Butler (5-3) at Oklahoma (7-1)  -- BIG EAST-BIG 12 Battle
Tuesday, Dec. 7;  9PM ET 
Lloyd Noble Center; Norman, Okla.
TV:  ESPN2 - Rich Hollenberg & Fran Fraschilla
Radio:  1430AM - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
Varsity Network Radio App, XM380, SiriusXM App 970

Full Notes
 
The Bulldogs make the trip to Norman, Okla., for a Tuesday night match-up with the Oklahoma Sooners as part of the annual BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle.
 
THE SERIES: Oklahoma Leads, 3-2
Streak: Oklahoma, W2
In Norman: Oklahoma Leads, 1-0
LaVall Jordan (at BU) vs. OU: 0-0
First Meeting: Butler, 65-63 (1965-66, at BU)
Last Meeting: Oklahoma, 59-46; 11/27/14
 
Butler and Oklahoma have met five times previously with the Sooners owning a slight 3-2 advantage. The teams last played in the 2014 Battle 4 Atlantis. Two of the match-ups have been on campus, a Butler win at home during the 1965-66 season and an Oklahoma win in Norman during the 1967-68 campaign. Current Butler Athletic Director Barry Collier led the Bulldogs to a win over Oklahoma in the 1997 Big Island Invitational in Hawaii. (Collier also faced Oklahoma regularly during his six seasons as head coach of Nebraska -- 2000-01 through 2005-06 -- and defeated the nationally-ranked Sooners twice during the 2005-06 season.)
 
The most notable match-up in the series came in the 2003 Sweet 16 when Oklahoma defeated Butler, 65-54, in Albany, N.Y. That was Butler's first Sweet 16 appearance since 1962. The 2003 contest was the final game in a Butler uniform for a talented senior class that included the late Joel Cornette, who was inducted into the Butler Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.
 
IN THE BATTLE: Butler is 0-1 in the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle, falling at Baylor in 2019 by a score of 53-52. Baylor was ranked No. 11 in the national polls and Butler entered that contest undefeated at that point in the season.
 
The Bulldogs were scheduled to host Kansas State in 2020, but the game was canceled due to COVID issues within Butler's program at that time.
 
• Butler is allowing only 58.4 points per game so far this season, a mark that is 23rd nationally.
• Aaron Thompson is tied for third on Butler's career assists list (471).
• Jair Bolden is shooting 46 percent from three-point range this season, a mark that is 34th nationally.
• Bolden's 23 made three-pointers are third in the BIG EAST.
• Butler's 10 turnovers vs. Saginaw Valley State Nov. 30 matched the team's season-low.
• Bryce Golden is averaging 15.5 points and 7.5 rebounds over the team's last two games.
• Butler's opponents are shooting only 28 percent from three-point range this season, which is 42nd nationally.
• 48.8 percent of Butler's attempts from the field this season have been from behind the arc.
• Butler's nine blocks vs. Chaminade Wednesday were the most by the Bulldogs since a Dec. 21, 2017 win over Western Illinois (also nine).
• Jayden Taylor scored a career-best 21 points in Nov. 24 win over Chaminade.
• Ty Groce scored 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting in the win over Chaminade; the eight made field goals tied a career-high.
• Christian David pulled down a career-high seven rebounds in the team's win over Saginaw Valley State Nov. 30.
• Butler made 12 three-pointers Nov. 13 vs. Troy, the most by the team since hitting 12 against Nebraska in the 2019 NIT.
• Butler was picked to finish sixth in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll by the conference's head coaches.
• Sophomore Chuck Harris was an honorable mention selection to the Preseason All-BIG EAST team by the conference's head coaches.
• Butler's 2021-22 roster includes six players who are entering their fifth or sixth season of college basketball.
• The Bulldogs return 10 of their 11 top scorers from a season ago.
• Butler's roster returns 97.2 percent of its scoring and 96.2 percent of its minutes played from last season.
 
ON THE DEFENSIVE: Butler is allowing its opponents only 58.4 points per game so far this season, a mark that is 23rd nationally. The Bulldogs' opponents have combined to shoot only 28 percent from three-point range, which is 42nd nationally.
 
