GAME 26:  rv/rv Bulldogs (17-8, 7-5 BIG EAST) at #1/1 Villanova (22-2, 9-2)
Saturday, Feb. 10  | 12 p.m. ET
Philadelphia, Pa.  |  Wells Fargo Center
TV: FOX  |  Gus Johnson, @JimJackson419 & @LisaByington
Radio: 107.5 FM, 1070 AM & TuneIn Radio App  |  @MarkMinner & @n_gardner 
@ButlerMBB  |  ButlerSports.com

Full Notes (PDF)

THE SERIES: This will be the 11th match-up between the two programs with a majority of the games coming since Butler joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season. Butler has won the last three meetings between the teams, which includes a 101-93 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse Dec. 30 as well as sweeping the 2016-17 season series. Villanova owns a 7-3 lead overall. The first meeting between the programs came as part of the 1996 Puerto Rico Tip-Off, the only one prior to meeting as BIG EAST foes.
 
• Paul Jorgensen had a career-high 23 points in the Dec. 30 win over Villanova. Kelan Martin averages 19.3ppg in his last four games vs. the Wildcats. Kamar Baldwin averages 14.7ppg against Villanova (three games).
• Kelan Martin's scoring average of 22.9 points per game in BIG EAST play leads the conference.
• Tyler Wideman leads the BIG EAST in field goal percentage at .695.
• For the second time this season, Butler will face Xavier and Villanova in back-to-back games.
• Butler is shooting 80 percent from the free throw line in BIG EAST play.
• Prior to Tuesday night's loss to Xavier, Butler had won its last five overtime games. The Bulldogs' last OT loss came to Notre Dame in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
• Butler is 12-2 this season at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Following Saturday's game at Villanova, Butler closes out the home portion of its schedule with three straight games at Hinkle.
 
ANOTHER HUGE NIGHT: Senior Kelan Martin scored 34 points Tuesday night in Butler's overtime loss to No. 5 Xavier at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Martin went 10-of-19 from the field and played all 45 minutes. Twenty-five of his points came in the second half. The 34 points were the third-best output of his Butler career and the fourth 30-point game of his career.
 
Martin's average of 22.9 points per game in BIG EAST games is the best mark in the conference.
 
TRIPLE-DIPPING: Martin's 34 points included a career-high six three-pointers. The senior went 6-of-12 from behind the arc. Martin has 59 three-pointers on the season and now has 188 for his career. He has moved into seventh place on Butler's career made three-point field goals list.
 
CAREER NIGHT: For the third time this season (and the third time in his career), redshirt sophomore Sean McDermott scored a career-high 17 points Tuesday against Xavier. His previous 17-point games came in back-to-back contests at Maryland and against Furman in November. On Tuesday, McDermott went 6-of-7 from the field and matched a career-high with five three-pointers. McDermott has now reached double figures in three straight games, giving him eight 10+ games on the season.
 
FIGHT IN THE DAWGS: Butler overcame an 18-point first half deficit Tuesday against Xavier. After the Musketeers took that advantage with 9:14 to go in the first half, Butler was able to turn the tables and took the lead at 52-50 with 12:47 remaining in the second half. Down seven points with 1:10 remaining in regulation, Butler was able to push the game into overtime by scoring 11 points in the final 70 seconds. That included a pair of Sean McDermott three-pointers and a triple from Kamar Baldwin with 13 seconds to play that knotted the game at 84-84.
 
The Bulldogs were in search of another large comeback win. Earlier in the season, Butler overcame a 15-point deficit with 3:46 to play in regulation in an overtime win over Ohio State, and posted a 20-point comeback in an overtime win over Georgetown in the BIG EAST opener.
 
TOP FIVE: Kelan Martin's 34 points Tuesday night against Xavier moved him into fifth place on Butler's career scoring list. In jumping from 1,778 to 1,812 career points, Martin passed both Lynn Mitchem and A.J. Graves on the list. Next on the list is Matt Howard and his 1,939 points.
 
FIRST TIME AROUND: For the third time in program history, Butler knocked off the No. 1 team in the country. The Bulldogs went a sizzling 15-of-22 from three-point range to beat top-ranked Villanova, 101-93, Dec. 30 in front of a sold-out Hinkle Fieldhouse crowd. Senior Kelan Martin led the Butler charge with 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He hit all four of his three-point attempts and added eight rebounds. Paul Jorgensen had a career-high 23 points, with 16 coming in the first half.
 
