GAME 32: No. 6 seed Bulldogs (19-12, 9-9 BIG EAST) vs. No. 3 seed Seton Hall (21-10, 10-8)
BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 8  |  9:30 p.m. ET  
New York City, N.Y.  |  Madison Square Garden
TV: FS1  |  Gus Johnson, Bill Raftery, & @LisaByington
Radio: 107.5 FM, 1070 AM & TuneIn Radio App  |  @MarkMinner & @n_gardner 
@ButlerMBB  |  ButlerSports.com

Full Notes (PDF)

THE SERIES: Butler and Seton Hall meet for the second time in six days and the 12^th time overall. All the match-ups have come since the Bulldogs joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season. Butler has a 7-4 lead in the series, but Seton Hall has won the three most recent meetings, including a 90-87 win over the Bulldogs Jan. 6 at Hinkle Fieldhouse and a 77-70 win Saturday in Newark. The teams met in the 2014 BIG EAST Tournament, a 51-50 Seton Hall win.
 
• Kelan Martin is averaging 31.0 points per game against Seton Hall this season, and is averaging 21.2 points against the Pirates in the last six meetings.
• Martin led the BIG EAST at 23.6 points per game in conference play. It was the second-best scoring average in conference games since the BIG EAST reconfigured five years ago (Doug McDermott, 27.7ppg, 2013-14).
• Martin was selected as a unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team honoree by the league's head coaches.
• Tyler Wideman leads the BIG EAST with a 66.9-percent field goal percentage. He is on pace to break Butler's single-season and career marks.
• Kamar Baldwin and BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Khyri Thomas (Creighton) are tied for fourth in the conference in steals (1.6 per game).
• Butler is now 17-0 this season when shooting a better field goal percentage than its opponent.
• Butler is 13-1 this season when allowing its opponent less than 70 points.
• Butler has hit 10 or more three-pointers in seven of its last 11 games.
• Butler is looking for its first BIG EAST Tournament win (0-4).
• Ten of the last 12 teams to be the sixth seed in the BIG EAST Tournament would play in the NCAA Tournament, with Marquette in 2013-14 and Creighton in 2015-16 being the only exceptions.
 
WELL DESERVED: Senior Kelan Martin earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors, one of three unanimous selections by the league's head coaches.

Martin led the BIG EAST in scoring during conference play at 23.6 points per game. Since the BIG EAST reconfigured prior to the 2013-14 season, only one player has eclipsed Martin's conference-games only average from this season: consensus National Player of the Year Doug McDermott in 2013-14 (27.7ppg).

Martin previously earned second-team honors as both a sophomore and a junior. Martin is the third Bulldog to earn All-BIG EAST first-team accolades in Butler's five-year tenure as a member of the conference, joining Andrew Chrabascz (2017) and Kellen Dunham (2015).

Martin has four 30-point games this season, all coming against BIG EAST opponents. He also has 19 games of scoring 20 or more points, including 12 of the team's 18 conference games.

The 6-7 forward now has 1,961 career points. With his 35 points Saturday night at Seton Hall (including tying a season-best 25 in the second half), he passed both Matt Howard and Dunham to move into third place on Butler's all-time scoring list. His 657 points during his senior campaign are already fifth on Butler's single-season list.

His percentage from behind the arc increases to 43 percent in BIG EAST play where his 58 three-pointers in 18 conference games are second in the league.
 
A GENTLEMAN…AND A SHOOTER: Butler senior Tyler Wideman was voted the winner of the BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award by the league's head coaches.
 
Wideman is the third Bulldog (in Butler's five seasons as a BIG EAST member) to be selected as the conference's Sportsmanship Award recipient. He joins Kellen Dunham (2016) and Alex Barlow (2015).

Wideman has been an exemplary performer for Butler on and off the court.  Off the court, the senior forward has been an intern at a local Jewish Community Center, working with preschool kids, retirees and Special Olympians. He also volunteers with teammates to conduct basketball clinics for children with special needs.
 
On the court, Wideman is averaging 9.4 points and 5.2 rebounds. He ranks first in the BIG EAST in field goal shooting, making 66.9 percent. He is fifth in blocked shots on Butler's career list and is on pace to shatter Butler's single-season and career field goal percentage marks.
 
