GAME 31:  rv/#25 Butler (21-9, 9-8 BIG EAST) at Xavier (19-11, 8-9)
 
The Bulldogs conclude the regular season with a Saturday night tip at rival Xavier.
 
Butler, which is ranked No. 25 in this week's coaches poll and is the first team on the outside of the AP Top 25, enters with a record of 21-9 and 9-8 in BIG EAST play. Xavier is 19-11 (8-9).
 
Full Notes (PDF)
 
Saturday, March 7;  8:30PM
Cintas Center; Cincinnati, Ohio
TV:  FS1 - Thom Brenneman & @NickBahe
RADIO:  93.5/107.5/1070 - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
TuneIn Radio App, Sirius 84, XM 84, SiriusXM Internet 84
 
THE SERIES: Xavier Leads, 41-22
Streak: Butler, W2
In Cincinnati: Xavier Leads, 23-4
First Meeting: Xavier, 28-26; 1/16/37 (Cincinnati)
Last Meeting: Butler, 66-61, 2/12/20 (Indianapolis)
 
• The Bulldogs will either be the No. 5 or No. 6 seed in next week's BIG EAST Tournament, with their first game coming in Thursday's quarterfinals.
• Through Thursday's games, Butler's nine NET Quad 1 wins are tied for fourth nationally.
• Butler has won 20 or more games in 20 of the past 24 seasons.
• Sean McDermott recorded his third career double-double in Wednesday's win over St. John's, including a career-best 14 rebounds.
• Butler put five players in double figures Saturday against St. John's; it's the second time that has occurred in 2019-20.
• In the win over St. John's, McDermott became the seventh Bulldog with 200 career three-pointers.
• Butler turned a one-point halftime deficit into a 22-point win against St. John's.
• Butler defeated Xavier, 66-61, Feb. 12 at Hinkle Fieldhouse; McDermott paced the Bulldogs with 14 points.
• The Bulldogs are 12th in the nation, allowing only 61.8 points per game.
• The 42 points allowed to DePaul Saturday were the fewest ever surrendered by Butler in a BIG EAST game.
• Butler has out-rebounded 22 of its 30 opponents this season after out-rebounding only 10 of 33 in 2018-19.
• Butler's field goal percentage defense (.394) is 25th nationally.
• Butler is 27th nationally, committing only 11.2 turnovers per game; Wednesday's win over St. John's was Butler's 14th game this season with 10 or fewer turnovers.
• Kamar Baldwin has been selected as one of five finalists for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award.
• Aaron Thompson has been named one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Men's Defensive Player of the Year Award.
• Baldwin is averaging 16.8 points per game in BIG EAST play, which is sixth in the conference.
• Bryce Nze leads the BIG EAST in field goal percentage (.628).
• Butler is 16-2 this season when leading at halftime (both losses to Seton Hall).
 
SUCCESSFUL SENIOR SEND-OFF: A strong second half propelled the Bulldogs to a 77-55 Senior Night win over St. John's Wednesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. After trailing by a point at halftime, Butler overwhelmed the visiting Red Storm, 46-23, after intermission to secure the win.
 
Senior Sean McDermott led the Bulldogs with 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. It was the third double-double of his career, all of which have come in BIG EAST play this season.
 
Five Bulldogs registered double figures. Jordan Tucker (14), Aaron Thompson (13), and Bryce Nze (11) joined McDermott and senior Kamar Baldwin (12) in that category.
 
St. John's took a 32-31 halftime lead behind 16 first-half points from Julian Champagnie. He finished with 23 points to lead the Red Storm.
 
The Bulldogs re-took the lead 76 seconds into the second half and never relented. An 18-2 run gave the Bulldogs a 57-41 lead with 9:13 remaining. St. John's missed 10 consecutive attempts from the field during that stretch. That lead would grow to as many as 24 in the second half as the Bulldogs shot 57 percent in the second half and committed only one second-half turnover against St. John's pressure defense.
 
Butler limited St. John's to 37-percent shooting overall, including only 9-of-29 in the second half. Butler had a 38-30 rebounding advantage.
 
'HUGE' EAST IMPLICATIONS: Butler has secured a first-round bye in next week's BIG EAST Tournament and will be either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed. A win by the Bulldogs Saturday night clinches the No. 5 seed. Xavier could finish as high as the No. 5 seed and as low as the No. 7 seed (which would result in a first-round game Wednesday night vs. tenth-seeded DePaul). If Marquette wins at St. John's earlier in the day Saturday, Xavier will be locked in as the No. 7 seed regardless of the Butler-Xavier result.
 
STUFFING THE STATSHEET: In Saturday's win over DePaul, Kamar Baldwin became the first BIG EAST player this season to post a statline that included at least five rebounds (eight), five assists and five steals (career-high six) in a conference game. Charlie Moore of DePaul accomplished the feat in a non-conference game against Texas Tech earlier this season.
 
Butler limited DePaul to one three-pointer (which came in the closing seconds) in the Bulldogs' win Saturday. It marks the sixth time since the 2010-11 season that Butler has held its opponent to a single long ball. One of those contests was the 2011 national championship when UConn defeated Butler despite hitting only one three-pointer.
 
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Kamar Baldwin continues his assault on the Butler record book. With 1,920 career points, he is sixth in Butler program history. Baldwin is looking to pass Matt Howard (1,939) and Kellen Dunham (1,946) in upcoming games. The top three scorers in Butler history each have more than 2,000 points.
 
Baldwin is also third in career steals (196) and career field goals made (733). His 361career assists are eighth in Butler history; junior point guard Aaron Thompson is seventh on that list with 384 assists.
 
Senior Sean McDermott is seventh on Butler's career three-pointers made list with 200. McDermott is also approaching 1,000 career points, currently standing at 974.
 
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 22 of its 30 opponents this season after out-rebounding only 10 of 33 in 2018-19. 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.
 
The Bulldogs are second among BIG EAST schools in rebounding margin in all games (+4.3) and third in conference games (+3.6).
 
AN IMPORTANT LINE: Butler is 11-1 when attempting more free throws than its opponent; the Bulldogs are 6-7 when the opponent gets to the line more than Butler. (Butler and its opponent have attempted the same number of free throws five times.)
 
COMING UP CLUTCH: Kamar Baldwin scored 13 second-half points at Seton Hall Feb. 19. It was the 14th time he scored double figures in the second half against a power conference opponent this season.
 
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 has 14 games this season with 10 or fewer turnovers. The Bulldogs committed a season-low five turnovers at Villanova Jan. 21.
 
FIRST TIME AROUND: Butler earned a 66-61 win in a slugfest Feb. 12 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Butler got a spark from its bench, out-scoring their Musketeer counterparts, 23-6. All nine of Henry Baddley's nine points came in the first half, while Jordan Tucker put up all of his 10 after the intermission.
 
Sean McDermott led the Bulldogs with 14 points and six rebounds, while Kamar Baldwin added 11 points and five assists.
 
After taking a 32-23 halftime lead, the Bulldogs opened the second half by scoring 10 of the first 12 points, taking a 42-25 lead with 16:19 to play. That was Butler's largest lead. Butler point guard Aaron Thompson was injured on that play and did not return.