The Bulldogs put their four-game winning streak on the line and open BIG EAST play Saturday, hosting No. 3 UConn at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Butler (8-3) vs. #3/3 UConn (11-0)
Saturday, Dec. 17;  7PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind. 

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THE SERIES: UConn Leads, 5-0
Streak: UConn, W5
At Hinkle: UConn Leads, 2-0
First Meeting: UConn, 53-41; 4/4/11 (2011 National Championship Game)
Last Meeting: UConn, 75-56, 1/20/22  

• Butler and UConn first met in the 2011 National Championship Game.
• The four most recent match-ups in the series have come over the past two seasons since UConn rejoined the BIG EAST. 
• UConn is the highest-ranked opponent to visit Hinkle Fieldhouse since No. 1 Villanova played in Indianapolis Dec. 30, 2017; Butler won that game, 101-93. 
• At 11-0, UConn is the team with the most wins without a loss to visit Hinkle since that 13-0 Villanova team in 2017.
• Due to one of the 2021-22 match-ups being rescheduled due to COVID, the teams played twice over a three-day window in two different cities last season. 
• Butler is 6-4 all-time in its BIG EAST home opener. 
• Butler's 82-58 win on the road at Cal Saturday was the program's largest margin of victory against a non-conference Power 6 opponent since beating Stanford, 83-50, Dec. 18, 2010. 
• For the season, Butler is shooting 50.2 percent from the field, which is 12th nationally.
• Through 11 games, Butler has shot 50 percent or better from the field eight times; the Bulldogs hit the 50-percent mark six times all of last season (31 games). In a similar fashion, Butler already has six games this season shooting 40 percent or better from three-point range, which was only done four times during the 2021-22 season.
• Butler is 8-0 this season when leading at halftime. 
• Over the past eight games, Butler has limited its opponents to 25-percent shooting from three-point range (39-155); six of those eight opponents have hit five or less three-pointers.
• Butler put all five starters in double figures Saturday at Cal, the third time this season doing so.
• Butler is committing only 12.2 fouls per game, which is third nationally.
• Butler's 5.4 blocks per game are 24th nationally. 
• Butler last trailed in a game at the 15:36 mark of the first half against Tennessee Tech Dec. 3, a streak of 115:36 consecutive game minutes without trailing.
• Butler's balance has been displayed by five Bulldogs averaging in double figures and the field goal attempts this season for those five players ranging a slim margin of 97 to 118. 
• Thad Matta is 19-1 at Hinkle Fieldhouse as the head coach at Butler.
• Among active coaches with at least 10 seasons of experience, Matta's .740 winning percentage ranks fourth.
• Eric Hunter Jr. posted the first double-double of his collegiate career in Saturday's win at Cal; he scored 13 points to go along with a career-high 11 rebounds. 
• Including his seasons at Purdue, Hunter enters Saturday's game with 980 career points. 
• Manny Bates is ninth nationally in blocks per game at 2.82 per game; his 63.6 field goal percentage is 23rd in the NCAA.
• Bates led the Bulldogs with 22 points and 10 rebounds against Kansas State Nov. 30, his third double-double of the young season. 
• Chuck Harris is averaging 17.3 points per game and shooting 48.5 percent from three-point range at Hinkle Fieldhouse this season.
• Harris is now tied for 23rd in Butler history in career three-pointers (115). 
• Harris posted career-highs of 32 points and six three-pointers in the Dec. 3 win over Tennessee Tech. 
• Simas Lukosius handed out a career-high seven assists against Kansas State Nov. 30, which also matched the most by a Butler player this season. 
• Lukosius averaged 13.0 points per game in two meetings with UConn last season. 
• Jayden Taylor has scored in double figures in all but one game this season.
• Taylor scored 19 points in the Jan. 18, 2022 game at UConn last season. 
• Including the return of DJ Hughes, who had missed four games due to a concussion, and the first action of the season for Myles Wilmoth (arm), Butler's bench played 39 minutes Saturday at Cal, the most bench minutes since Nov. 23 vs. Tennessee.