The Bulldogs head toward warmer weather and one of the most competitive fields of 2022 as Butler begins play in the Battle 4 Atlantis Wednesday against Tennessee. Butler's second opponent will be either USC or BYU, while the other side of the bracket includes Kansas, Dayton, Wisconsin, and North Carolina State.
 
Butler (3-1) vs. #22 Tennessee (2-1)
Wednesday, Nov. 23;  7:30PM
Battle 4 Atlantis
Paradise Island, Bahamas
 
FOLLOW ALONG:
TV:  ESPN2 & ESPN App -  Kevin Fitzgerald & Carolyn Peck
Radio:  1430AM - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
Varsity Network Radio App
SiriusXM 388, SXM App 978
 
PDF Notes Available at https://bit.ly/3NGADRf
 
SERIES: Butler Leads, 3-2
Streak: Butler, W1
Neutral Court: Tied, 1-1
First Meeting: Butler, 81-66; 1958-59
 
• Butler was previously part of the Battle 4 Atlantis field in both 2014 and 2018. The Bulldogs went 2-1 in each event.
• Butler owns a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series against Tennessee. The teams first met in 1958 (a Butler win at Hinkle Fieldhouse). Butler also has wins as part of the 2006 Preseason NIT at Madison Square Garden and a 2015 match-up at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Tennessee won, 76-71, over the Bulldogs in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and in 2014 in Knoxville.
• Tennessee coach Rick Barnes has led the Volunteers since the 2015-16 season. His final game as the head coach of Texas was a loss to Butler in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
 
 
• Butler's 47-point victory over The Citadel Saturday is the largest by the Bulldogs since defeating Western Illinois, 107-46, at Hinkle Fieldhouse Dec. 21, 2017.
• Butler shot 70.4 percent in Thursday's 95-67 win over Saint Francis (Pa.); it was the second-best field goal percentage in program history, trailing only the 71.9 clip from the Nov. 15, 2014 win over Maine.
• Saturday's win over The Citadel included 17 three-pointers, which was just shy of the program-record of 20 and the most since hitting 17 vs. Northern Illinois Dec. 8, 2018.
• Butler is 25-for-46 (54 percent) from behind the arc over the past two games.
• Butler entered Saturday's game against The Citadel ranked 295th nationally in three-point shooting percentage; after the game, the Bulldogs are now ranked 105th.
• Butler is ninth nationally in field goal shooting (53.1 percent).
• Chuck Harris led the Bulldogs with 22 points and a career-high seven assists against St. Francis; it was the 11th 20-point game of his career.
• Harris, Jayden Taylor and Simas Lukosius have scored in double figures in all four games this season.
• Through four games, Manny Bates is ranked sixth nationally in blocks per game (3.5) and 14th in field goal percentage (74.3).
• Bates opened his Butler career with back-to-back double-doubles; his 25 points in the season-opener against New Orleans were a career-high.
• Bates is the first Bulldog to score at least 20 points in his Butler debut since Rotnei Clarke (21 vs. Elon in 2012).
• Harris and Taylor have combined to go 28-for-30 from the free throw line so far this season (93 percent).
• Butler is 19th nationally in turnover margin at +7.0 through its first four games.
• The Bulldogs committed only five turnovers in the Nov. 14 Gavitt Games loss at Penn State.
• Butler has forced 18.8 turnovers per game so far during the young season, which is 31st nationally. The Bulldogs forced New Orleans into 30 turnovers in the season opener.
• The Bulldogs were without Myles Wilmoth, Jalen Thomas, John-Michael Mulloy, and Ali Ali against The Citadel due to various injuries; none of the group have played in a regular season game yet this season.
• Matta returns to his alma mater as the head coach at Butler; he also led the Bulldogs as head coach during the 2000-01 season.
• Matta is a combined 70-26 in the first season at each of his previous head coaching stops (Butler in 2000-01, Xavier in 2001-02 and Ohio State in 2004-05), winning at least 20 games in each of those seasons.
• Butler went on a foreign tour to Italy and Greece August 2-12, winning four games abroad.
• BIG EAST coaches have voted Butler eighth in the conference's preseason poll, while Butler junior Chuck Harris was named Preseason All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention for the second consecutive season.
• Harris led Butler in scoring as both a freshman (2020-21) and a sophomore (2021-22). He looks to become the first Bulldog to lead the team in scoring in three consecutive seasons since Kellen Dunham (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16).