Butler (3-0) at #18/19 Michigan State (1-2)
2023 Gavitt Tip-Off Games
Friday, Nov. 17;  6:30PM
East Lansing, Mich.; Breslin Center
 
TV: FS1 - Kevin Kugler & Robbie Hummel
Radio: WXNT 1430AM, Varsity Network Radio App, SiriusXM 381 & SiriusXM App 971 - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
 
Series with the Spartans
• Michigan State holds a 14-11 advantage in the all-time series with Butler.
• The series dates back to the 1926-27 season when Butler won a pair of match-ups between the teams.
• Following a match-up in the 1971-72 season, the teams did not play again until 2010.
• That 2010 game came in the Final Four in Indianapolis as Butler pulled out a 52-50 win in the national semifinals.
• The most recent meeting between the two programs also came as part of the Gavitt Games, as MSU won at Hinkle Fieldhouse in 2021.
 
Series: MSU Leads, 14-11
Streak: MSU, W1
In East Lansing: MSU Leads, 9-2
First Meeting: BU, 53-16; 1/14/1927 (at BU)
Last Meeting: MSU, 73-52; 11/17/21 (at BU)
 
Entering Friday Night
• Butler has outscored its first three opponents of the season by a combined 108 points in 120 minutes of play.
• Opponents are shooting only 30.6 percent from the field against the Bulldogs this season as Butler ranks No. 1 nationally in field goal percentage defense.
• Butler is 2-3 all-time in the Gavitt Games, with home wins over Minnesota (2019) and Northwestern (2016).
• Butler's starting line-up is a combined 33-for-36 from the free throw line to start the season (92 percent).
• Butler has scored at least 80 points in all three of its games this season (going over the 90-point mark twice); the Bulldogs scored 80 or more only six times total during the 2022-23 season.
• Butler has had at least five players score in double figures in each of its three games to start the season; at least one player has come off the bench to score in double figures each game.
• Through three games, nine different Bulldogs have scored in double figures in at least one game. DJ Davis, Pierre Brooks II and Posh Alexander have each scored in double figures in all three games to start the season.
• Davis enters Friday's game with 989 career points.
• Connor Turnbull had six blocks Monday night against ETSU, doubling his career-high. That total was one shy of the Butler single-game record.
• Turnbull is ranked seventh nationally at 3.33 blocks per game (through the games of Nov. 14).
• Landon Moore matched his career-high with four made three-pointers against ETSU.
• Jalen Thomas has led Butler in rebounds in all three games so far in 2023-24; he has a total of 22 boards in 47 minutes of play.
• Andre Screen is a perfect 8-for-8 from the field to start his Butler career.
• Alexander scored his 1,000th career point in his second game as a Bulldog Friday vs. SEMO; he swiped his 200th career steal Monday vs. ETSU.
• The Bulldogs forced ETSU into 19 turnovers and converted those into 36 points Monday night.
• Butler's defense held ETSU to 31-percent shooting Monday, the third consecutive opponent Butler has limited to 32-percent shooting or less to open the season.
• No ETSU player reached double figures, the first time that Butler's defense has accomplished that since the Feb. 29, 2020 win over DePaul.
• 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 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.
• The 60 second-half points by the Bulldogs against Eastern Michigan in the season opener 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.
• After committing nine turnovers in the first half against Eastern Michigan, Butler had only one miscue in the second half.
• Forty-eight (48) of Butler's 94 points came in the paint in the season-opening win against Eastern Michigan.
• 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.
• 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.
 
Going on the Defensive
• Butler's defense has been suffocating through the team's first three games of 2023-24 as the Bulldogs rank among the nation's best in a number of categories.
• Butler's opponents are shooting only 30.6 percent from the field, which places the Bulldogs first in the NCAA in field goal percentage defense. All three of Butler's opponents have been held to 32-percent shooting or less.
• Butler is 11th nationally, allowing only 52.7 points per game.
• Butler's stifling defense and a high-octane offense thus far have led to an average of +36.0 scoring margin, which is 12th nationally.
 
