GAME 15:  #11/10 Butler (13-1, 1-0 BIG EAST) vs. rv/rv Creighton (12-2, 1-0)
 
Saturday, Jan. 4;  12PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
TV:  FS1 - @VinceWelch & Dickey Simpkins (@ds8bballn)
RADIO:  93.5/107.5/1070 - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
TuneIn Radio App, Sirius 134, XM 201, SiriusXM Internet 964
 
The Bulldogs open 2020 with the first of its nine BIG EAST home games, welcoming Creighton to Hinkle Fieldhouse for a noon tip Saturday.
 
Butler, ranked No. 11 and No. 10 in this week's national polls and No. 4 in the NCAA NET rankings, is 13-1. Creighton, which is receiving votes in both national polls, is 12-2. Both teams won their BIG EAST openers earlier this week.
 
Full Notes (PDF)

THE SERIES: Creighton Leads, 11-8
Streak: Creighton, W1
In Indianapolis: Butler Leads, 6-3
First Meeting: Creighton, 27-22, 1/30/1933 (Omaha)
Last Meeting: Creighton, 75-61, 1/25/19 (Omaha)
 
• Butler is fourth nationally, allowing opponents only an average of 53.9 points per game.
• Butler is committing only 11.4 turnovers per game, which is 20th nationally.
• This is Butler's sixth 13-1 start since 2001-02. Prior to that, the last 13-1 start was 1930-31, Tony Hinkle's fifth season coaching Butler.
• Butler's opponents have hit only 37.1 percent of their shots, the 14th-best defensive effort in the nation.
• Kamar Baldwin had 19 points and a career-high five 3FGM in Tuesday's win at St. John's; he had scored 10 combined points in the previous three games.
• Bryce Nze had a season-high 12 rebounds and tied his career-high with five assists at St. John's.
• Sean McDermott recorded his first career double-double Tuesday at St. John's (12 points/10 rebounds).
• Butler's No. 10 ranking in the coaches poll this week is the program's highest since Dec. 28, 2015 (also ranked No. 10).
• Butler hit a season-high 10 three-pointers at St. John's Tuesday night.
• McDermott has hit multiple three-pointers in six straight games.
• Butler held a 46-24 rebounding advantage at St. John's, its largest margin since 63-28 vs. The Citadel Nov. 14, 2015.
• Only four of Butler's 14 opponents have reached 60 points.
• Baldwin averaged 25.5 points over two meetings with Creighton last season.
• Baldwin has moved into tenth place on Butler's career scoring list; he now has 1,653 points.
• Aaron Thompson now has 337 career assists, eighth on Butler's career list.
• Butler's last four opponents have combined to score 67 points in the first halves of those games (average of 16.8).
• Butler is now 2-1 in BIG EAST openers under LaVall Jordan; the Bulldogs lost BIG EAST openers in each of its first four seasons in the conference.
• Butler owns the nation's longest streak of non-conference home wins at 58.
• Seven of Butler's 13 non-conference opponents came from power conferences. Five are KenPom Top 50 (all Top 85).
 
NEW YEAR'S EVE: The ball dropped...and dropping the ball.: Once up by 23 points only to find themselves down five with three minutes to play, Butler escaped St. John's and New York City on New Year's Eve with a 60-58 win in its BIG EAST opener. Butler had lost its last three games at Carnesecca Arena.
 
Christian David's three-pointer from the corner off an offensive rebound with 43 seconds to play proved to be the game-winner for Butler. It was his only basket of the game.
 
Butler, which led 42-19 with 18:08 remaining, was forced into 24 turnovers as St. John's used a 29-4 run to take its first lead at 48-46 with 6:49 to play. Butler won the game in the final three minutes by scoring the final seven points.
 
Butler entered the St. John's game fifth in the country by committing only 10.4 turnovers per game. The Bulldogs had committed 10 or fewer turnovers in seven of their first 13 games this season. Butler had not committed 20 turnovers in a game since Feb. 4, 2014 at Marquette (20).
 
ON THE DEFENSIVE:
• Butler's defense allowed St. John's to only convert the 24 turnovers into 15 points Tuesday night.
• Only four Butler opponents have scored 60 or more points; Butler has also limited four opponents to 50 or fewer points. 
• Only four of Butler's opponents have registered more assists than turnovers (Stanford, Ole Miss, Florida, at St. John's).
• Only two of Butler's opponents have shot better than 44 percent from the field (Missouri, Stanford).
• Butler has limited opponents to 27-percent shooting from three-point range, the 17th-best defensive effort nationally. St. John's shot 4-of-22 (18 percent) Tuesday night.
 
ONE YEAR AGO: Butler and Creighton split a pair of match-ups last season with each team winning on its home court. Butler won, 84-69, Jan. 5 at Hinkle Fieldhouse behind 28 points from Kamar Baldwin. Butler shot 51 percent from the field. In Omaha on Jan. 25, Creighton came away with a 75-61 result. Baldwin's 23 points could not overcome four Bluejays in double figures. Butler went only 5-of-22 from three-point range in the game.
 
NOTES FROM THE NON-CONFERENCE:
• Butler ran its non-conference home winning streak to 58 games, the longest active streak in the nation.
• Butler's non-conference schedule included seven power conference opponents. Only two of those seven power conference match-ups came at Hinkle Fieldhouse (Minnesota, Florida).
• All seven of Butler's power conference opponents finished the non-conference portion of the schedule ranked among the KenPom Top 80.
• Butler's only non-conference loss came on the road at Baylor Dec. 10 (53-52). The Bulldogs limited Baylor to 19 points and 24-percent shooting in the second half, nearly overcoming a 16-point deficit.
• Butler was Purdue's only non-conference opponent to out-rebound the Boilermakers (36-30); the Bulldogs were also the first team to score 70 points vs. Purdue in 2019-20.
• Butler held Florida to 6-of-26 shooting from behind the arc in the Bulldogs' win Dec. 7.
• Kamar Baldwin scored a season-high 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting, leading Butler to a road win over Ole Miss Dec. 3. The senior matched a career-high with four three-pointers, and the 31 points were one shy of his season-high.
• 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 Nov. 26. Seventeen of those points came in the final 8:34 of the contest, including the game-winner with five seconds remaining.
• The Hall of Fame Classic is Butler's seventh in-season tournament championship since 2001.
• Butler began its regular season opener vs. IUPUI Nov. 6 with eight available players. After Baldwin and Campbell Donovan were injured within the first five minutes of the contest, the Bulldogs played six players for the final 35 minutes of the 80-47 win.