A pair of teams that were each successful in their BIG EAST conference openers Tuesday night put their matching 1-0 records on display Saturday afternoon in Rhode Island.
 
Butler (10-2, 1-0 BIG EAST) at rv/-- Providence (10-2, 1-0)
Saturday, Dec. 23;  Noon
Amica Mutual Pavilion; Providence, R.I.
 
TV: FS1 - John Fanta & Donny Marshall
Radio: WXNT 1430AM, Varsity Network Radio App, SiriusXM 381, SXM App 971 - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
 
Notes in PDF Form: https://butlersports.com/sports/2023/10/26/2023-24-butler-mbb-game-notes.aspx
 
The Series with the Friars
• Providence has won the last six meetings with Butler and holds an 18-5 overall record in the head-to-head series.
• The Friars hold an 8-2 advantage in games played in Providence, winning three straight.
 
Series: Providence Leads, 18-5
Streak: Providence, W6
In R.I.: Providence Leads, 8-2
First Meeting: PC, 65-56, 1/24/14 (at PC)
Last Meeting: PC, 79-58, 1/25/23 (at PC)
 
OF NOTE
• Butler is currently on a seven-game winning streak, its longest since Nov.-Dec., 2019.
• The Bulldogs are 1-0 in BIG EAST play after defeating Georgetown, 74-64, Tuesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
• Butler closed the first half against Georgetown by scoring 13 of the final 15 points to take a 40-27 halftime lead and control of the game.
• Butler owned a 46-22 advantage over Georgetown in points in the paint.
• Posh Alexander had a season-best five steals against Georgetown to go along with team-best totals of 13 points and seven assists.
• Alexander ranks second in steals (2.17 per game) and fourth in assists (5.4 per game) among the BIG EAST leaders.
• Pierre Brooks II matched Alexander for the team-high with 13 points; he has scored in double figures in every game this season.
• Jalen Thomas had a game-high eight rebounds Tuesday against Georgetown; he has led the Bulldogs in rebounds in seven of the team's 12 games this season.
• Butler shot 16-for-18 from the free throw line Tuesday night. Butler's 79.4-percent free throw percentage on the season ranks seventh nationally. The Bulldogs have shot 70 percent or better from the free throw line in every game this season.
• DJ Davis left the Georgetown game with an ankle injury early in the second half and did not return. He scored 12 points in the first half. His status for Saturday's game at Providence will be determined in the coming days.
• Davis ranks eighth nationally in free throw percentage (94.9). He has two separate games going 10-for-10 from the charity stripe and has hit 37 of his 39 attempts on the season.
• Butler's nine non-conference wins heading into BIG EAST play are the most since the 2019-20 season.
• Butler's 83.8 points per game rank 31st nationally.
• Butler has scored at least 80 points in eight of its 12 games to start the season; the Bulldogs only hit the 80-point mark six times total a season ago.
• Finley Bizjack became the tenth different Bulldog to hit double figures in a game this season with his career-high 17 points against Saginaw Valley Dec. 15. It also marked the sixth game this season with five or more Bulldogs scoring in double figures.
• Butler shot 52 percent from the field Dec. 9 vs. Cal; the Bulldogs have shot 50 percent or better in six games this season.
• The Bulldogs rank second nationally, committing just 12.3 fouls per game.
• Butler has committed 10 or fewer turnovers in six games this season. Butler is 8-0 this season when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent.
• Butler out-rebounded Georgetown, 37-29, Tuesday night. Butler is 9-0 this season when out-rebounding its opponent. 
• The Bulldogs trailed 37-34 at halftime Dec. 9 vs. Cal, giving the team its first win of the season when trailing at intermission (1-2).
• Augusto Cassia made his Butler debut Dec. 15 vs. Saginaw Valley after being sidelined by a muscle strain in his leg to begin the season. Cassia had three points and four rebounds in 14 minutes of action.
• Sophomore forward Connor Turnbull is out indefinitely with a left elbow injury suffered in practice prior to the Georgetown game.
• Against Buffalo Dec. 5, Jahmyl Telfort matched or set new career-highs in rebounds (nine), assists (eight) and steals (four) to go along with 18 points. His career-high eight assists came one game after setting a then career-high of seven against Texas Tech Nov. 30.
 
Home, Sweet Hinkle
• Butler is 8-0 at Hinkle Fieldhouse so far this season.
• Thad Matta is 31-7 at Hinkle Fieldhouse as the head coach at Butler (2000-01 and his current stint that began prior to the 2022-23 season).
• Butler has scored at least 80 points in six of its eight home games this season (going over the 90-point mark five times).
• Butler is 77-2 over its last 79 non-conference home games, winning 15 straight.
 
Balancing Act
• Ten different Bulldogs have scored in double figures in at least one game so far this season.
• Butler's balanced attack has seen at least five players score in double figures in the same game six times this season, including most recently in the Dec. 15 win over Saginaw Valley.
 
Working Overtime
• Butler is 2-0 in overtime games so far this season with a single-overtime win over Texas Tech Nov. 30 and a double-overtime win over Cal Dec. 9.
• In the three overtime sessions totaling 15 minutes, Butler scored 44 points. Over those 15 minutes, the Bulldogs shot 72 percent from the field, 80 percent from three-point range, and 93 percent at the free throw line.
• Butler has nine assists against one turnover in those 15 minutes.
• Butler scored on every possession during the overtime period in the Bulldogs' 103-95 win over Texas Tech Nov. 30. Butler went 4-of-6 from the field, but collected offensive rebounds on both misses and scored. The team went 10-for-10 from the free throw line and did not commit a turnover.
 
Top Team Performances
• Prior to the Nov. 30 win over Texas Tech, the Bulldogs last scored 100 points in a game Dec. 30, 2017 when Butler defeated No. 1 Villanova, 101-93, at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
• The 86 points scored by the Bulldogs in the Nov. 23 loss to No. 19/20 Florida Atlantic were the most by Butler in a loss since a 90-87 loss to No. 21 Seton Hall Jan. 6, 2018.
• The Bulldogs forced ETSU into 19 turnovers and converted those into 36 points Nov. 13.
• 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 the Nov. 10 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 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.
 
Top Individual Performances
• Jahmyl Telfort (26) and DJ Davis (25) combined for 51 points in Butler's 103-95 overtime win over Texas Tech Nov. 30 as part of the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle. Telfort and Davis are the first pair of Butler teammates to each score 25 or more in the same game since Chuck Harris (29) and Simas Lukosius (27) in a March 9, 2022 win over Xavier in the BIG EAST Tournament.
• Posh Alexander posted his first career triple-double in the win over Texas Tech Nov. 30, finishing with 10 points, 11 assists, and matching his career-high with 10 rebounds. It's the first triple-double by a Butler player since Roosevelt Jones at St. John's Feb. 6, 2016, and just the third Butler triple-double since 1984.
• Pierre Brooks II scored a career-high 26 points in the Nov. 24 win over Penn State; he followed that with 25 points in the Nov. 26 win over Boise State. Brooks is the first Bulldog with back-to-back 25-point games since Kelan Martin, who accomplished the feat in his final two games at Butler as part of the 2018 NCAA Tournament (27 vs. Arkansas and 29 vs. Purdue).
• Twenty of Brooks's 25 points against Boise State Nov. 26 came in the second half; he is the first Bulldog to score 20 points in a half since Chuck Harris on March 6, 2021.
• Connor Turnbull's six blocks Nov. 13 against ETSU were one shy of the Butler single-game record.
 
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.