GAME 27: #21/23 Butler (19-7, 7-6 BIG EAST) at #16/14 Seton Hall (18-7, 10-3)
Full Notes (PDF)
The Bulldogs begin a week that has the team on the road against a pair of Top 25 opponents. Up first is a Wednesday night match-up with Seton Hall in New Jersey, followed by a Sunday trip to Creighton.
Butler is 19-7 overall and 7-6 in BIG EAST play. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 21 and No. 23, respectively, in this week's national polls. Seton Hall is 18-7 (10-3 BIG EAST) and ranked No. 16 and No. 14, respectively.
Wednesday, Feb. 19; 6:30PM
Prudential Center; Newark, N.J.
TV: FS1 - Brian Custer (@BCusterTV) & Jim Spanarkel
RADIO: 93.5/107.5/1070 - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
TuneIn Radio App, Sirius 137, XM 207, SiriusXM Internet 964
THE SERIES: Butler Leads, 9-6
Streak: Seton Hall, W1
In Newark: Butler Leads, 4-2
First Meeting: Butler, 64-57, 1/29/14 (Newark)
Last Meeting: Seton Hall, 78-70, 1/15/20 (Indianapolis)
• Through Monday's games, Butler and Seton Hall (along with Auburn) each have 13 NET Quad 1 and Quad 2 wins, trailing only Kansas (17) and Baylor (14).
• Butler is one win away from its 20th 20-win campaign over the past 24 seasons.
•
Kamar Baldwin has led the Bulldogs in scoring in 10 of the last 13 games.
• Baldwin is averaging 18.3 points per game in BIG EAST play, which is third in the conference.
• Butler's bench out-scored Xavier's, 23-6, in Wednesday's win over the Musketeers.
•
Aaron Thompson has 18 assists against only two turnovers in his last four games.
• Baldwin's career-high of 32 points came against Seton Hall in the 2018 BIG EAST Tournament.
• The Bulldogs are 14th in the nation, allowing only 61.7 points per game.
• Butler's field goal percentage defense (.391) is 26th nationally.
• Butler is 21st nationally, committing only 11.1 turnovers per game.
• Butler leads the BIG EAST in rebounding margin in both all games (+4.7) and in conference games (+4.0).
•
Jordan Tucker recorded his first career double-double (14p/10r) in the Jan. 15 game vs. Seton Hall.
• Butler has out-rebounded 19 of its 26 opponents this season after out-rebounding only 10 of 33 in 2018-19.
• Baldwin has been selected as one of the Top 10 candidates for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, and as one of 30 for the Naismith Trophy Watch List.
• Baldwin is sixth on Butler's career scoring list with 1,872 points; he has scored 1,080 points in 67 career BIG EAST games (16.1 scoring average).
• Thompson (seventh) and Baldwin (ninth) hold two of the Top 10 spots on Butler's career assists list.
•
Sean McDermott's 189 career three-pointers are tied for seventh in Butler program history.
• Butler is 15-1 this season when leading at halftime.
• Butler is 3-3 so far in BIG EAST road games this season after going 2-7 one year ago.
FIRST TIME AROUND: No. 18 Seton Hall made a series of key plays down the stretch to post a 78-70, come-from-behind win over fifth-ranked Butler Jan. 15 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Myles Powell led the Pirates with 29 points.
A Powell jumper with 8:16 remaining in the contest gave the Pirates a 58-57 advantage, its first lead in exactly 20 minutes. That lead would grow to six at 65-59 with 5:36 to play before a
Sean McDermott three-point play capped a 7-0 spurt and gave the Bulldogs what would amount to the team's final lead of the game at 67-66 with 3:48 remaining. Powell responded 20 seconds later with his fifth three-pointer of the game.
The key play down the stretch was a Jared Rhoden three-pointer with 42 seconds remaining as he got loose on an in-bounds play with just two seconds on the shot clock. That stretched the Seton Hall lead to 73-68.
Butler held its largest lead of the game at 40-30 as time expired in the first half. The team was energized by
Jordan Tucker as 12 of his 14 points came in the first half. He recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Kamar Baldwin led the Bulldogs with 19 points and six assists.
