After a week off, the Bulldogs return to action with a trip to Milwaukee to face off with a Top 15 opponent in Marquette.
 
Butler (11-12, 3-9 BIG EAST) at #14/12 Marquette (18-5, 10-2)
Saturday, Feb. 4;  2PM ET
Fiserv Forum; Milwaukee, Wis.
 
TV: FS1 - Jeff Levering & Brian Butch
Radio: 1430AM - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
Varsity Network Radio App, SiriusXM 388, SXM App 978
 
PDF notes can be found here.
 
Bulldogs vs. Marquette
• Of the current BIG EAST members, Butler's history with Marquette dates back the farthest as the teams first met in 1922.
• The teams met 18 times from 1922 through 1942.
• The teams met twice in the 2012-13 season, one year prior to Butler joining the BIG EAST. Those two games included a Rotnei Clarke game-winner for Butler at the 2012 Maui Invitational, and Marquette defeating Butler, 74-72, in the second round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
• Butler owns a 10-8 lead in the series since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season.
 
Series: Butler Leads, 24-23
Streak: Marquette, W1
In Milwaukee: Marquette Leads, 15-10
First Meeting: MU, 18-17; 12/16/1922
Last Meeting: MU, 64-56; 2/26/22
 
• According to KenPom, Butler has played the nation's 13th-toughest schedule so far this season.
• Saturday marks the first match-up of the season with Marquette. Butler also has yet to play Xavier this season, but has concluded home-and-home BIG EAST series with UConn, Creighton, Providence and Seton Hall.
• Butler enters Saturday's game after not playing a midweek contest, the team's first bye of the BIG EAST season. Butler had played 10 games over a 31-day stretch.
• Butler is committing only 13.0 fouls per game, which is second nationally. Only BIG EAST foe Creighton fouls less. 
• Butler had nine blocks in Saturday's loss to Seton Hall, the second-most by the Bulldogs this season. Jalen Thomas and Connor Turnbull each had three blocks. Butler ranks 43rd nationally at 4.5 blocks per game.
• Bates has 38 blocks this season, which already places him tenth on Butler's single-season list.
• Bates is 19th nationally with a 61.4 field goal percentage and is 37th nationally in blocks per game at 1.9 per game.
• Simas Lukosius is fourth in the BIG EAST in three-point shooting at 41.4 percent on the season.
• Lukosius has hit 27 of his 31 free throw attempts in BIG EAST play and his 87.1 percentage in conference action is fifth in the league.
• Jayden Taylor is averaging a team-best 14.0 points per game in the team's 11 contests away from Hinkle Fieldhouse this season. He is shooting 38 percent from three-point range in those games.
• Chuck Harris left the Seton Hall game Saturday after a collision in the first half caused a concussion; he played 11 minutes.
• In BIG EAST games, Butler is committing only 10.9 turnovers per game, which is second among league schools.
• In Butler's 11 wins this season, the Bulldogs have shot 43 percent from three-point range and have a +2.5 rebounding advantage per game; in the team's 12 losses, their opponents have averaged a rebounding advantage of +12.8 per game while the Bulldogs have hit only 28 percent of their three-point attempts.
• Butler is 11-0 this season when leading at halftime; Villanova opened the second half with a 16-1 run Jan. 13 to erase a 10-point Butler halftime lead before the Bulldogs responded for the win.
• Butler is 11-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points.
• The Bulldogs are 7-0 this season when out-rebounding their opponent.
• Jalen Thomas has led the Bulldogs in rebounding in six of his 12 games played this season since returning from a pulmonary embolism; that includes pacing the team in boards in five of the last seven games.
• Lukosius, Harris, Bates and Taylor have each led the Bulldogs in scoring in at least five games this season (includes ties).
• Turnbull has nine blocks in 60 minutes of BIG EAST play so far this season.
• Butler has shot 40 percent or better from behind the arc 11 times this season.
• Butler has 10 games so far this season shooting 50 percent or better from the field. Butler shot 56.6 percent from the field against Villanova Jan. 13, which was the second-best output of the season.
• Butler went 16-for-16 from the free throw line Jan. 22 at UConn; it's the fourth time in program history that the Bulldogs have made at least 15 free throws in a game without a miss.
• Among active coaches with at least 10 seasons of NCAA Division I experience, Matta's .731 winning percentage ranks fourth (Few, Self, Calipari). The Jan. 13 win over Villanova was Win No. 450 for Matta.