The Bulldogs' lead grew to 23 at 81-58 with 10:23 to play. After trading baskets, Villanova went on a 14-0 run to pull within eight at 84-76 with 5:05 to play. The visitors would get no closer than six down the stretch as Butler hit all eight of its free throws in the closing minutes. Martin had nine points in that closing 5:05 to take the win.
 
Butler is now 3-5 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 in the country; in addition to a 2012 win over Indiana, two of those wins have come against Villanova during the 2017 calendar year. Butler has now won three straight meetings against the Wildcats. According to ESPN, Butler's three wins over No. 1-ranked teams since the beginning of the 2012-13 season are the most of any team in the nation during that span.
 
FROM LONG RANGE: Butler knocked down 14 three-pointers Tuesday night against Xavier. That total was Butler's third-best of the season, trailing only a season-high 18 against Western Illinois Dec. 21 and 15 in the first meeting against Villanova Dec. 30.
 
Butler has hit 10 or more three-pointers seven times this season; four of those outputs have come in the Bulldogs' last five games.
 
HANDLE WITH CARE: The Bulldogs committed only nine turnovers in 45 minutes of play against Xavier Tuesday. Butler had seven turnovers in the first half so they only turned it over twice in the final 25 minutes of play. Butler is averaging only 10.3 turnovers per game in BIG EAST play (and 11.4 in all games this season). The 11.4 turnovers per game are second in the BIG EAST and 32nd nationally.
 
Butler committed a season-low three turnovers in the Jan. 12 win over Marquette. That is the lowest total since the Bulldogs also committed only three miscues against Creighton on January 14, 2014.
 
SEEING A TREND: Kelan Martin has scored 20 or more points in 15 games this season, including eight of the team's 12 BIG EAST contests. He has averaged 30.0 points per game over the Bulldogs' last two outings. 
 
YOU WANT THEM ON THAT LINE; YOU NEED THEM ON THAT LINE: Butler made 13 of its 16 free throw attempts Tuesday against Xavier. Kelan Martin led the effort with an 8-of-8 performance. Butler has shot 80 percent or better from the line 12 times this season, including four of the last five games. As a team, Butler is shooting 77 percent from the free throw line this season. That percentage improves to 80 percent in BIG EAST play. Butler is in the Top 15 nationally in free throw shooting.
 
At 87.2 percent, Kelan Martin is third in the BIG EAST in free throw shooting.
 
HINKLE-COURT ADVANTAGE: Butler is 12-2 this season at Hinkle Fieldhouse. At Hinkle, the Bulldogs are averaging 86.9 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the field. Butler has reached 80 points in 12 of the games. Butler is 5-6 away from its home court, averaging 72.1 ppg on 43-percent shooting.
 
Butler hit 80 points for the 14^th time this season with the 98-93 loss Tuesday in overtime to Xavier. The Bulldogs are now 12-2 when scoring 80 or more. Butler's other home loss this season also came when scoring 80 points as the team lost, 90-87, to Seton Hall Jan. 6. The 93 points Tuesday were the most points scored by Butler in a loss since a 99-94 double-overtime loss to DePaul Jan. 9, 2014, Butler's third game as a member of the BIG EAST.
 
WE'LL TAKE THAT: Butler forced DePaul into 23 turnovers in the Feb. 3 win. The Bulldogs converted those 23 turnovers into 27 points. The 23 turnovers were one shy of a season-high for a Butler opponent (Ohio State committed 24 in Butler's win Nov. 26).
 
I'LL SPECIFICALLY TAKE THAT: Sophomore Kamar Baldwin had four steals against DePaul Feb. 3, a season-high and one off his career-high of five set twice as a freshman. Including Tuesday's game with Xavier, he now has 101 career steals in just 59 games.
 
Baldwin is third in the BIG EAST in steals, averaging 1.7 per game.
 
AN ANAMOLY: Prior to Tuesday's 98-93 loss to Xavier, Butler's defense had held its last five opponents to 72 points or less. Over that  five-game stretch, Butler has limited opponents to 62.2 points per game and 40-percent shooting.
 
Individually, Butler has locked down on opponents' key offensive weapons: St. John's Shamorie Ponds (entered game averaging 20.0ppg in BIG EAST play, held to 2 points); Marquette's Andrew Rowsey (held scoreless after averaging 20.5ppg entering game); and DePaul's duo of Max Strus and Eli Cain (had a combined 9 points, entered averaging 29.9ppg combined in BIG EAST play).