GAME 21:  Butler (12-8, 3-4 BIG EAST) at Creighton (11-8, 2-4 BIG EAST)
Friday, Jan. 25; 8:30PM ET
CHI Health Center; Omaha, Neb.
TV:  FS1 - @VinceWelch and @Tarik4Turner
RADIO:  107.5FM & 1070AM - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
TuneIn Radio App, Sirius 99, XM 210, SiriusXM Internet 966
@ButlerMBB  |  ButlerSports.com

Notes (PDF)

In what will be the team's seventh game in 21 days, the Bulldogs travel to Omaha for a Friday night match-up with Creighton. The 8:30 p.m. (Eastern) 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 12-8 (3-4 BIG EAST) record after dropping an 80-72 decision to No. 18 Villanova Tuesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Creighton is 11-8 overall and 2-4 in conference play. This is the second and final match-up of the regular season between the two teams; Butler won at Hinkle Fieldhouse, 84-69, Jan. 5. Butler will conclude the season series with Creighton before the Bulldogs play Marquette or Providence for the first time.  
 
THE SERIES: In a series that dates back to 1933, Creighton owns a 10-8 advantage. Both teams joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season with 11 of the 18 match-ups coming during that time. Creighton is 6-5 against Butler during the BIG EAST era, but the Bulldogs have won the two most recent meetings. Creighton leads 6-2 all-time in games played in Omaha.
 
FIRST TIME AROUND: A strong first half and a season-high 28 points from Kamar Baldwin led Butler to an 84-69 win over Creighton Jan. 5 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs shot 58 percent in the first half to take a 48-29 halftime advantage. Eighteen of those first-half points came from Baldwin. Butler's 48 points in the first half were the second-most for the Bulldogs in a half this season. Creighton responded by scoring the first 11 points of the second half (making all four attempts from the field) to pull within 48-40 with 16:12 to play. But, the next nine points belonged to the Bulldogs to push the margin back to 17. Creighton would get no closer than 13 the rest of the way.

The Bulldogs shot 51 percent from the field in that Jan. 5 contest. Butler used 12 steals to turn 15 Creighton turnovers into 25 points.
 
LAST TIME OUT: A key second-half spurt led No. 18 Villanova to an 80-72 win over Butler Tuesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse. With 17:31 remaining in the game, Butler took a 44-43 lead. It was the Bulldogs' first lead since midway through the first half. Villanova immediately countered with a 12-0 run keyed by a trio of three-pointers by Colin Gillespie. That run gave Villanova a 55-44 lead with 14:05 to play. Villanova attempted 18 free throws (making 16) compared to just five (3-5) for Butler.
 
TOP DAWGS: Aaron Thompson paced the Bulldogs against Villanova with 15 points and four assists. Sean McDermott had 14 points on four three-pointers to go along with a team-high seven rebounds. For Thompson, it was the second time this season (and in his Butler career) that he led the team in scoring. Thompson made six of his nine attempts from the field. Earlier this season, Thompson posted a career-best 18 points in the Dec. 18 win over Presbyterian.

BEHIND THE LINE: Butler hit 11 three-pointers against Villanova. Butler now has eight games this season hitting 10 or more three-pointers, including three consecutive outings. The Bulldogs have shot 40 percent or better from behind the arc eight times this season, and were just off that output at 38 percent against the No. 18-ranked Wildcats Tuesday night.
 
Jordan Tucker (two), McDermott (three) and Paul 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.
 
HANDLE WITH CARE: The Bulldogs have committed only 10.8 turnovers per game, a mark that is Top 20 nationally. The Villanova game Tuesday night marked the sixth time this season that Butler has committed single-digit turnovers. In two separate games this season, Butler has posted a season-low seven miscues.
 
TO THE GLASS: McDermott led the Bulldogs with seven rebounds Tuesday night against Villanova. It was his second consecutive game leading Butler in boards. He tied a career-high with 12 rebounds Saturday in the win over St. John's. That was his first time this season and third time as a Bulldog to pull down double-digit rebounds. On the season, McDermott has led the team in rebounds five times.
 
The Bulldogs out-rebounded St. John's Saturday, 40-36, improving to 7-1 this season when pulling down more rebounds than their opponent.
 
DOING A LOT OF EVERYTHING: In the team's seven BIG EAST games, Baldwin is averaging 20.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, while shooting 49 percent from the field. In BIG EAST games, Baldwin ranks in the Top 15 in the conference in scoring (fifth), assists (eighth), steals (ninth), rebounding, free throw percentage, and assist/turnover ratio.
 
SECOND UNIT: Butler has had the advantage in bench scoring in six of the team's seven BIG EAST contests. In Butler's last four games, that combined advantage has been 120-27 advantage. Tucker has led the bench in scoring in three straight games, particularly pacing 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.
 
#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.
 
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.
 
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 Jan. 16. He hit six three-pointers Saturday after nailing five at DePaul. Tucker has scored in double figures in six of his 11 games since becoming eligible for competition Dec. 15 as a midyear transfer. At 10.5 points per game, he is the team's fourth-leading scorer.
 
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 Jan. 16 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 the Jan. 16 win at DePaul. DePaul had a 10-point first half lead, and that 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).
 
POINT-BRUNK RANGE: On the season, Joey Brunk's .688 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.