Butler (1-0) vs. Southest Missouri St. (0-1)
Friday, Nov. 10;  8:30PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.

TV: FS2 & FOX Sports App - Bob Brainerd & Dickey Simpkins
Radio: WXNT 1430AM, Varsity Network Radio App & SiriusXM 381, SiriusXM App 971 - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)

SERIES: First Meeting

• Butler is 71-2 over its last 73 non-conference home games.
• Butler has won nine straight non-conference home games. 
• Including Butler's 94-55 win over Eastern Michigan Monday night, the Bulldogs have won their home opener in 25 consecutive seasons; that dates back to 1998 when Southwest Missouri State (now referred to as Missouri State) won a 72-57 decision at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
• 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 had six players in double figures against Eastern Michigan, 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). 
• 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. 
• After committing nine turnovers in the first half against Eastern Michigan, Butler had only one miscue in the second half. 
• Jahmyl Telfort led the Bulldogs in scoring with 18 points, while Jalen Thomas had a team-best seven rebounds. Posh Alexander posted team-highs in both assists (eight) and steals (three) along with his 13 points. 
• Forty-eight (48) of Butler's 94 points came in the paint Monday night; 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. 
• Thomas and Turnbull combined for 32 of the team's 74 blocked shots in BIG EAST play despite combining to play only 493 of the team's 4,000 minutes played in conference action. 
• 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. 
• 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 24-7 at Hinkle Fieldhouse as the head coach at Butler (2000-01 and his current stint that began prior to the 2022-23 season).
• Alex Barlow, most recently the head coach of the Boston Celtics' G-League affiliate in Maine, returns to Butler as an assistant coach for the upcoming season; as a player, Barlow helped the Bulldogs to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2013 and 2015. Barlow filled the staff vacancy that was created when Kevin Kuwik was named the head coach at Army.
• SEMO won the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, which earned the team an NCAA Tournament berth. The Redhawks lost in the NCAA First Four in Dayton, falling to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

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, who led Butler's men's basketball team to prominence as head coach, has served at the helm of the Butler University athletic department since August of 2006. More information. 

Evan Haywood Signs with Butler
Local standout Evan Haywood has signed a national letter of intent to join the Butler men's basketball program. 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. More information. 

Milestones Within Reach
• Jahmyl Telfort scored 1,000 points in just three seasons at Northeastern, currently standing at 1,113 career points. Four Bulldogs have the opportunity to join him above the 1,000-point threshold during the season: Posh Alexander (992), DJ Davis (961), Jalen Thomas (735), and Andre Screen (733). 
• Jalen Thomas pulled down his 500th career rebound in the final game of the 2022-23 season; he now has 507 career boards. Andre Screen has 415 career rebounds. 
• Posh Alexander handed out 391 assists in his three seasons at St. John's and has 399 for his career.