GAME 24: Butler (13-10, 4-6 BIG EAST) at Georgetown (15-8, 5-5 BIG EAST) 
Saturday, Feb. 9; 12PM
Capital One Arena; Washington, D.C.
TV:  FSN affiliates – @BrandonGaudin and @Tarik4Turner
RADIO:  107.5FM, 1070AM - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
TuneIn Radio App, XM 384, SiriusXM Internet 975
@ButlerMBB  |  ButlerSports.com
 
Notes (PDF)

The Bulldogs travel to the nation's capital for a Saturday match-up at Georgetown. The noon tip will air on FOX Sports Network affiliates, including FOX Sports Indiana.
 
The Butler duo of Mark Minner and Nick Gardner will have the radio call on 107.5FM, 1070AM and the TuneIn Radio app. The TV crew includes Brandon Gaudin, the Butler alum who was previously the Radio Play-by-Play Voice of the Bulldogs, alongside Tarik Turner.
 
Butler enters the game with a 13-10 record, coming off a 70-68 win over Seton Hall Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs are back in action after a midweek bye. Butler played its first 10 conference games between Jan. 2 and Feb. 2 before having their first break from conference play.
 
Georgetown is 15-8 overall after winning on the road at Providence Wednesday night. The Bulldogs (4-6) and Hoyas (5-5) are among six BIG EAST teams with either four or five conference wins at this point in the season. 

THE SERIES: This will be the 14^th meeting between the two programs, with all but one of those match-ups coming since Butler joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season. Georgetown leads the series, 8-5. The Bulldogs are 3-2 on Georgetown's home floor, winning the last three contests in Washington, D.C.

EXTRA SESSION: Butler has won the last three meetings between the two teams in Washington, D.C., but each of the wins has required overtime.

In last season's BIG EAST opener (Dec. 27, 2017) in Washington, D.C., the Bulldogs pulled out a 91-89 double-overtime victory, overcoming a deficit that at one time was 20 points. Sean McDermott's tip-in at the end of regulation extended the game, which Butler won on a Kelan Martin bucket with less than three seconds remaining in double overtime. Kamar Baldwin had 31 points.

On Jan. 7, 2017, Butler escaped the nation's capital with an 85-76 overtime win over Georgetown. The Bulldogs overcame 39-percent shooting. Butler made 10 of its 20 three-point attempts and sank 25-of-29 at the free throw line. Baldwin led Butler with 16 points and four steals.
 
Nate Fowler knocked down a three-point shot to tie the game at 66 with 54 seconds remaining in regulation. Georgetown re-took the lead with two free throws with 37 seconds to play. On the ensuing possession, Butler missed a shot as the shot clock ran down, but Fowler was able to battle for the offensive rebound and was fouled. He calmly knocked down the two free throws to tie the game at 68. Thirteen of Butler's 17 points in the extra session came at the free throw line as Georgetown went 3-of-11 from the field in the extra five minutes and was forced to foul repeatedly.
 
On Feb. 27, 2016, Butler withstood a frenetic comeback from host Georgetown and a tough performance at the free throw line to gut out a 90-87 overtime win. Senior Kellen Dunham led the Bulldogs with 29 points. Butler led 79-66 with 2:37 to play before a combination of Hoya baskets and missed opportunities at the foul line pushed the game to overtime at 80-80. In the extra period, Butler connected on eight of 12 attempts at the line, including two from senior Jordan Gathers that iced the game with two seconds to play for the final margin.

FIRST TIME AROUND: Georgetown took an 84-76 victory over Butler Jan. 2 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in the BIG EAST opener for both teams. The Hoyas shot 53 percent for the game, including 12-for-22 from three-point range. Greg Malinowski paced Georgetown with 26 points, making 10 of his 12 attempts from the field, including a 6-of-7 mark from behind the arc.

Butler opened the second half by missing its first seven attempts as Georgetown's lead grew to eight points early in the half. That breathing room expanded to a 16-point margin (78-62) with 2:46 to play. Over the next 1:24, Butler would cut the lead all the way to five (79-74) before a missed jumper in the lane took away Butler's last chance at a comeback as Georgetown solidified the win at the free throw line.  

Baldwin led the Bulldogs with 17 points and nine rebounds. Butler out-rebounded the Hoyas, 43-35. The Hoyas helped to keep the home team in the game by shooting only 56 percent (18-32) at the free throw line.

RESPECTING YOUR ELDERS: Butler's two seniors led the charge in Saturday's 70-68 win over Seton Hall. Paul Jorgensen had a team-best 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting (4-of-6 from three-point range). Nate Fowler set a season-high with 15 points, making five of his seven shots from the field. For Jorgensen, the 18 points were his highest output in BIG EAST play this season.

Jorgensen has led the Bulldogs in scoring six times this season.

BEHIND THE LINE: Butler went a sizzling 12-of-25 from three-point range in the win over Seton Hall. That included a 9-of-15 mark in the first half alone. It marked the ninth time this season hitting 10 or more three-pointers. The Bulldogs have shot 40 percent or better from behind the arc nine times this season.
 
DEEP THREATS: Sean McDermott (57), Paul Jorgensen (50) and Jordan Tucker (30) have combined to go 137-of-337 (41 percent) from three-point range this season. Tucker's totals have come in only 14 games since he became eligible for competition as a midyear transfer. McDermott is eighth (2.5) and Jorgensen is 11^th (2.2) in three-pointers made per game. In BIG EAST games only, Tucker is 11th (2.2) in that category.
 
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.

BENCH MOB: Butler has had the advantage in bench scoring in nine of the team's 10 BIG EAST contests. In Butler's last seven games, that combined advantage has been 190-49 advantage (an average of +20 per game over that seven-game stretch). Jorgensen and Fowler combined for 33 points in the win over Seton Hall as Butler had a 36-9 edge in bench points in that contest.

HANDLE WITH CARE: The Bulldogs have committed only 10.8 turnovers per game, a mark that is just outside the Top 20 nationally. The Seton Hall game Saturday marked the seventh time this season that Butler has committed single-digit turnovers. In two separate games this season, Butler has posted a season-low seven miscues.
 
BIG IN THE BIG EAST: Kamar Baldwin has registered four 20-point games in BIG EAST play. Baldwin is averaging 19.3 points per game in conference games, a mark that is sixth in the BIG EAST.

HANDIN' THEM OUT: Aaron Thompson posted a game-high six assists in Saturday's win over Seton Hall. He is fourth in the BIG EAST at 4.2 assists per game. The six assists were his highest output in the team's 10 BIG EAST games this season. It marked his fifth game this season with six or more assists.

BOARD WORK: Sean McDermott led the Bulldogs with seven rebounds against Seton Hall. It marked the fifth time this season that McDermott topped Butler in rebounding. He has twice in his career pulled down 12 rebounds. One of those occurrences came last season at Georgetown and included a tip-in at the end of regulation that sent the game into overtime (and an eventual Butler win).

ON THE DEFENSIVE: Butler improved to 10-2 this season (and 3-0 in BIG EAST games) when holding its opponent under 70 points after posting a 70-68 win over Seton Hall Saturday. On the season, the Bulldogs are allowing opponents only an average of 68.6 points per game, which is second in the BIG EAST.