, 2017). He made eight of his 10 attempts from the field, adding seven assists and tying his career-high with three steals. Thompson did all this in a career-best 37 minutes of action.
NOT A WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT: Including the win over Presbyterian Tuesday, Butler has now won 49 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 now trails only Duke after Arizona lost to Baylor Saturday night. 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.
TIGHTENING UP: Thanks in large part to hitting 13 of their first 17 shots from the field (including all five three-point attempts), Presbyterian took a 14-point lead midway through the first half against Butler. The Bulldogs responded by holding the Blue Hose to just 29-percent shooting in the second half in pulling away for the win.
Only two of Butler's 11 opponents this season have scored more than 70 points (Butler's 83-76 win over Ole Miss, Nov. 16, and Indiana's 71-68 win over Butler, Dec. 15). The Bulldogs' defense is allowing only 64.4 points per game on average, which is the stingiest mark in the BIG EAST.
HOME COOKING: The Bulldogs are 6-0 at Hinkle so far this season, averaging 83 points per game while shooting 53 percent from the field. Butler is shooting 40 percent from behind the arc at home this season.
FILLING THE STATSHEET: Redshirt sophomore center Joey Brunk matched his career-high with eight rebounds, while adding a career-best four assists in the win over Presbyterian. He went 5-of-6 from the field to score 10 points.
On the season, Brunk's .773 (34-44) field goal percentage leads the BIG EAST. Aaron Thompson is fifth at .647. The Bulldogs held a 38-22 advantage in points in the paint against Presbyterian, which was the team's second-largest edge in that category (Butler held a 48-22 margin in the season-opening win against Miami Ohio).
JUMP RIGHT IN: In his second game as a Bulldog, Jordan Tucker posted 10 points and seven rebounds in 12 minutes of action. His first game was Saturday against Indiana after becoming eligible at the conclusion of the first semester as a midyear transfer.
Tucker was one of four Bulldogs in double figures against Presbyterian. It was the third time that Butler had put four players in double figures this season, in addition to the Dec. 8 Northern Illinois game that featured a season-high five Bulldogs with 10 or more points.
FROM DOWNTOWN: In Saturday's Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis, redshirt junior Sean McDermott went 6-of-10 from behind the arc, leading the Bulldogs with 20 points. It was his third game this season with six or more three-pointers. McDermott has registered three 20+ point games on the season and has led the Bulldogs in scoring in five games.
McDermott went 0-for-1 from behind the arc against Presbyterian, snapping his streak of making at least one three-pointer in 23 consecutive games. McDermott is fourth in the BIG EAST in three-pointers made per game (3.1).
BOUNCING BACK: Indiana freshman Rob Phinisee hit a three-pointer from 30 feet out as time expired to give the #25 Hoosiers a 71-68 win over Butler Saturday afternoon at the Crossroads Classic. The Bulldogs held the lead for 34 minutes in the contest with the final three-point margin being Indiana's largest advantage of the contest.
Butler is 3-0 this season following a loss.
HOT DAY AT HINKLE: Butler scored a season-high 95 points in a Dec. 8 home win over Northern Illinois. 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).
ASSISTED GIVING: Aaron Thompson handed out a career-high nine assists as part of Butler's 27-assist performance against Northern Illinois Dec. 8. Thompson has registered at least four assists in eight games this season. Thompson is fourth in the BIG EAST in assists (4.5) and fifth in assist/turnover ratio (2.1).
BIG IN THE BIG EAST: On the season, Kamar Baldwin is in the BIG EAST Top 10 in points, assists, steals, assist/turnover ratio, minutes, and free throw percentage. He is 13th in rebounding. Baldwin has posted four or more assists in nine games. In eight games, he has registered both at least four rebounds and four assists.
With a season-high three steals against Presbyterian, Baldwin now has 129 career steals. That moves him into ninth on Butler's all-time list.
HANDLE WITH CARE: Butler is averaging only 10.4 turnovers per game, which leads the BIG EAST and is top 15 nationally. Butler is also in the top 25 nationally (again leading the BIG EAST) in assist/turnover ratio (1.5). In two separate games this season, Butler has posted a season-low seven miscues.
'PAULING' OUT: Paul Jorgensen's 14.9 points per game are 11th in the BIG EAST and second among the Bulldogs. His 2.6 three-pointers per game are eighth in the conference. 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.
AT THE STRIPE: On the season, Butler is second in the BIG EAST with a 75.1 percent mark from the free throw line. Butler made all 18 of its second-half free throw attempts in solidifying the win over Ole Miss Nov. 16. For the game, Butler went 23-of-27 (85 percent). Baldwin was a perfect 12-of-12 on the night.
POINT-BRUNK RANGE: Redshirt sophomore Joey Brunk is shooting .773 (34-44) from the field this season, which leads the BIG EAST. Five of Brunk's six 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.
