Game 20: Butler (12-7, 3-3 BIG EAST) vs. #18/18 Villanova (14-4, 5-0 BIG EAST)
Tuesday, Jan. 22; 7PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
TV: FS1 - @TimBrando and Bill Raftery
RADIO: 107.5FM & 1070AM - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
TuneIn Radio App, Sirius 119, XM 201, SiriusXM Internet 965
@ButlerMBB | ButlerSports.com
 
Notes (PDF)

The Bulldogs host BIG EAST-leading and defending national champion Villanova Tuesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler carries a two-game winning streak into the contest. Including a win over St. John's in Butler's most recent outing, the Bulldogs are in the midst of a current stretch that has them playing four of five games at home.
 
The 7 p.m. tip will air nationally on FS1. 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 12-7 (3-3 BIG EAST) record after picking up an 80-71 win over St. John's in the team's most recent outing. Villanova, winners of six straight games, is 14-4 overall and unblemished in BIG EAST play at 5-0. The Bulldogs will travel to Philadelphia, March 2 in the back end of the season series.
 
THE SERIES: Villanova owns a 9-3 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs, but all three of Butler's wins have come in the last five match-ups. As part of that stretch, the Bulldogs have won the two most recent games at Hinkle Fieldhouse. All but one of the games between the two programs have come since Butler joined the BIG EAST for the 2013-14 season.
 
LAST SEASON: Villanova won two of the three match-ups during the 2017-18 season after the Bulldogs swept the 2016-17 series. The Wildcats' wins came in Philadelphia Feb. 10 (86-75) and in the semifinals of the 2018 BIG EAST Tournament (87-68) March 9. Butler's win came Dec. 30, 2017 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Villanova was ranked No. 1 at the time, marking the second consecutive season that Butler had knocked off the No. 1-ranked Wildcats at home. Butler shot 15-of-22 from behind the arc in the 101-93 win, hitting a program-record 10 straight three-pointers. In a sign of how offensively-charged the game was, Villanova committed only four turnovers and shot 54 percent from the field in a losing effort.   
 
Before topping it with 27 points against Ole Miss Nov. 16, Paul Jorgensen's previous career-high was 23 points in the Dec. 30, 2017 win.
 
Since the beginning of the 2016-17 season, Butler is 3-2 against Villanova, while the Wildcats own a 38-4 record against the other eight BIG EAST foes (including both regular season and BIG EAST Tournament).
 
#KB3(0): Kamar Baldwin netted a season-best 30 points in Saturday's win over St. John's. It marked the third 30-point game of the talented junior's career, and is just off his career-high of 32 points that came against Seton Hall in the 2018 BIG EAST Tournament.
 
In BIG EAST play, Baldwin ranks in the top 10 in scoring (fifth, 22.2 ppg), assists (ninth, 4.2 apg), and rebounding (tenth, 6.8 rpg). He is the only BIG EAST player currently in the top 10 of all three major categories.
 
CAREER DAY: Jordan Tucker posted a career-high for the second consecutive game, registering 24 points in Saturday's win over St. John's on the heels of leading the Bulldogs with 19 points at DePaul Wednesday. He hit six three-pointers Saturday after nailing five at DePaul. He shot 58 percent from behind the arc (11-19) in the two games combined. Tucker has scored in double figures in five of his 10 games. At 10.4 points per game, he is tied with Sean McDermott as the team's third-leading scorer.
 
Tucker (two), McDermott (three) and Jorgensen (three) have combined for eight games this season hitting five or more three-pointers. In fact, each of the three has hit six three-pointers in a single game this season.
 
TO THE GLASS: McDermott tied a career-high with 12 rebounds Saturday in the win over St. John's. It was his first time this season and third time as a Bulldog to pull down double-digit rebounds.
 
In BIG EAST play, Baldwin (6.8), Tucker (6.7), McDermott (5.3), and Joey Brunk (5.3) are all averaging at least five rebounds per game. The Bulldogs out-rebounded St. John's, 40-36, improving to 7-1 this season when pulling down more rebounds than their opponent.
 
DOUBLING DOWN: In arguably his most impressive all-around performance of the season, 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.
 
RUNNING FROM THE STORM…RUNNING FROM THE DEMONS: Butler created separation during the second half of Saturday's 80-71 win over St. John's with a 17-2 run. That followed a 17-0 second-half run in the second half of Wednesday's 87-69 win at DePaul. 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).
 
THREE IS BETTER THAN TWO: Butler shot 46 percent from behind the arc at DePaul Wednesday night (13-28) and followed that with an 11-of-25 performance in Saturday's win over St. John's. The 13 three-pointers at DePaul are the most by the Bulldogs since hitting 17 in a win over Northern Illinois Dec. 8. Butler has now shot 40 percent or better from behind the arc eight times this season. Butler also has seven games this season hitting 10 or more three-pointers.
 
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.
 
CONTESTED LOOKS: The Bulldogs limited St. John's to 38-percent shooting Saturday. It was the seventh time this season that a Butler opponent had shot less than 40 percent from the field.
 
Butler's last three opponents have combined to shoot only 39 percent from the field (72-183).
 
SECOND UNIT: Over Butler's last three games, the Bulldogs have held a staggering 93-10 advantage in bench points. Tucker has led both the St. John's and DePaul differentials with 24 and 19 points, respectively. The 30-3 advantage over Xavier Jan. 13 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 .689 field goal percentage is third 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.
 
TIGHT GRIP: The Bulldogs have committed only 10.8 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.