GAME 6: rv/rv Butler (5-0) vs. RV/RV Missouri (4-1) - HALL OF FAME CLASSIC 

The Bulldogs take their 5-0 record on the road for the first time this season, traveling to Kansas City for the 2019 Hall of Fame Classic. Butler and Missouri will play Monday night. The Bulldogs' Tuesday night opponent will be either Oklahoma or Stanford. 

Monday, Nov. 25;  6PM CT
Sprint Center; Kansas City, Mo.
TV:  ESPNU - @JasonBenetti & Bryce Drew
RADIO:  1430AM - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
TuneIn Radio App
@ButlerMBB  |  ButlerSports.com

Notes (PDF)

THE SERIES:
Series Tied, 3-3
Streak: Missouri, W3
First Meeting: Butler, 37-15, 1925-26 Season
Last Meeting: Missouri, 64-60, 12/12/79 (Hinkle Fieldhouse)

• The four teams in the 2019 Hall of Fame Classic field are a combined 20-1 this season.
• Butler has won 55 consecutive non-conference home games (second-longest active streak nationally behind Duke)
• Kamar Baldwin (with 1,527 career points) is now tied with Shelvin Mack for 14th in Butler history.
• Baldwin is averaging 22.3 points per outing over the last three games.
• By committing only 8.2 turnovers per game, Butler is third in the nation in that category.
• Butler has limited its first five opponents to an average of 53.4 points per game, which is tenth nationally.
• Butler's opponents have hit only 23.5 percent from behind the arc this season, the ninth-best defensive effort in the nation.
• Butler's 1.95 assist/turnover ratio is second nationally.
• Aaron Thompson leads the BIG EAST (and is 17th nationally) at 6.8 assists per game.
• Butler's opponents have only scored 30 points in three of the 10 halves this season (and never more than 34).
• Bryce Nze had double-doubles in his two career games as a Bulldog. 
• Butler had a 25-2 advantage on points off turnovers vs. Minnesota Nov. 12.
• Sean McDermott led Butler with 26 points (10-11 FG; 4-5 3FG) in the Nov. 6 win over IUPUI, one point shy of his career-high.
• In Bryce Golden's first career start, he posted career-highs of 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists vs. IUPUI Nov. 6.
• Butler finished the game against IUPUI Nov. 6 with only six available players. 
• Twenty-five of Butler's 31 regular season games in 2019-20 are scheduled against power conference opponents.
• Butler has made the postseason in 13 of the last 14 seasons. 
• Thompson's 142 assists in 2018-19 are 10th on Butler's single-season list. 

The Bulldogs played NCAA Tournament games in Kansas City as part of the 2001 event. Those were at Kemper Arena prior to the Sprint Center being built. Butler head coach LaVall Jordan was a senior on that team. Butler defeated Wake Forest, 79-63, in the first round, jumping out to a 43-10 halftime lead. Butler then lost, 73-52, to Arizona in the Round of 32. Arizona would eventually fall to Duke in the national title game. The Wildcats were coached by Lute Olson, who is a member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame class being inducted this weekend. 

Stanford's Todd Lichti is also being inducted into the Hall of Fame this weekend. Butler VP/Director of Athletics was an assistant coach at Stanford for three of Lichti's four seasons with the Cardinal. Those were Collier's final seasons as an assistant before being named head coach at Butler in 1989.

NEW DAWGS: Butler has signed the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history, a group that was ranked in the Top 15 nationally by both Rivals and 247sports on National Signing Day Nov. 13. 

The five-member signing class includes guards Myles Tate (Roebuck, S.C.) and Chuck Harris (Washington, D.C.), as well as forwards Carlos "Scooby" Johnson (Benton Harbor, Mich.), JaKobe Coles (Denton, Texas) and Myles Wilmoth *Barrington, R.I.).

PUTTING THE D IN DAWGS: Butler has limited its first five opponents to an average of 53.4 points per game. That mark is tenth nationally. Those five opponents are shooting 37 percent from the field and 23.5 percent from three-point range. 

MAYBE WE'LL HAVE TO FLIP A COIN: Butler and Missouri have each played both Wofford and Morehead State at home in their two most recent games. Both teams defeated Wofford by exactly 19 points and both teams defeated Morehead State by exactly 18 points. 

UP NEXT: Butler will face either Oklahoma or Stanford Tuesday night in Kansas City. The Bulldogs are 2-3 all-time vs. Oklahoma with the teams last meeting in the 2014 Battle 4 Atlantis (an Oklahoma win). One of the other match-ups came in the 2003 NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 (also an Oklahoma victory). Butler is 2-1 against Stanford. The Bulldogs won both ends of a home-and-home series during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.

TIGHT GRIP: Butler has opened the season with five consecutive single-digit turnover games, including a season-low six in the Nov. 9 win over New Orleans. The Bulldogs are third nationally, committing only 8.2 turnovers per game. 

Butler's +6.0 turnover margin ranks in the Top 30 nationally. In the Nov. 12 win over Minnesota, the Bulldogs turned 18 Golden Gophers into 25 points. Minnesota scored only two points off nine Butler miscues. 

DIFFERENT FORMULA FOR SUCCESS: Butler defeated Minnesota Nov. 12 despite a 3-of-14 performance from behind the arc. A season ago, Butler hit at least seven three-pointers in each of its wins. The Bulldogs hit six three-pointers in the season-opening win over IUPUI Nov. 6 and six against Wofford Nov. 16.

DOUBLE THE DOUBLE: Both Bryce Nze and Aaron Thompson posted double-doubles in the Nov. 9 win over New Orleans. Nze led the Bulldogs with 18 points to go along with his 10 rebounds. Thompson scored 12 points – all in the first half – and added 10 assists. For Thompson, it was his second career double-double, with his first coming in the 2019 NIT at Nebraska. 

Nze posted double-doubles in his first two games as a Bulldog. He had 11 points and 11 rebounds in the season-opening win over IUPUI Nov. 6. 

DEFINITION OF EFFICIENCY: Senior Sean McDermott made 10 of his 11 attempts from the field, including 4-of-5 from behind the arc, on his way to 26 points in the season-opening win over IUPUI Nov. 6. It was one point shy of his career-high.

THAT'S GOLD, BRYCE. GOLD.: Sophomore Bryce Golden logged his first career start in the Nov. 6 win over IUPUI, posting career-highs of 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists. He had 25 points and 11 rebounds total in 15 contests as a freshman. 

MY TEAM IS ON THE FLOOR: Butler began its regular season opener vs. IUPUI with eight available players (but hoping to keep John-Michael Mulloy's redshirt opportunity available). After Kamar Baldwin and Campbell Donovan were injured within the first five minutes of the contest, the Bulldogs utilized Mulloy and played six players for the final 35 minutes. 

Donovan is out for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee, sustained in the IUPUI game Nov. 6. Derrik Smits (knee) and Markeese Hastings (offseason hip surgery) have yet to play during the regular season.

WATCH OUT FOR HIM: Senior guard Kamar Baldwin has found his way onto the watch lists for several national awards: the Naismith Trophy Men's Player of the Year, the Wooden Award, and the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award.

The conference's head coaches also selected Baldwin to the 2019-20 Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team.