The Bulldogs return to Hinkle Fieldhouse for their penultimate home game of the 2022-23 season, hosting Georgetown Sunday afternoon. The match-up will include a celebration of Black History Month through the BIG EAST's partnership with the Black Fives Foundation.
 
For 22 games throughout the month of February, the BIG EAST Men's and Women's Basketball Teams will be wearing the name and logo of a Black Fives Team to honor these pioneers. Coaches will wear a "Make History Now" pin to draw awareness to the Foundation's mission, and fans will be educated through videos and other game time promotions on the relevance and importance of the Black Fives. Additional information can be found at https://bit.ly/3YUjmJn.
 
Butler (13-14, 5-11 BIG EAST) vs. Georgetown (6-21, 1-15)
Sunday, Feb. 19;  3PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
 
PDF notes can be found here: https://bit.ly/3NGADRf
 
TV: FS1 - Jason Ross, Jr. & Dickey Simpkins
Radio: 1430AM - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
Varsity Network Radio App, SiriusXM 390, SXM App 970
 
Bulldogs vs. Georgetown
• This is the second meeting between Butler and Georgetown this season; the Bulldogs won, 80-51, New Year's Day in the nation's capital.
• Jayden Taylor came off the bench to score a career-high 24 points on a career-best six three-pointers in that Jan. 1 win over Georgetown.
• The New Year's Day 80-51 win over Georgetown was the third-most lopsided win by Butler over a BIG EAST opponent since joining the conference in 2013-14 (89-56, at St. John's, 2/6/16; and 79-46, at DePaul, 3/6/14). Butler held Georgetown to 28.8-percent shooting in the win; it's the third time since joining the BIG EAST that Butler has held a conference opponent under 30-percent shooting (vs. St. John's, 1/27/18 and at Seton Hall, 1/25/17). It was the Bulldogs' best defensive performance against any opponent since limiting Louisiana-Monroe to 23.3-percent shooting Dec. 28, 2019.
• The teams first met in the 2009 Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
• The remaining match-ups have all come since Butler joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season. That includes a meeting at the 2014 Battle 4 Atlantis as both programs were already signed on for the event prior to Butler joining the BIG EAST.
• Butler is 7-3 against Georgetown in Washington, D.C. (including a win this season on New Year's Day), while the Hoyas are 6-3 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Series: Butler Leads, 11-10
Streak: Butler, W3
At Hinkle: Georgetown Leads, 6-3
First Meeting: GU, 72-65; 12/8/09
Last Meeting: BU, 80-51; 1/1/23
 
• According to KenPom, Butler has played the nation's 15th-toughest schedule so far this season.
• Butler is 10-4 at Hinkle Fieldhouse this season.
• Taylor has scored at least 19 points in each of his last four games; he is the current BIG EAST Player of the Week (announced Monday) for his play last week that resulted in wins over St. John's and Xavier (averaged 19.5 points and 4.5 rebounds). 
• Chuck Harris returned to action Tuesday at Villanova after missing three games due to a concussion (sustained vs. Seton Hall Jan. 28); however, Ali Ali missed the Villanova game (illness). All seven of Butler's top scorers have only been available together in nine of the team's 27 games this season.
• Over the last four games, Butler has limited its opponents to a combined 52 points below that team's BIG EAST scoring average, highlighted by holding Xavier to 67 points Feb. 10 while the Musketeers are averaging 82.1 points per BIG EAST game.
• Tuesday's loss at Villanova was Butler's first defeat this season when shooting a better field goal percentage than its opponent (now 12-1).
• Butler is committing only 13.1 fouls per game, which is third nationally.
• Butler is 11-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points.
• Butler is 12-0 this season when leading at halftime.
• Butler has 11 games so far this season shooting 50 percent or better from the field; eight of those have come at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler has won all 11 of those games.
• Butler has shot 40 percent or better from behind the arc 11 times this season; Butler is 9-2 in those contests.
• Simas Lukosius is 34-for-70 (49 percent) from three-point range in Butler's 14 home games.
• Lukosius pulled down eight rebounds Tuesday at Villanova, one shy of his career-high.
• Lukosius is seventh in the BIG EAST in three-point shooting at 41.0 percent on the season.
• Manny Bates is averaging 15.3 points and 6.3 rebounds over the last three games; he scored only a total of 14 points combined in the three games prior to this stretch.
• Bates has 47 blocks this season, which already places him in seventh on Butler's single-season list.
• Bates had 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting in the Feb. 10 win vs. Xavier. It marked his highest scoring output in a BIG EAST game this season.
• Bates tied a season-high with five blocks against Xavier. Jalen Thomas added three swats. Butler had nine blocks as a team, tying their second-most in a game this season.
• Butler is 38th nationally, averaging 4.5 blocks per game.
• Lukosius, Harris, Bates and Taylor have each led the Bulldogs in scoring in at least five games this season (includes ties).
• Thad Matta is 23-5 at Hinkle Fieldhouse as the head coach at Butler (2000-01 and the current 2022-23 seasons).
• In Butler's 13 wins this season, the Bulldogs have shot 41 percent from three-point range and have a +1.2 rebounding advantage per game; in the team's 14 losses, their opponents have averaged a rebounding advantage of +10.9 per game while the Bulldogs have hit only 27 percent of their three-point attempts.