Butler (8-5, 1-1 BIG EAST) vs. #22/24 Xavier (11-2, 1-1 BIG EAST)
Friday, Jan. 7;  8:30PM 
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
TV:  FS1 - @NoahEagle15 & Casey Jacobsen (@cjacobsen23)
Radio:  1430AM - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
Varsity Network Radio App, XM382, SiriusXM App 972
 
Full Notes (PDF)
 
The Bulldogs host their second consecutive Top 25 team this week at Hinkle Fieldhouse as Xavier visits Friday night.
 
This is Butler's final home contest before embarking on a three-game, six-day road trip next week. Friday's match-up is Xavier's first game since Dec. 21 as COVID issues with the Musketeers' opponents have caused games to be canceled.
 
THE SERIES: Butler and Xavier met three times a season ago. Xavier took both regular season meetings before the Bulldogs won a first round match-up between the two teams at the BIG EAST Tournament. Butler overcame a 19-point deficit in the 70-69 overtime win. Chuck Harris led the Bulldogs with 21 points, all of which came after halftime.
 
The series dates back to 1937; the two programs have spent time together in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, a single season in the Atlantic 10, and now have been BIG EAST foes since the 2013-14 season. Xavier leads the series, 43-24, but Butler holds a 17-15 advantage at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
 
Xavier Leads, 43-24
Streak: Butler, W1
At Hinkle Fieldhouse: Butler Leads, 17-15
LaVall Jordan (at BU) vs. Xavier: 3-5
First Meeting: Xavier, 28-26; 1/16/37 (at XU)
Last Meeting: Butler, 70-69 (OT); 3/6/21 (NYC)
 
• Butler is allowing only 60.8 points per game so far this season, a mark that is 29th nationally.
• Bryce Golden scored 19 points vs. Seton Hall Tuesday, just one point shy of his career-high.
• Aaron Thompson enters Friday's game with 498 career assists, second on Butler's all-time list.
• The BIG EAST has rescheduled previously canceled games for Butler at UConn Jan. 18 and at St. John's Feb. 18.
• Butler has 18 combined steals over its last two games; the 11 steals Dec. 29 against DePaul were the most since Feb. 13, 2021 at Georgetown (12).
• Butler forced DePaul into 21 turnovers Dec. 29, the most by a Butler opponent this season.
• Simas Lukosius is the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week after scoring a career-high 15 points in the Dec. 29 win over DePaul.
• Thompson had a career-high seven steals vs. DePaul, one shy of the Butler single-game mark.
• Jayden Taylor has scored in double figures eight times during his freshman campaign; Butler is 6-2 in those games.
• Taylor is third among freshmen in the BIG EAST in scoring.
• Bryce Golden's 61.7 field goal percentage is third in the BIG EAST.
• Thompson is fifth in the BIG EAST at 4.6 assists per game.
• Bryce Nze had a season-best 12 points vs. Seton Hall Tuesday night; he has been limited to six games this season due to injury.
• Butler owned a 43-30 rebounding advantage in the win at Oklahoma Dec. 7.
• Chuck Harris scored a season-high 26 points in the Dec. 7 win at Oklahoma.
• Butler made 12 three-pointers Nov. 13 vs. Troy, the most by the team since hitting 12 against Nebraska in the 2019 NIT.
• Butler's 2021-22 roster includes six players who are entering their fifth or sixth season of college basketball.
• Butler's roster returns 97.2 percent of its scoring and 96.2 percent of its minutes played from last season.
 
GIVE AND TAKE: Aaron Thompson had seven assists and seven steals in Butler's win over DePaul Dec. 29. The seven steals set a career-high for the guard, who is 12th on Butler's career list with 137. The seven steals were one shy of Butler's single-game record (held by Brett Etherington in a 1990 game against Wisconsin). Thompson now has 498 career assists, one more than current Indiana Pacers assistant coach Ronald Nored for second on Butler's career list (LaVall Jordan's college teammate Thomas Jackson holds the mark at 540).
 
WEEKLY HONOR: Simas Lukosius was selected as the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week as announced Monday, Jan. 3. This is the first weekly honor of Lukosius's career. Lukosius led the Bulldogs to a 63-59 win over DePaul Dec. 29 in the team's only action of the week. The 6-6 guard scored a team-best (and career-high) 15 points. He hit two free throws with four seconds remaining to ice the game after scoring 13 points in the first half. He added four rebounds.
 
Both Jayden Taylor and Simas Lukosius got the start in the regular season opener against IUPUI Nov. 9. 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.
 
QUITE THE BATTLE: As part of the annual BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle, the Bulldogs picked up a 66-62 overtime road win Dec. 7 at Oklahoma. Chuck Harris led the Bulldogs with 26 points. Butler trailed by 10 points at the half and by 13 early in the second half before clawing all the way back. After Oklahoma forced overtime with a three-pointer with two seconds remaining in regulation, the Sooners took a 62-58 lead in overtime before Butler scored the game's final eight points.
 
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.
 
Butler's non-conference opponents include three of the top 12 teams in this week's AP poll (No. 3 Purdue -- Crossroads Classic, No. 10 Michigan State -- Gavitt Games, and No. 12 Houston -- Maui Invitational in Las Vegas). Oklahoma, Butler's BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle opponent, is just outside of this week's AP poll in the 27th position. Texas A&M, another Maui Invitational opponent, is 12-2.
 
HOME SWEET HINKLE: Butler is 54-16 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in LaVall Jordan's five seasons as head coach of the Bulldogs.
 
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.
 
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.