GAME 9:  #24/24 Butler (8-0) vs. rv/rv Florida (6-2)
 
After three games away from home, the Bulldogs return to Hinkle Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon, matching up with Florida. Butler is 8-0 on the season and ranked No. 24 in both national polls this week. Florida is 6-2 and receiving votes in both polls.
 
Details:
Saturday, Dec. 7;  12PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
TV:  FOX - @Joe_Davis & Bill Raftery
RADIO:  93.5/107.5/1070 - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
TuneIn Radio App, XM 386, SiriusXM Internet 976
@ButlerMBB  |  ButlerSports.com
 
Series: Florida Leads, 3-2
Streak: Florida, W1
First Meeting: Florida, 69-68 (OT), 3/17/00
Last Meeting: Florida, 77-43, 12/29/18
This is the first meeting in Indianapolis. The first three match-ups were in the NCAA Tournament (2000, 2007, 2011).

Notes (PDF)
 
• Butler owns the nation's longest streak of consecutive non-conference home wins at 55.
• Kamar Baldwin scored 31 points in Tuesday's win at Ole Miss, just missing his career-high by one point. He scored his 31 points on only 16 shots.
• In ONLY the second halves against Ole Miss and Stanford, Baldwin scored a combined 36 points on 15-of-22 shooting.
• Florida is the third SEC team that Butler will play during a current four-game stretch.
• Butler is one of 16 undefeated teams remaining nationally.
• Butler is off to its first 8-0 start since 2016-17, and its seventh since 2001-02.
• The Hall of Fame Classic is Butler's seventh in-season tournament championship since 2001.
• Butler has limited its first seven opponents to an average of 55.5 points per game, which is eighth nationally.
• Only two of Butler's eight opponents have scored more than 60 points.
• With his 64.7 field goal percentage, Bryce Nze leads the BIG EAST and is 16th nationally.
• By committing only 9.9 turnovers per game, Butler is third in the nation in that category.
• After Ole Miss cut Butler's lead to 52-48 Tuesday night, the Bulldogs held Ole Miss to 3-of-12 shooting over the final nine minutes to secure the win.
• Butler's opponents have hit only 27.1 percent from behind the arc, the 26th-best defensive effort in the nation.
• Butler's opponents have only scored 30 points in five of the 16 halves this season.
• Butler has out-rebounded six of its eight opponents this season.
• Baldwin (with 1,593 career points) is now 11th in Butler history.
• Butler's 1.47 assist/turnover ratio is 13th nationally; individually, Aaron Thompson's 2.67 A/TO ratio is 32nd in the NCAA.
• Twenty-five of Butler's 31 regular season games in 2019-20 are scheduled against power conference opponents.
• Thompson's 142 assists in 2018-19 are 10th on Butler's single-season list.
 
HE'S REAL...AND HE'S SPECTACULAR: Kamar Baldwin scored a season-high 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting, leading Butler to a road win over Ole Miss Tuesday night. The senior matched a career-high with four three-pointers, and the 31 points were one shy of his season-high. After playing limited minutes in his first two games due to a rib injury, Baldwin is averaging 22.2 points per game over his last six games. That number jumps to 23.3 ppg against the four power conference opponents Butler has played thus far.
 
NO POINTS FOR YOU: Butler has limited its first eight opponents to an average of 55.5 points per game. That mark is eighth nationally. Only two of Butler's opponents have eclipsed 60 points.
 
HANG ON TO THAT BALL LIKE...: Butler 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 9.9 turnovers per game.
 
TIP-OFF...YADA, YADA, YADA...SECOND HALF: Senior guard Kamar Baldwin earned MVP honors at the 2019 Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, leading the Bulldogs to the title with 22 points in the championship game win over Stanford. Seventeen of those points came in the final 8:34 of the contest, including the game-winner with five seconds remaining. Baldwin then followed that up with a 19-point second-half at Ole Miss Tuesday.
 
WAR. WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR? Butler and Florida have played five times previously. Three of the match-ups have been part of the NCAA Tournament with Florida taking wins in the 2000 first round and the 2007 Sweet 16. Butler picked up a win in the 2011 Elite Eight. Two of the three NCAA Tournament contests went to overtime. The two teams played twice last season. Saturday's contest is the back end of a home-and-home series that began in Gainesville last season, but the teams also met in the 2018 Battle 4 Atlantis.
 
"IS THAT A TITLEIST?": Butler, along with its next two opponents - Florida and Baylor - each won in-season tournament titles. The Bulldogs won the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, while Florida won the Charleston Classic (defeating the BIG EAST's Xavier in the championship game) and Baylor won Myrtle Beach Invitational (defeating the BIG EAST's Villanova in the championship game).
 
"I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER BEEN TO AN APPOINTMENT IN MY LIFE WHERE I WANTED THE OTHER GUY TO SHOW UP": Twenty-five of Butler's 31 regular season games this season are against teams from power conferences. Eighteen of those 31 regular season games are against teams ranked or receiving votes in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. Of the remaining 13 games, five are against teams that made the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
 
A season ago, Butler played 13 games against 2019 NCAA Tournament teams and another 11 against teams in the 2019 NIT field.
 
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.
 
COULD NOT SPARE A PAIR: 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.
 
LOOK TO THE ROOKIE: 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.).