Wideman made a career-best eight free throws (on eight attempts) Saturday night against Seton Hall. On the season, Wideman is shooting 82 percent at the line (and 86 percent in BIG EAST play). The 86-percent mark is sixth in the conference. As a freshman, Wideman shot 41.5 percent at the free throw line.  
 
Butler-Seton Hall, Take 2: Seton Hall came away with a 77-70 Senior Night win over Butler Saturday evening in Newark, N.J.

Six straight points gave the Pirates a 66-57 lead with 1:48 to play and Butler was unable to claw any closer than five points despite 10 points from Kelan Martin over that stretch. Seton Hall made 20 of 23 free throws on the night to secure the win.

Martin had 35 points to lead the Bulldogs, connecting on 11 of his 24 attempts from the field including six three-pointers.

It was Seton Hall's seniors who orchestrated the win as Khadeen Carrington (25) and Angel Delgado (21 points, 10 rebounds) combined for 46 points.
 
Butler-Seton Hall, Take 1: Seton Hall erased an 11-point second-half deficit and came away with a 90-87 win over Butler Jan. 6 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Sixteen of Khadeen Carrington's 29 points came in the final 10 minutes of the game after Butler took its largest lead of the contest at 65-54 with 9:57 to play. A 16-3 Pirates run gave the visitors a 70-68 lead with 6:33 to play, Seton Hall's first advantage since an early 10-8 lead.
 
Kelan Martin had 27 points for Butler. He made all seven of his free throw attempts as the Bulldogs went 25-of-28 as a team. Martin was one of four Bulldogs in double figures, joining Kamar Baldwin (14), Henry Baddley (14), and Nate Fowler (11).

Seton Hall's Carrington, Angel Delgado and Desi Rodriguez combined for 76 of the team's 90 points.
 
YOU WANT THEM ON THAT LINE; YOU NEED THEM ON THAT LINE: Butler went 16-for-18 (89 percent) at the free throw line Saturday against Seton Hall. Butler has shot 80 percent or better from the line 15 times this season, including seven of the last 11 games. As a team, Butler is shooting 77 percent from the free throw line this season. That percentage improves to 79 percent in BIG EAST play. Butler is in the Top 20 nationally in free throw shooting.
 
At 85.8 percent, Kelan Martin is fourth in the BIG EAST in free throw shooting.
 
TIGHT GRIP: The Bulldogs committed only 10 turnovers at Seton Hall Saturday. The Bulldogs are averaging only 11.3 turnovers on the season, which is second in the BIG EAST. That number drops to 10.6 per game in BIG EAST play, also second in the BIG EAST. Butler has nine games this season when the Bulldogs have committed single-digit turnovers; seven of those have come in BIG EAST play.
 
FROM LONG RANGE: In BIG EAST play, Butler is averaging 8.7 made three-pointers per game on 37.1-percent shooting. Both of those marks are fourth in the conference. Butler has made 10 or more three-pointers in seven of the team's 11 most recent games. Over that same 11-game stretch, Kelan Martin is 45-of-98 (46 percent) from three-point range.
 
ON THE DEFENSIVE: Butler has limited its opponents to an average of 69.0 points per game over the team's last four games. That includes holding Creighton to 70 points Feb. 20, 15.4 points below the Bluejays' season average entering the game against Butler. The 54 points by Providence Feb. 17 were the second-lowest of the season for a Butler opponent in BIG EAST play. Providence scored only 19 points in the second half while shooting 16 percent (5-32).

Butler is 13-1 this season when allowing its opponent less than 70 points.
 
EFFICIENCY MATTERS: Tyler Wideman leads the BIG EAST in field goal percentage in both all games (.669) and in conference play (.656). As a team, Butler is 17-0 this season when shooting a better percentage from the field than their opponent.  
 
BEING A PEST: Freshman Aaron Thompson had a career-best three blocks Saturday at Seton Hall. The 6-2 guard also tied a career-high with three steals. It was his second straight game with three steals.
 
BACK IN THE LINE-UP: Sophomore Sean McDermott was reinserted into the starting line-up for the Feb. 17 game against Providence. McDermott had started the first six games of the season before an ankle sprain sidelined him in that sixth game. On the season, he is Butler's fifth-leading scorer and fourth-leading rebounder. He is shooting 42 percent from three-point range, which is second on the team.
 
When McDermott returned to the line-up, Paul Jorgensen returned to a reserve role. In his four games coming off the bench since the line-up change, he has scored in double figures three times.