Six Degrees of Tom Izzo
• Butler assistant coach Maurice Joseph began his college playing career at Michigan State; he played in 52 games in two seasons (2005-06 and 2006-07), helping the Spartans to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths before transferring to Vermont.
• Butler's Jahmyl Telfort and Michigan State's Tyson Walker were teammates at Northeastern during the 2020-21 season.
• Butler's Pierre Brooks played the last two seasons at Michigan State before transferring to Butler during the offseason. He saw action in 55 games over the course of those two seasons.
• While leading the Ohio State program, Thad Matta matched up with Michigan State 28 times, posting a 12-16 record against the Spartans from 2004-17.
 
Summering in Canada
• Jahmyl Telfort played for Canada's U23 team in July as part of the GLOBL JAM event in Toronto, helping the Canadians to the silver medal in the four-team event. Telfort posted 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in the gold medal game, a loss to the University of Kentucky, which represented the United States in the event. In the four games, Telfort averaged 10 points per game.
• Telfort, a transfer from Northeastern, ranked fifth in the Colonial Athletic Association in scoring in 2022-23.
 
You Must Be New Here...
• 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.
• The nine scholarship players on Butler's 2023-24 roster who bring collegiate experience have combined for 237 double-figure scoring games entering the season; only eight of those games have come in a Butler uniform (all by Thomas during the 2022-23 season).
• Five of Butler's incoming transfers averaged double figures during the 2022-23 season for their respective former teams.
 
What's On Deck...Schedule Notes
• Includes eight games against teams ranked in the Top 10 of the preseason AP and coaches polls
• Includes 14 games against teams ranked in the Top 25 or receiving votes in the preseason AP and coaches polls
• Includes at least 12 games against teams in ESPN's Way-Too-Early Top 25 (Oct. 9 edition)
• Includes at least 15 games against teams in Joe Lunardi's 2024 Bracketology (Oct. 10 edition)
• The ESPN Events Invitational field includes opening-round opponent Florida Atlantic in addition to Texas A&M, Penn State, Iowa State, Virginia Tech, VCU, and Boise State.
• According to KenPom, Butler played the nation's 19th-toughest schedule during the 2022-23 season. Twenty-three (23) of the team's 32 games came against teams ranked among the KenPom Top 100.
 
Welcome Back, Barlow
• Alex Barlow, most recently the head coach of the Boston Celtics' G-League affiliate in Maine, returns to Butler as an assistant coach.
• As a player, Barlow helped the Bulldogs to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2013 and 2015.
• Since graduating from Butler, Barlow's entire eight-year coaching career had been with the Boston Celtics organization in a variety of roles under his former Butler coach Brad Stevens.
• Barlow filled the staff vacancy that was created when Kevin Kuwik was named the head coach at Army.
 
In a message to the Butler University community Nov. 8, Butler Vice President and Director of Athletics Barry Collier announced his retirement, effective April 30, 2024.
• Collier has served at the helm of the Butler University athletic department since August of 2006. Collier currently serves on the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee (term: 2022-26).
• In celebration of his efforts, Collier was recognized with Under Armour AD of the Year honors in 2019, as announced by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).
• In July of 2013, Collier and Butler President James Danko oversaw the school's move to the BIG EAST Conference on the heels of back-to-back appearances in the NCAA national championship game in 2010 and 2011.
• Collier's first head coaching opportunity came at Butler in 1989. As Butler's coach, Collier led the Bulldogs for 11 years and to six postseason campaigns. In 1997, Collier mentored the Bulldogs to an NCAA Tournament appearance, the school's first in 35 years. That appearance was the first of three in a four-year span for Collier's Bulldogs.
 
Evan Haywood Signs with Butler
• He will suit up for the Bulldogs beginning with the 2024-25 season.
• Haywood, a 6-4 guard from Carmel, Ind., is beginning his senior season at Brebeuf Jesuit High School in Indianapolis. He has played on the summer circuit with both the Progeny 2024 and EG10 17U programs.
• As a junior at Brebeuf, Haywood averaged 14.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.8 steals while shooting 37 percent from three-point range. He earned both all-conference and All-Marion County honors following the season.