BEHIND THE LINE: Butler is shooting 38 percent from three-point range, averaging 8.8 makes per game. The Bulldogs' three-point percentage is just outside the Top 50 nationally. Butler shot only 32 percent from behind the arc a season ago.
 
HOME SWEET HINKLE: Butler is 52-15 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in LaVall Jordan's five seasons as head coach of the Bulldogs.
 
YOUNG GUNS: Both Jayden Taylor and Simas Lukosius got the start in the regular season opener against IUPUI Tuesday night. Freshmen starting in their first Butler game is a rarity. Multiple freshmen starting their first collegiate game at Butler was last done in 2008 (Gordon Hayward, Shelvin Mack, Ron Nored). The only other freshman to start his first Butler game between 2008 and 2021 was Myles Tate in 2020.
 
TOUGH SLATE: In addition to a true round-robin format that has Butler playing all 10 BIG EAST foes both on the road and at home, the Bulldogs challenged themselves significantly with this season's non-conference schedule. The slate included Michigan State Nov. 17 in the annual Gavitt Games. The Maui Invitational (in Las Vegas) featured an opening-round match-up with 2021 Final Four team Houston. The Bulldogs travel to Oklahoma Dec. 7 in the annual BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle. Butler and Purdue, which is No. 1 in this week's AP poll, will meet Dec. 18 in the Crossroads Classic. 
 
HAPPY RETURNS: Butler returns 10 of its top 11 scorers from last season. In all, Butler's roster returns 97.2 percent of its scoring and 96.2 percent of minutes played from the 2020-21 season. Butler returns five double-digit scorers from a season ago and adds Ty Groce, a graduate transfer from Eastern Michigan. Groce led the Eagles in scoring last season, the sixth player on the Butler roster to average double figures in 2020-21. Butler has six players who will play their fifth season of college basketball during the upcoming campaign -- Aaron Thompson, Bryce Nze, Jair Bolden, Christian David, Bo Hodges, and Ty Groce. Of that group, Nze, Bolden and Groce are in their sixth year of college after previously redshirting and now taking advantage of the additional season of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
PRESEASON PICKS: The BIG EAST head coaches picked the Bulldogs to finish sixth in the league standings in the preseason poll that was announced as part of BIG EAST Media Day in New York City in October.
 
WHAT WILL HE DO FOR AN ENCORE?: Butler's Chuck Harris was recognized as an honorable mention selection to the 2021-22 All-BIG EAST preseason team. Harris was one of three unanimous picks on the 2020-21 All-BIG EAST Freshman Team, joining Posh Alexander of St. John's and Marquette's Dawson Garcia (Garcia has since transferred to North Carolina). Harris led the Bulldogs in scoring during the 2020-21 season, becoming the first freshman to lead the team in scoring since the 1979-80 season (Tony Warren). Harris led the team in scoring in 17 of his 24 games played, scoring 20 or more points six times.
 
Harris became the third Bulldog to earn a spot on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team since Butler joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season. Kamar Baldwin was also a unanimous selection in 2016-17 and Andrew Chrabascz earned a spot on the 2013-14 team.
 
ON THE WAY: Connor Turnbull, a 6-10 forward/center from Missouri, has signed a national letter of intent to join the Bulldogs beginning with the 2022-23 season.
 
Turnbull, from Saint Paul, Mo., stars for Fort Zumwalt North High School, where he earned Missouri Basketball Coaches Association All-State honors for Class 6. As a junior, Turnbull averaged 14.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.0 blocks per game, leading the team to a 27-4 record and the Class 6 state semifinals. He shot 34 percent from three-point range. Turnbull helped Brad Beal Elite to a runner-up finish at the 2021 Peach Jam as part of the Nike EYBL circuit.
 
BULLDOGS ANNOUNCED AS PART OF 2022 BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS FIELD: The Bulldogs will participate in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis for the third time as the 2022 bracket has been announced. Celebrating its 11th year of elite collegiate tournament play, the 2022 field will include Butler, BYU, Dayton, Kansas, North Carolina State, USC, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. Butler was previously part of the Battle 4 Atlantis field in both 2014 and 2018. The Bulldogs went 2-1 in each event.