Romaro Gill had 17 points for the Pirates before fouling out on the McDermott and-1 that gave the Bulldogs the lead with 3:48 to play. Rhoden had 13 and Quincy McKnight had 11 points and 13 assists. Seton Hall shot 41 percent for the game.
Butler shot only 30 percent in the second half (including 1-of-11 from three-point range) to finish at 42 percent for the game.
LAST TIME OUT: Ten straight points from Georgetown turned a one-point game into a Hoyas victory over a closing stretch that saw Georgetown down No. 19 Butler, 73-66, at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Saturday afternoon.
Butler
Sean McDermott hit a three-pointer with 3:46 remaining to pull Butler within one at 61-60, before the next 10 points belonged to the Hoyas, who answered the Bulldogs one final time for a 71-60 lead and the eventual win.
Butler played without
Aaron Thompson and
Derrik Smits, who were both injured, while Georgetown was without its top two scorers, Omer Yurtseven and Mac McClung.
Georgetown went 10-of-15 from three-point range, with Terrell Allen making all four of his attempts, including a dagger as the shot clock was winding down to make it 66-60 with 1:28 remaining. Allen led the Hoyas with 22 points. He was one of three Hoyas to play all 40 minutes. Jahvon Blair (16), Jamorko Pickett (12) and Qudus Wahad (11) also registered double figures in points.
Kamar Baldwin led the Bulldogs with 17 points, six assists and six rebounds.
Jordan Tucker added 16, while McDermott had 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Butler took a season-high 32 three-pointers, but connected on only nine of them. Overall, Butler shot 41 percent (25-61) from the field.
ROAD WARRIOR: Senior
Kamar Baldwin is averaging 19.9 points per game in Butler's true road games this season. He is shooting 48 percent from the field, including 46 percent from three-point range, in those eight contests.
Baldwin is averaging 18.3 points per game in BIG EAST play after averaging 13.9 per in non-conference contests.
SOMETIMES THE NUMBERS TELL THE STORY: Butler has not shot better than 42 percent from the field in any of its seven losses this season. The Bulldogs do have two wins when shooting worse than 42 percent (vs. Minnesota and at St. John's).
Butler is 10-1 when attempting more free throws than its opponent; the Bulldogs are 6-6 when the opponent gets to the line more than Butler. (Butler and its opponent have attempted the same number of free throws three times.)
Butler is 12-1 when
Aaron Thompson shoots 50 percent or better from the field.
COMING UP CLUTCH: Kamar Baldwin scored 16 second-half points at Marquette Feb. 9. It was the 13th time (out of 20) he scored double figures in the second half against a power conference opponent this season. In those 20 games, he is averaging 12.3 points per game after halftime.
All 20 of his points in the Jan. 4 win over Creighton came in the second half. His second-half performances include 18 vs. Minnesota, 17 vs. Stanford, 19 at Ole Miss, and 16 at Villanova, in addition to the 19 points in the second half vs. Marquette (followed by an additional 10 in overtime).
With 5:42 remaining in regulation vs. Marquette Jan. 24, Baldwin stepped to the line with eight points and Butler trailing by five. He scored 23 points over the next 10:42 of play. His defense also helped to hold Marquette's Markus Howard scoreless over the final 7:30 of play.
HANDLE WITH CARE: Butler committed only seven turnovers in Saturday's game vs. Georgetown. The team has 13 games this season with 10 or fewer turnovers. The Bulldogs committed a season-low five turnovers at Villanova Jan. 21.
ON THE BOARDS: What was one of Butler's most glaring weaknesses a season ago has become a strength in 2019-20. The Bulldogs have out-rebounded 19 of its 26 opponents this season after out-rebounding only 10 of 33 in 2018-19. Butler has taken that up a level in BIG EAST play, out-rebounding opponents by an average margin of +4.0, which leads the conference. Butler held a 46-24 rebounding advantage at St. John's in the BIG EAST opener on New Year's Eve, its largest margin since 63-28 vs. The Citadel Nov. 14, 2015. The Bulldogs also out-rebounded Providence, 44-26, in the Jan. 10 win in Rhode Island.
