Butler dropped its opening contest in the 2021 Maui Invitational, falling to No. 12 Houston by a score of 70-52 Monday afternoon. The tournament is being played in Las Vegas.

The Bulldogs have a quick turnaround in the three-day tournament as Butler will meet Texas A&M Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. (Eastern, 11:30 a.m. Pacific/Las Vegas). The Aggies lost to Wisconsin, 69-58, in the first game of the tournament Monday.

"Coming out of the gates obviously the physicality on the defensive end (by Houston), that set a tone for the game and had us on our heels," said Butler coach LaVall Jordan. "I thought we showed some good fight in the second half, that little stretch there, probably eight to 10 minutes, where it looked like Butler basketball on both ends of the court. We've got to figure out a way to get that from the beginning."
 
Fabian White, Jr. led the Cougars with 21 points and eight rebounds. He hit back-to-back three-pointers to open the game's scoring and Houston would eventually score the first 17 points of the contest.

Houston turned 11 first-half Butler turnovers into 17 points in taking a 41-20 halftime advantage.

Butler made a run after the intermission, scoring 12 of the half's first 15 points. That brought the Bulldogs within 12, 44-32, with 14:03 remaining. Houston would respond with the next six points and pull away.

Jair Bolden led Butler with 16 points – 14 of which came in the first half. He went 4-of-8 from three-point range. Ty Groce, making the first start of his Butler career, added 10 points and seven rebounds. Aaron Thompson (6) and Chuck Harris (5) combined for 11 of the team's 12 assists.

The Bulldogs played without Bryce Nze, who suffered a shoulder injury in Butler's game against Michigan State Wednesday.

Houston shot 51 percent from the field. Conversely, Butler shot only 37 percent and committed 20 total turnovers.

The Cougars (4-0) advance to the semifinals, where they will meet Wisconsin Tuesday.

Tuesday's match-up between Butler and Texas A&M will be the first between the two programs. The game will air on ESPN2.