The Opening Tip
• Butler returns to Hinkle Fieldhouse for a Wednesday night tip with St. John's.
• Butler looks to end its current four-game losing skid.
• In the first meeting between the two teams, St. John's took a 86-70 win at Carnesecca Arena Jan. 2.
• Butler's 14 NCAA NET ranking Quad 1 games so far this season are second-most in the nation (rankings as of Monday, Feb. 26); Michigan is the national leader with 15.
• KenPom ranks Butler's schedule so far this season as the nation's sixth-toughest slate, while the NCAA NET strength of schedule metric lists it as No. 3 nationally (as of Monday, Feb. 26).
 
Butler (16-12, 7-10 BIG EAST) vs. St. John's (16-12, 8-9)
Wednesday, Feb. 28;  8:30PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
 
TV: CBS Sports Network - Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas & Evan Washburn
Radio: WXNT 1430AM, Varsity Network Radio App, SiriusXM 380, SXM App 970 - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
  
The Series with the Red Storm
• All but one meeting in the series has come since Butler joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season.
• That first meeting came in the 1958 NIT (a 78-68 St. John's win). Tony Hinkle coached Butler in that game. Lou Carnesecca would join the St. John's staff as an assistant coach the next season.
• Butler and St. John's played three times during the 2022-23 season with each winning on their home court. The Red Storm also won a BIG EAST Tournament first round game between the two programs.
• A total of 20 players saw action in that March 8, 2023 BIG EAST Tournament game; only five remain on the Butler and St. John's rosters: Jalen Thomas, Connor Turnbull, Joel Soriano, Drissa Traore, and Posh Alexander (now at Butler).
 
Series:  St. John's Leads, 12-11
Streak: St. John's, W2
At Hinkle: Butler Leads, 8-2
First Meeting: SJU, 78-68; 3/13/1958 (NIT)
Last Meeting: SJU, 86-70; 1/2/24 (at SJU)
 
First Time Around
• St. John's posted an 86-70 win over Butler Jan. 2 in Queens, N.Y.
• St. John's put six players in double figures, led by Daniss Jenkins with 17 points. Joel Soriano (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Chris Ledlum (13 points, 11 rebounds) both registered double-doubles for the Red Storm.
• St. John's had a 43-32 rebounding advantage, which included 17 offensive rebounds. Butler had 14 offensive rebounds, but St. John's held a 23-7 margin in second-chance points.
• St. John's shot 50 percent from the field.
• DJ Davis led the Bulldogs with 25 points. He went 5-for-10 from three-point range.
 
Home, Sweet Hinkle
• Butler is 11-4 at Hinkle Fieldhouse so far this season.
• Thad Matta is 34-11 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 eight of its 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.
 
Of Note
• Butler is coming off a 76-64 setback at Seton Hall Saturday night. 
• Jalen Thomas led Butler with 12 points at Seton Hall, his third time this season and his fourth time in a Bulldog uniform leading the team in scoring.
• Posh Alexander is 7-for-11 from three-point range over the last two games; that includes matching a career-high with four makes at Villanova Feb. 20.
• Butler has combined to hit 23 three-pointers over its last two games. Those are two of the seven games this season that Butler has been in double figures in made threes.
• These last two games have also seen 62 of Butler's 105 attempts come from three-point range (59 percent), the only games this season with more than half of their attempts coming from behind the arc.
• Butler went 10-for-13 from the free throw line at Seton Hall. On the season, Butler ranks 11th nationally in free throw shooting at 78.9 percent. Butler has shot 70 percent or better from the line in all but one game.
• DJ Davis ranks No. 1 nationally in free throw percentage at 96.6 percent; he has made 52 of 53 free throw attempts in BIG EAST play.
• Butler committed an uncharacteristic 16 turnovers at Seton Hall, matching the second-highest total in a game this season. The Bulldogs are averaging only 10.4 turnovers per game in BIG EAST play. Butler has 14 games this season with 10 or fewer turnovers, and the Bulldogs are 11-5 this season when committing fewer turnovers than their opponent.
• Davis matched his career-high with five assists at Seton Hall Saturday; Landon Moore handed out four assists, just one shy of his season-high.
• Jahmyl Telfort led Butler with 19 points and seven rebounds at Villanova Feb. 20; it was Telfort's sixth game this season scoring at least 19 points.
• The Butler offense has averaged 78.1 points per game this season. Butler has 12 games this season scoring 80 points or more (including seven games of 90 or more).
• Butler is 8-1 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field and a perfect 14-0 when shooting a better percentage than their opponent.
• Showcasing the season-long prowess of the Bulldog offense, Butler has allowed 90 points in four games this season...and has won three of those games.
• The Bulldogs commit just 13.8 fouls per game, which ranks 12th nationally.
• Alexander leads the BIG EAST and is 25th nationally at 2.19 steals per game.
• Alexander is sixth in the conference and 58th nationally with 4.9 assists per game.
• Pierre Brooks II is 15th in the BIG EAST in scoring at 14.8 points per game. He is sixth in the BIG EAST in three-pointers made per game (2.39).
• Jalen Thomas ranks ninth in the BIG EAST in blocks (1.14 per game) and 16th in rebounding (6.2 per game).
• Telfort is third in the BIG EAST in minutes per game (35:00).