GAME 19: Butler (11-7, 2-3 BIG EAST) vs. rv/rv St. John's (15-3, 3-3 BIG EAST)
Saturday, Jan. 19; 4:30PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
TV: FOX - @TimBrando, Donny Marshall and @LisaByington
RADIO: 1430AM, TuneIn Radio App, Sirius 119, XM 202, SiriusXM Internet 965
 
Notes (PDF)

The Bulldogs return to Hinkle Fieldhouse for the first time in two weeks, as Butler hosts St. John's Saturday afternoon. The game begins a stretch that will have the Bulldogs in Indianapolis for four of their next five games as Butler just completed a three-game road swing.    
 
The 4:30 p.m. tip will air nationally on FOX. The Butler duo of Mark Minner and Nick Gardner will have the radio call on 107.5FM, 1070AM and the TuneIn Radio app. 
 
Butler enters the game with a 11-7 (2-3 BIG EAST) record after picking up an 87-69 road win at DePaul Wednesday in the team's most recent outing. St. John's is 15-3 (3-3 in conference play), and is receiving votes in both national polls. The Bulldogs will travel to Queens, N.Y., Feb. 12 in the back end of the season series.
 
THE SERIES: Butler owns a slight 6-5 edge in the all-time series between the two programs. That includes a 4-1 mark against the Red Storm in games played at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Other than a single match-up in the 1958 NIT, all of the games between the two programs have come since Butler joined the BIG EAST for the 2013-14 season.
 
LAST SEASON: The teams split the season series in 2017-18 with each team winning at home. Butler won, 70-45, Jan. 27 in Indianapolis, limiting St. John's to 29-percent shooting. Kelan Martin led the Bulldogs with 19 points in that match-up. St. John's won 75-68 in double overtime in Queens on Feb. 28. Justin Simon had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Red Storm in that one.  
 
Paul Jorgensen is averaging 15.0 points per game in his two career games against St. John's.
 
DOUBLING DOWN: In arguably his most impressive all-around performance of the season, Kamar Baldwin posted the first double-double of his Butler career with 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds at DePaul Wednesday night in the team's win. Ten of those rebounds came in the first 16 minutes of play and the total eclipsed his previous career-best of 11. Baldwin made eight of his 11 attempts from the field and added five assists.
 
THE NEW GUY AIN'T BAD: Jordan Tucker led the Bulldogs with 19 points at DePaul, his first time leading Butler in scoring since becoming eligible Dec. 15 as a midyear transfer. The 19 points also represented a career-high, which came in only his ninth game as a Bulldog. He pulled down eight rebounds to tie his career-high. Tucker has scored in double figures in four of his nine games. Wednesday's output included a career-best five three-pointers.
 
With those five three-pointers Wednesday, Tucker joins Jorgensen and Sean McDermott as Bulldogs who have knocked down five or more three-pointers in a game this season.
 
NOT A RUN; THAT'S A SPRINT: A 17-0 run gave the Bulldogs a 63-47 lead midway through the second 20 minutes as Butler opened the second half by making nine of 13 attempts, including six of seven from behind the arc.
 
DePaul had a 10-point first half lead, and Wednesday marked the second time this season that the Bulldogs have won by overcoming a double-digit deficit (Butler trailed Presbyterian by 14 in the first half Dec. 18).
 
LAKE EFFECT: A strong contingent of Chicago-based Butler alums were at Wintrust Arena Wednesday, cheering on the Bulldogs as Butler shot 58 percent in the contest. That marks Butler's third-best shooting percentage of the season. Butler shot a staggering 71 percent (20-28) in the second half, which including making 7-of-11 from three-point range over the final 20 minutes. In all, Butler outscored DePaul, 51-29, after halftime.
 
Aaron Thompson made five of his six attempts from the field in posting 12 points. For the first time in his Butler career, he hit two three-pointers in the same game.
 
THREE IS BETTER THAN TWO: Butler shot 46 percent from behind the arc at DePaul Wednesday night (13-28). Those 13 three-pointers are the most by the Bulldogs since hitting 17 in a win over Northern Illinois Dec. 8. Wednesday marked the sixth time this season that Butler has shot 40 percent or better from behind the arc.
 
Sean McDermott scored 17 points at DePaul Wednesday night, including four first-half three-pointers. For McDermott, it was his fifth time this season hitting four or more three-pointers. The 17 points are his largest scoring output since he scored 20 points against Indiana Dec. 15 in the Crossroads Classic.
 
ON THE GLASS: Butler owned a 37-30 rebounding advantage at DePaul Wednesday night after the Bulldogs had been out-rebounded in four of the team's five most recent games. DePaul's starting lineup featured four players at 6-6 or taller. Butler is 6-1 this season when winning the rebounding margin.
 
Nate Fowler pulled down a season-best eight rebounds Wednesday at DePaul. Fowler, Tucker (8) and Baldwin (14) each had eight or more rebounds, marking the second time this season that three Bulldogs had pulled down at least eight boards (at Saint Louis, Dec. 1).
 
SECOND UNIT: Over Butler's last two games, the Bulldogs have held a staggering 56-6 advantage in bench points. The DePaul differential was fueled by 19 from Tucker, while Sunday's 30-3 advantage over Xavier featured 14 points from Jorgensen, who went 4-of-7 from behind the arc, his fifth time this season with four or more three-pointers.
 
POINT-BRUNK RANGE: On the season, Joey Brunk's .686 field goal percentage is second in the BIG EAST. Eight of Brunk's nine 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.
 
Brunk registered the first double-double of his Butler career in the team's game at Seton Hall Jan. 9. Brunk posted career-highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds.
 
DOING A LOT OF EVERYTHING: In the team's five BIG EAST games, Baldwin is averaging 20.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, while shooting 50 percent from the field. In BIG EAST games, Baldwin ranks in the Top 15 in the conference in scoring (sixth), assists (fifth), rebounding, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, steals, blocks, and assist/turnover ratio.
 
Baldwin has posted four or more assists in 12 games this season. In 11 games, he has registered both at least four rebounds and four assists.
 
TIGHT GRIP: The Bulldogs have committed only 10.7 turnovers per game, a mark that is Top 20 nationally. The Seton Hall game Jan. 9 marked the fifth time this season that Butler has committed single-digit turnovers. In two separate games this season, Butler has posted a season-low seven miscues.
 
ACCEPTING YOUR CHARITY: Butler stepped to the free throw line and made 18 of 22 attempts Jan. 9 at Seton Hall (82 percent). On the season, Butler is shooting 75 percent at the charity stripe, which is second in the BIG EAST. There have been eight games this season when Butler has shot 80 percent or better from the free throw line. Butler used a 20-of-23 performance at the free throw line (87 percent) Dec. 21 to beat UC Irvine. Butler made all 18 of its second-half free throw attempts in solidifying the win over Ole Miss Nov. 16. In the Ole Miss game, Butler went 23-of-27 (85 percent) overall. Baldwin was a perfect 12-of-12 on the night.