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INDIANAPOLIS – The final weekend of the regular season is upon us as the Bulldogs prepare for home games against Villanova and Georgetown. Friday night is the annual "Think Pink" game for Butler. All those in attendance are encourage to wear pink to the game. On Sunday, Butler will recognize the 2022 Senior Class before tip-off.  Friday's tip will go up at 7:08 PM and Sunday's start is slated for 2:03 PM.
 
Bulldog Bits
- Celena Taborn leads the NCAA in field goal percentage (69.2). She is shooting 67.5% in BIG EAST action.
- Taborn ranks 14th in the BIG EAST in both points (13.3) and rebounds (5.5).
- Taborn posted 21 points vs. Georgetown on Jan. 30.
- Butler crushed Villanova on the glass in the first meeting 45-32.
 
Scouting Villanova                                                                                 
The Wildcats would play as the No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament if the action were to start this weekend. They are 19-7 overall with a 13-4 mark against conference competition. Junior Maddy Siegrist has a shot at being named BIG EAST Player of the Year next week. The 6-1 wing leads the conference with a 26.3 scoring average. She scored 23 against Butler in the first meeting and erupted for a conference-best 42 points against Marquette on Feb. 11. Lior Garzon and Brianna Herlihy are two other players to keep an eye on. Garzon averages 13.8 ppg and scored eight vs. Butler back on Jan. 28. Herlihy nearly averages a double-double with 10.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
 
All-Time Series vs. Villanova                                                               
Villanova is leading the all-time series against Butler 12-6. Nova swept Butler in 2020-21, but the Bulldogs swept the Wildcats in 2019-20. The first signature win of Coach Godlevske's tenure at Butler came against the Wildcats on Jan. 2 of 2018. Butler went to #21 Villanova and won significantly 76-53. It was Coach G's first win over a nationally-ranked program.
 
Last Meeting vs. Villanova                                                                   
Maddy Siegrist scored a game-high 23 points to lead Villanova to its ninth win in its last 10 games Friday afternoon at Finneran Pavilion. The Wildcats limited Butler to four second-quarter points to build up a double-digit lead. The Bulldogs were led by Trinity White's 10 points, while Celena Taborn totaled eight points and eight rebounds. Lucy Olsen joined Siegrist in double figures with 10 points off 4-of-8 shooting. Villanova finished with a .397 shooting clip while holding Butler to a .288 mark.
 
Scouting Georgetown                                                                           
The Hoyas have lost eight-straight games heading into the weekend, pushing their overall record to 7-18. Their first conference win of the season came 55-47 at Providence and their most recent victory was a 78-62 decision vs. Butler. Head Coach James Howard has the Hoyas playing better basketball over recent weeks. They took DePaul into double overtime before falling 105-104, hung around with Marquette 64-57 and recently took a 73-61 setback to Villanova. Milan Bolden-Morris and Kelsey Ransom are two of the top talents on the roster. Bolden-Morris scored 14 points against Butler in the first meeting, but Ransom was inactive. The Bulldogs will make other adjustments in an effort to slow down Mary Clougherty and Kaylin West. Clougherty was awesome in D.C. scoring 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting. West dished out 13 assists and came up with four steals.
 
All-Time Series vs. Georgetown                                                         
Butler leads the all-time series against Georgetown 9-8. Their first win of the 2020-21 season came at home against the Hoyas (58-40). The two teams split that season as Georgetown posted a 56-45 victory in their gym.
 
Last Meeting vs. Georgetown                                                             
The Hoyas picked up their second BIG EAST win of the season as Mary Clougherty shined in her first start for Georgetown. Clougherty matched her career-high with 24 points, including four triples, while Brianna Scott scored a career-best 15 points to go along with nine rebounds. Butler saw three finish in double figures, with Celena Taborn tallying a team-best 21 points off 9-of-13 shooting. Both squads shot north of 40-percent, with GU finishing with a .444 clip to Butler's .418 mark.
 
Tournament Talk                                                                                                  
Butler is in line to be the No. 11 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament. Under the 2022 format, the Bulldogs would play No. 6 seed Seton Hall in the First Round. That game would be played on March 4 at 4 PM on BEDN. Other possible BIG EAST matchups on Day One would include No. 8 seed Providence playing No. 9 seed Xavier at 11 AM. No. 7 seed St. John's would be in action against No. 10 seed Georgetown. That tip would go up at 1:30 PM.
 
Taborn For Two!                                                                                                  
Celena Taborn is on pace to break the Butler single-season field goal percentage record. The Furman transfer has made 119 of her 172 attempts (69.2%). The current record is 65.5% held by Liesl Schultz. Schultz has her name listed three total times in the top ten. She shot 65.5 percent (55-84) in the 1991-92 season. She shot 60.4% (142-235) in the 1993-94 campaign and 59.6% (165-227) in 1994-95.
 
Get the Board                                                                                         
Tenley Dowell or Celena Taborn have led BU in the rebound column in 20 of the team's 25 games this year. Each student-athlete has led BU 10 times this season. Taborn pulled down a team-best six boards at Seton Hall on Tuesday.
 
Run the Point                                                                                         
Zoe Jackson has twice as many assists this season than any other player on the roster. The true freshman has dished out 70 assists this year to average 2.8 per contest. She has led Butler in assists 12 times this year.
 
Starting Five Shuffle                                                                              
Butler has used 15 different starting lineups over 25 games this season. Butler rolled out Ross, Jaynes, Jackson, Dowell and Sexton at Seton Hall. Taborn's streak of 19-straight starts was snapped in South Orange. Dowell now has the longest streak on the team with 13-straight starts.
 
Fantastic Freshmen                                                                               
Butler freshmen have scored 794 of the 1,433 Bulldog points this season (55.4%). BU first-year players scored 25 of the team's 55 points at Seton Hall. A freshman has led BU in scoring 10 times this year, including last Sunday with Sydney Jaynes scoring 12 points against the Musketeers.
 
BIG East Tournament                                                                            
The Bulldogs will compete in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament on March 4. Action in Uncasville, Conn. will unfold at Mohegan Sun Arena.