GAME 4:  Butler (1-2, 0-1 BIG EAST) vs. Southern Illinois (5-0)
Monday, Dec. 21;  7:30PM 
Hinkle Fieldhouse;  Indianapolis, Ind.
TV:  FS1 - @MattSchumacker_ & Dickey Simpkins (@ds8bballn)
Radio:  107.5FM/93.5FM/1070AM - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
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@ButlerMBB  |  #ButlerWay  |  ButlerSports.com
 
The series: Butler Leads, 2-1
Streak: Butler, W1
At Hinkle Fieldhouse: Tied, 1-1
LaVall Jordan (at BU) vs. SIU 0-0
First Meeting: Butler, 70-58; 1962-63 Season (at Hinkle)
Last Meeting: Butler, 57-55, 12/28/07 (at SIU)

Notes (PDF)
 
• Butler has won 59 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents, the longest active streak in the nation.
• Butler continues a stretch of four games in eight days that began Wednesday at Villanova.
• Butler utilized only seven players vs. Indiana Saturday; Aaron Thompson missed that contest with a sprained ligament in his right knee. He is questionable for the SIU game.
• Jair Bolden hit a career-best six three-pointers against Indiana, posting 20 points.
• Butler (62.1 ppg; 11th) and Southern Illinois (62.2 ppg; 14th) were both ranked in the Top 15 nationally in scoring defense last season.
• Butler's .389 accuracy from three-point range is 40th nationally.
• Bryce Nze pulled down 10 rebounds against Indiana Saturday, his 17th career double-digit rebounding game.
• After shooting 73 percent from the free throw line a season ago, Butler has shot only 60 percent from the free throw line to start the season.
• All 66 of Butler's points at Villanova were either scored by seniors (41) or freshmen (25)
• Aaron Thompson scored a career-high 21 points to lead Butler to a season-opening win over Western Michigan.
• Thompson has 396 career assists, which is already seventh in Butler history.
• Nze earned preseason All-BIG EAST second team recognition by the league's head coaches
• The Bulldogs finished the 2019-20 season ranked 21st (coaches) and 23rd (AP) in the national polls; Butler was ranked No. 5 in both national polls Jan. 13, the highest in-season ranking in program history.
• Butler's 10 NET Quad 1 wins were tied for third nationally in 2019-20.
• Butler has won 20 or more games in 20 of the past 24 seasons.
 
The Bulldogs return to Hinkle Fieldhouse Monday night, hosting Southern Illinois in a non-conference match-up. With a pause due to COVID-19 protocols that began Nov. 26, followed by a road game and a neutral site contest upon their return from the pause, this will be Butler's first home game in 26 days.
 
A game against DePaul scheduled for this Dec. 21 date was announced on Dec. 11, but then postponed on Dec. 14 due to lingering COVID-19 issues within DePaul's program. The game against Southern Illinois was announced on the evening of Dec. 17.
 
THE SERIES: The programs have met three times previously with Butler winning twice. The most recent match-up was a Butler 57-55 road win Dec. 28, 2007 as A.J. Graves pulled up from 35 feet and hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to propel the No. 16 Bulldogs to the win.
 
That came one season after SIU, ranked No. 16 nationally, knocked off No. 12 Butler, 68-64, as part of the BracketBuster event at Hinkle Fieldhouse (Dec. 28, 2007). Butler's LaVall Jordan was an assistant coach for that match-up. Both Butler and SIU advanced to the Sweet Sixteen during that 2006-07 season.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT: Four true freshmen are among the top eight Bulldogs in terms of minutes played through Butler's first three games. Myles Tate and JaKobe Coles both scored in double figures against Indiana Saturday, one game after Chuck Harris posted 12 points at Villanova. In a six-point game midway through the second half at No. 7 Villanova Dec. 16, coach LaVall Jordan employed a line-up of his four freshmen alongside John-Michael Mulloy, who played a total of 76 minutes as a freshman last season.
 
This is only the third season since 2008-09 that three true freshmen have started a game for Butler: 2020-21 (Tate, Harris, Coles); 2011-12 (Roosevelt Jones, Kameron Woods, Jackson Aldridge); and 2008-09 (Gordon Hayward, Shelvin Mack, Ron Nored).
 
THE VETERAN: Graduate transfer Jair Bolden is off to a hot start in his Butler career. Bolden's average of 4.0 three-pointers per game is fifth nationally, while his three-point percentage of 52.2 percent is 19th in the NCAA (both rankings through Saturday's games). Bolden leads the Bulldogs at 17.7 points per game. He has scored at least 15 points in each of Butler's games.
 
Bolden's production from behind the arc has been increasingly important as the Bulldogs only return players who made 21 of the team's 212 three-pointers in 2019-20.
 
HITTING THE PAUSE BUTTON: Butler entered a pause of team activities on Nov. 26 in accordance with COVID-19 protocols. That was the day after Butler's season-opening win over Western Michigan (Nov. 25). The Bulldogs were forced to postpone four games that were on their early-season schedule before returning to action Dec. 16 at No. 7 Villanova. While Butler has had several gaps in its schedule of 10+ days over the years (largely between the conference tournament and NCAA Tournament while a member of the Horizon League), the 21-day in-season break looks to be the longest gap between games in Butler program history.
 
1-0: The Bulldogs came away with a 66-62 win over Western Michigan on the first evening of the 2020-21 season (Nov. 25). In a game that featured 13 ties and nine lead changes, Butler utilized a career night from senior Aaron Thompson. The point guard had a career-best 21 points, going 6-of-9 from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw stripe.