Coming off a thrilling road win at No. 13 Creighton, the Bulldogs look to continue the momentum in Hartford as they take on No. 1 UConn Tuesday night. 

Butler (15-7, 6-5 BIG EAST) at #1/1 UConn (20-2, 10-1)
Tuesday, Feb. 6;  8:30PM
XL Center; Hartford, Conn.
 
TV: FS1 - Jason Benetti & Bill Raftery
Radio: WXNT 1430AM, Varsity Network Radio App, SiriusXM 391, SXM App 981 - @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 Huskies
• UConn has won all eight of the previous meetings with Butler.
• The teams first met in the 2011 national championship game in Houston, the second of Butler's back-to-back title game appearances. UConn won that game, 53-41.
• The seven most recent match-ups have come since UConn returned to the BIG EAST prior to the 2020-21 season.
 
First Time Around
• UConn won the first match-up between the two teams this season, taking an 88-81 decision Jan. 5 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
• The Huskies capitalized on a huge second half, shooting 63 percent from the field and scoring 53 points over those 20 minutes.
• Butler led 42-35 at the half.
• UConn was led by Alex Karaban's 20 points.
• For Butler, DJ Davis (22), Pierre Brooks II (19) and Jahmyl Telfort (17) combined for 58 of the team's 81 points.
• UConn was ranked No. 4 at the time; it was the third game of the Huskies' current 10-game winning streak.
 
Series: UConn Leads, 8-0
Streak: UConn, W8
In Conn.: UConn Leads, 3-0
First Meeting: UConn, 53-41; 4/4/11 (NCAA Championship Game; Houston)
Last Meeting: UConn, 88-81; 1/5/24 (at BU)
 
Of Note
• The Bulldogs have eclipsed their win total from last season with nine regular season games remaining on the schedule.
• Butler's current four-game BIG EAST winning streak is the program's first since Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2018 and the fifth such streak since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season. One of those streaks included five straight conference wins (Jan. 21-Feb. 7, 2015).
• Butler is coming off a 99-98 win at No. 13 Creighton Friday night.
• Paired with the Bulldogs' Jan. 10 win at No. 11/12 Marquette, Butler has two true road wins against Top 15 opponents in the same season for the first time in program history.
• Including Friday night at Creighton, Butler has allowed 90 points in four games this season...and has won three of those games.
• The 277 combined points scored by Butler over its last three games are the most for the Bulldogs in a three-game stretch of conference games since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season. 
• Butler won Friday night despite the absence of point guard Posh Alexander, who missed the game with a foot injury.
• Landon Moore got the first start of his Butler career and Friday night was the first time all season that Butler had a change in its starting lineup.
• The Bulldogs made 13 of 22 attempts from three-point range at Creighton. The 59.1-percent clip was a season-high and Butler's best three-point percentage since a Feb. 25, 2015 win over Marquette (6-for-10).
• Butler committed only five turnovers Friday at Creighton, matching the team's season-low. Butler has 13 games this season with 10 or fewer turnovers, and the Bulldogs are 11-4 this season when committing fewer turnovers than their opponent.
• The Bulldogs overcame a halftime deficit by scoring 54 second-half points at Creighton. That was the highest-scoring half for Butler in a BIG EAST game since Feb. 6, 2018 vs. Xavier.
• Butler shot 55 percent from the field Friday night at Creighton, improving to 7-1 on the season when shooting 50 percent or better. The Bulldogs are now 13-0 on the season when shooting better from the field than their opponent.
• Following Friday night's performance, Butler has 12 games this season scoring 80 or more (including seven games of 90 or more).
• Butler made 10 of 13 free throw attempts against Creighton. On the season, Butler ranks sixth nationally in free throw shooting at 78.6 percent. Butler has shot 70 percent or better from the line in all but one game.
• Jahmyl Telfort matched his season-high with 26 points Friday night at Creighton. He went 12-for-17 from the field.
• DJ Davis scored 22 points at Creighton, going 8-for-12 from the field. He matched his career-high with five assists, which he has done twice in the last three games.
• Davis made all three of his free throw attempts Friday night. He is now the national leader in free throw percentage at 95.9 percent. Davis is 37-for-38 from the line in BIG EAST play.
• Over the last three games, Telfort (25-for-39) and Davis (23-for-42) have combined to shoot 59 percent from the field.
• Butler's bench out-scored their counterparts from Creighton by a 25-4 margin Friday night. Freshmen Finley Bizjack (11) and Boden Kapke (eight) each scored the most points in a BIG EAST game of their young respective careers.
• Butler has out-rebounded three of its last four opponents and is 12-0 this season when winning the glass.
• The Bulldogs rank 12th nationally, committing just 14.0 fouls per game.
 
Where the Dawgs Stack Up
• Posh Alexander has 499 career assists.
• Alexander leads the BIG EAST and is ninth nationally at 2.43 steals per game.
• Alexander is fourth in the conference and 44th nationally with 5.1 assists per game.
• Pierre Brooks II is third in the BIG EAST in both three-point percentage (43.1) and fourth in three-pointers made per game (2.68). His three-point percentage ranks 15th nationally.
• Brooks is seventh in the BIG EAST in scoring at 16.5 points per game.
• Brooks has six 20-point games this season and has scored in double figures in every game this season.
• Alexander's 51 steals are already tied for 13th on Butler's single-season list.
• Jalen Thomas ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in blocks (1.32) and 13th in rebounding (6.6).
 
Butler vs. No. 1
• The Bulldogs are 3-6 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 in the AP poll.
• Villanova has been the victim of two of those Butler wins, both at Hinkle Fieldhouse (Jan. 4, 2017 and Dec. 30, 2017).
• The third win came at the 2012 Crossroads Classic in downtown Indianapolis as Butler knocked off No. 1 Indiana in overtime, 88-86. Current Butler assistant coach Alex Barlow's turnaround floater caught just about every piece of the rim before falling through the net with 2.3 seconds remaining on the overtime clock. It was one of three shots Barlow took in his 19 minutes of action off the bench. 
 
The Month of Opportunity
• Butler's February schedule includes eight games, all against teams ranked No. 66 or better in the NCAA NET metric (as of Monday, Feb. 5). Four of those games, including the win at Creighton Friday, are on the road. Life in the BIG EAST...