Butler (11-11, 4-7 BIG EAST) vs. St. John's (12-9, 4-6 BIG EAST)
Saturday, Feb. 5;  12PM 
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
TV:  FS1 - Matt Schumacker & Brian Butch
Radio:  1430AM - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
Varsity Network Radio App, XM380, SiriusXM App 970
 
Full Notes (PDF)
 
The Bulldogs return to Hinkle Fieldhouse to host St. John's for a Saturday noon tip. It is the first match-up between the two teams after the Dec. 23 contest in Queens had to be postponed due to COVID issues within the Red Storm at that time (that game has been rescheduled for Feb. 18).
 
Butler has won two straight home games, while Saturday's tip will be the fourth in eight days for the Red Storm, who have two of the BIG EAST's top seven scorers in Julian Champagnie and Posh Alexander.
 
THE SERIES: Butler owns a 10-7 advantage in the all-time series with St. John's. All but one of those games (a 1958 meeting in the NIT) have come since Butler joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season. The Bulldogs have won three of the last four meetings. In the last meeting (Feb. 9, 2021 at Hinkle Fieldhouse), Butler erased a 16-point SJU lead to win 76-73 in overtime.
 
Butler Leads, 10-7
Streak: Butler, W1
At Hinkle Fieldhouse: Butler Leads, 7-1
LaVall Jordan (at BU) vs. SJU: 5-3
First Meeting: St. John's, 78-68; 3/13/58 (NIT)
Last Meeting: Butler, 76-73 (OT), 2/9/21 (at Hinkle)
 
• St. John's and Marquette are the only two BIG EAST opponents that Butler has yet to play this season.
• Butler has limited its last three opponents to 9-for-58 shooting from three-point range (16 percent).
• Butler has won the rebounding margin in each of the last three games after being out-rebounded in nine consecutive games; on the season, Butler is 8-1 when winning the glass.
• Jayden Taylor scored 18 points Wednesday at Xavier, tying his third-best scoring output of the season.
• Chuck Harris also scored 18 points at Xavier Wednesday; he is averaging 14.6 points per game over the team's last five outings.
• Simas Lukosius earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors Monday, his second recognition of the season.
• Bryce Nze posted his first double-double of the season in Saturday's win over Georgetown; he has led the Bulldogs in rebounding in 12 of his 15 games played this season.
• According to KenPom, Butler has played the 11th-toughest schedule in the nation so far this season; nine of Butler's 11 losses have come to teams currently ranked among the Top 30 in the NCAA NET metric.
• Aaron Thompson has shot 50 percent or better from the field in five straight games; Thompson is shooting 62 percent (21-34) from the field in that five-game stretch.
• Butler nearly erased a 14-point Xavier lead with six minutes to go Wednesday, ultimately falling by two points.
• Coach LaVall Jordan utilized a seven-man rotation at Xavier, his first time this season going only two-deep off the bench.
• Butler is 8-4 at Hinkle Fieldhouse this season.
• Butler is shooting 79 percent from the free throw line over its last three games.
• All four of Lukosius's double-digit scoring games have come against BIG EAST opponents and the Bulldogs are 3-1 in those games.
 
LAST TIME OUT: A late charge by the Bulldogs came up just short as No. 21 Xavier came away with a 68-66 win over Butler Wednesday night in Cincinnati.
 
Sixteen of Zach Freemantle's game-high 23 points came in the second half for Xavier.
 
After Xavier took its largest of the game at 49-34, the Bulldogs would climb back in the contest with a 7-0 lead that brought Butler within 60-53 with 4:45 remaining. The Bulldogs continued to climb closer on a Jayden Taylor three-point play with 56 seconds to play. That made the separation 65-61. The teams traded successful possessions but the margin never got closer than four until Taylor's meaningless three-pointer went in at the buzzer.
 
Taylor and Chuck Harris led the Bulldogs with 18 points apiece. The Bulldogs shot 44 percent from the field and committed only 11 turnovers, but two technical fouls contributed to the final score. Taylor's 18 points tied his third-best scoring output of the season.
 
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 15 teams in this week's AP poll (No. 4 Purdue -- Crossroads Classic, No. 13 Michigan State -- Gavitt Games, and No. 6 Houston -- Maui Invitational in Las Vegas).
 
TWO TIMES FOR THE FIRST YEAR: Simas Lukosius was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week Jan. 31 following an impressive 2-0 week for the Bulldogs. This is the second weekly conference honor for the Lithuanian, who also was recognized on Jan. 3.
 
Lukosius averaged 13.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in the team's two contests last week. In Wednesday's win over Creighton, Lukosius scored 14 points and went 6-for-6 from the free throw line. He was the team's leading scorer in Saturday's win over Georgetown, recording 13 points. He shot 45 percent from three-point range in the team's two games.
 
HOME SWEET HINKLE: Butler is 56-18 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in LaVall Jordan's five seasons as head coach of the Bulldogs.
 
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.