Butler (2-0) vs. East Tennessee St. (1-1)
Monday, Nov. 13;  7PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
 
TV: CBS Sports Network - Carter Blackburn & Pete Gillen
Radio: WXNT 1430AM, Varsity Network Radio App, SiriusXM 383 & SiriusXM App 973 - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
 
SERIES: First Meeting
 
The Bulldogs continue their season-opening homestand Monday night, welcoming East Tennessee State to Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler is off to a 2-0 start to the young 2023-24 season, posting a pair of wins that have included margins of 30-plus. 
 
• Butler is 72-2 over its last 74 non-conference home games.
• Butler has won 10 straight non-conference home games.
• Posh Alexander scored his 1,000th career point in his second game as a Bulldog Friday vs. SEMO.
• Butler has opened the season with back-to-back 90-point games; Butler's last back-to-back 90-point outputs were actually a three-game series in December of 2017 as the Bulldogs posted wins over Western Illinois (107-46), Georgetown (91-86 in double overtime), and No. 1 Villanova (101-93).
• The Bulldogs had six players in double figures against Eastern Michigan Monday, the first game since the Nov. 14, 2015 win over The Citadel that six players scored 10 or more points (seven players hit that threshold against The Citadel). Butler followed with five in double figures against SEMO. Seven different Bulldogs have scored 10 or more in a game this season.
• Butler limited SEMO to 29-percent shooting in Friday night's win; the Bulldogs last held an opponent under 30 percent Jan. 1, 2023 at Georgetown.
• The 60 second-half points by the Bulldogs against Eastern Michigan were the most in a half by Butler dating back to a 63-point performance in the second half of a Jan. 16, 2017 game against Marquette.
• The Bulldogs went to the line 34 times, making 26 Friday against SEMO. That is more makes and attempts than Butler had in any game last season.
• Pierre Brooks II (16) and Connor Turnbull (13) both posted career-high scoring outputs Monday night; for Turnbull, it was his first career game scoring in double figures. Freshman Boden Kapke scored a career-high 11 in Friday's win, his first time at Butler in double figures.
• After committing nine turnovers in the first half against Eastern Michigan, Butler had only one miscue in the second half.
• Jalen Thomas has led Butler in rebounds in both games; he has a total of 16 boards in 32 total minutes of play.
• Forty-eight (48) of Butler's 94 points came in the paint Monday night against Eastern Michigan; Andre Screen made all six of his attempts from the field, mostly from close range.
• Butler is without freshman Augusto Cassia, who sustained a strain to a muscle in his right leg in late October. He is out indefinitely, and his status will be updated in the coming weeks.
• Only two players on the 2023-24 roster played in games for Butler last season (Jalen Thomas and Connor Turnbull). John-Michael Mulloy was also on the Butler roster a season ago, but didn't play due to injury.
• Butler returns only 9% of scoring (191 of 2,088 points) and 9% of minutes played (563 of 6,400) from the 2022-23 season.
• Five of Butler's incoming transfers averaged double figures during the 2022-23 season for their respective former teams.
• Entering the season, Thad Matta has won 453 games in his 18 seasons as a head coach, which averages out to 25.2 wins per season.
• Matta is 25-7 at Hinkle Fieldhouse as the head coach at Butler (2000-01 and his current stint that began prior to the 2022-23 season).
• Former Bulldog DJ Hughes is now a member of the East Tennessee State roster. After playing the first two seasons of his career at Butler, the Indianapolis native transferred to ETSU during the offseason. Bo Hodges finished his career at Butler (the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons) after transferring from ETSU.