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INDIANAPOLIS – Butler will play Seton Hall in the Quarterfinals of the 2020 BIG EAST Championship Tournament. The game will be played at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Ill. The two teams will take the court at 3:30 PM. The winner will advance to the semifinals to play the winner of DePaul and the first round game between Providence and Georgetown.
BIG EAST Standings
1) DePaul 15-3, 25-5
2) Marquette 13-5, 22-7
3) St. John's 11-7, 18-11
4) Seton Hall 11-7, 18-11
5) Butler 11-7, 19-10
6) Creighton 11-7, 19-10
7) Villanova 11-7, 17-12
8) Providence 3-15, 12-18
9) Georgetown 2-16, 5-24
10) Xavier 2-16, 3-26
Bulldog Talk
- Butler and Seton Hall have never played in the BIG EAST Tournament.
- BU is 3-6 all-time in tournament play with two first round wins over Xavier and one over Providence.
- Butler played as the No. 3 seed last year, but fell to No. 6 seed Creighton 60-51.
- Butler is ranked 93rd in the RPI Poll (March 2).
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Upe Atosu did not play at Seton Hall on March 1 (Illness).
- Spolyar ranks third in the BIG EAST and 36th in the NCAA with an 18.4 scoring average.
- Spolyar ranks sixth at Butler for most points recorded in a single-season (535).
- Spolyar leads the BIG EAST and ranks fifth in the NCAA in made free throws (161).
- Spolyar set the Butler single-season free throw record with 161 makes from the line.
- Butler leads the league in free throw attempts (628) and made free throws (434).
- BU ranks 9th in the NCAA in steals per game (11.1).
- Toure leads the BIG EAST in steals per game (2.4) and ranks seventh in blocked shots (1.0).
- BU is trying to put together back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2009-10, 2010-11.
Scouting Seton Hall
Seton Hall has a powerful one-two punch in Shadeen Samuels and Alexis Lewis. Samuels scored 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds vs. Butler on March 1. Lewis averaged 20.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.5 assists last week. She shot 45 percent from the field and reached the 20-point mark in both games. The Bulldogs will also need to slow down Desiree Elmore and her 12.8 scoring average.
All-Time Series
The all-time series favors Seton Hall 9-5. The Pirates swept Butler this year during the regular season, claiming a 67-62 win at Hinkle followed by a 66-53 win at Walsh Gym. Butler's last win over SHU came on Jan. 4, 2019 at Hinkle 62-59.
Seton Hall at Butler
The Pirates used a 24-point fourth quarter highlighted by a go-ahead three-pointer by Barbara Johnson with 29 seconds left to win at Butler. Johnson finished with a game-high 18 points while
Kristen Spolyar led the Bulldogs with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Butler led for more than 36 minutes, shooting 48 percent on the afternoon, as Seton Hall took its first lead of the game with just 1:12 left in regulation thanks to a pair of Johnson free-throws.
Toure Named to BIG EAST All-Freshman Team
Oumou Toure averaged 8.6 points and 6.1 rebounds this season and leads the BIG EAST in steals per game (2.4). Toure also ranks seventh in blocked shots (1.1), 14th in rebounding and 30th in scoring. Toure appeared in 26 of Butler's 29 games and started in 19 contests.
Spolyar Named All-BIG EAST First Team
Senior guard
Kristen Spolyar heads into the conference tournament as the third-highest scorer in the BIG EAST with an 18.4 average. She is the only Bulldog to average double figures in the scoring column over the course of the season. Spolyar has reached double figures in 25 of 29 games, and has led BU in scoring 22 times. She also leads the team in rebounds per game with a 6.8 average. A complete player on each end of the court, Spolyar ranks second on the team in both assists (62) and steals (58).
11 Conference Wins
Butler has reached 11 BIG EAST wins in back-to-back seasons. Since joining the conference in 2013, the Bulldogs have recorded 10 or more conference wins four times. 11 conference wins for Butler is the highest since conference realignment. Butler's 11-7 conference record last year earned the team the No. 3 seed in the tournament. 11-7 this year resulted in a five-way tie that moved Butler to the No. 5 seed.
Butler Single-Season Scoring Leaders
Spolyar ranks sixth at Butler with 535 points scored in a single-season. She needs just four points to move to fifth (Brittany Bowen, 10-11) and five points to top current assistant coach
Whitney Jennings (17-18). Spolyar is in range of moving all the way to second place. Nine points will place her third (Sarah Schuetz, 97-98) and 12 points will take her all the way to second (Julie VonDielingen, 90-91).
Spolyar Shoots Up All-Time Scoring List at BU
Spolyar ranks fourth on the BU all-time scoring list (1,535). She is 117 points shy of third place (
Tori Schickel, 15-19). Spolyar's top scoring performance this season came against Detroit Mercy when she tied the BU single-game point's record with 37. The senior averages 18.4 ppg, the highest average of any Bulldog since 1992-93 (Julie VonDielingen / 20.1).
Spolyar All-Time Ranks
Spolyar ranks eighth all-time in field goals made (506), fourth in field goal attempts (1354), ninth in made 3-point field goals (147), sixth in 3-point attempts (509), fourth in free throws made (376), seventh in free throw attempts (503), and ninth in steals (180).
2020 BIG EAST Women's Basketball Tournament Schedule
First Round – March 6
Game 1: #9 Georgetown vs. #8 Providence, 11 a.m. (BEDN)
Game 2: #10 Xavier vs. #7 Villanova, 1:30 p.m. (BEDN)
Quarterfinals – March 7
Game 3: #1 DePaul vs Game 1 winner, Noon (FS2)
Game 4: #5 Butler vs. #4 Seton Hall, 2:30 p.m. (FS2)
Game 5: #2 Marquette vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m. (FS2)
Game 6: #6 Creighton vs. #3 St. John's, 8:30 p.m. (FS2)
Semifinals – March 8
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 5 p.m. (FS1)
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7:30 p.m. (FS1)
Final – March 9
Game 9: Semifinal winners, 7 p.m. (FS1)
All times local – Central
