Butler (5-2) vs. Brown (6-3)
Wednesday, Dec. 5; 7PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
TV: FSN - Jay Alter (@Jaltersports) & @JordanCornette
RADIO: 107.5 FM, 1070 AM, TuneIn Radio App, XM 382, SiriusXM Internet 973 - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
Full Notes (PDF)
The Bulldogs return to Hinkle Fieldhouse for their first home game since the middle of November, hosting Brown on Wednesday night. The 7 p.m. tip will air on FOX Sports regional networks, including FOX Sports Midwest/Indiana locally. 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 on the season; Brown enters at 6-3.
QUICK HANDS: The Bulldogs forced Saint Louis into 19 turnovers in Butler's most recent game. That included nine steals.
Kamar Baldwin and
Aaron Thompson each had three steals. For Baldwin, that gave him 123 for his career, moving him into tenth on Butler's career list. For Thompson, that tied a career-high.
ON THE DEFENSIVE: Butler leads the BIG EAST, allowing just 63.9 points per game so far this season. That mark is Top 50 nationally. The Bulldogs are allowing opponents to shoot only 42.2 percent from the field (third in the BIG EAST) and are forcing teams into 15.0 turnovers per game. Among Butler's seven opponents, only Ole Miss has scored more than 70 points (an 83-76 Butler win Nov. 16).
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.
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 12th in rebounding. He led the team in rebounding at Saint Louis in the team's most recent outing, pulling down nine caroms. Baldwin has posted four or more assists in six of the team's seven games.
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.
BOARD WORK: In addition to Baldwin's nine rebounds at Saint Louis,
Henry Baddley (nine) and
Paul Jorgensen (eight) each set career-highs. Jorgensen has pulled down at least seven boards in three games so far this season. Baddley's previous career-high was seven rebounds, set in the 2017 game against Saint Louis.
FROM DEEP: Jorgensen (3.0) and
Sean McDermott (2.9) are fourth and sixth, respectively, in the BIG EAST in three-pointers made per game. Both are shooting better than 40 percent from behind the arc this season.
CAREER NIGHT: 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).
SCORING IN BUNCHES: 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.
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 11.0 miscues per game this season, which is Top 30 nationally.
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). 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 .864 (19-22) from the field through the Bulldogs' seven games this season. 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.
