The Tip-Off
• Butler closes out the regular season with a Wednesday night tip at Hinkle Fieldhouse, hosting Xavier.
• The Bulldogs own a BIG EAST bye for the final Saturday of the regular season as the other 10 teams will take part in conference games. 
• Wednesday's game will serve as Senior Night with Jalen Thomas and John-Michael Mulloy being recognized pregame.
 
Butler (17-13, 8-11 BIG EAST) vs. Xavier (15-14, 9-9)
Wednesday, March 6;  7:30PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
 
TV: CBS Sports Network - Andrew Catalon & Steve Lappas
Radio: WXNT 1430AM, Varsity Network Radio App, SiriusXM 389, SXM App 979 - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
  
The Series with the Musketeers
• The first meeting between Butler and Xavier came in 1937.
• The two programs have been rivals in three different conferences: the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, the Atlantic 10 for a single season in 2012-13, and in the BIG EAST since the 2013-14 campaign when both programs, along with Creighton, joined the league.
• While Xavier has a 47-26 lead in the series, Butler holds an 18-16 advantage in games played at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
• The teams split the season series in 2022-23 with each team winning on its home court.
 
First Time Around
• In a game that featured huge swings of momentum and scoring runs back and forth, Xavier was able to post an 85-71 win over Butler Jan. 16 at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati.
• The Musketeers held their largest lead of the game at 46-27 in the closing minutes of the first half and an eventual 46-32 halftime advantage.
• The Bulldogs would fight all the way back. A 20-3 Butler run capped by 11 straight points from Posh Alexander (nine on three-pointers) gave the Bulldogs a 60-58 lead with 11:01 remaining in the game.
• Xavier would respond with the next 13 points to take control of the game at 71-60.
• Desmond Claude (26) and Dayvion McKnight (20) paced the Musketeers, who also got 15 points from Quincy Olivari.
• Pierre Brooks II led Butler with 22 points, while Alexander added 21.
 
Series:  Xavier Leads, 47-26
Streak: Xavier, W2
At Hinkle: Butler Leads, 18-16
First Meeting: XU, 28-26; 1/16/1937 (at XU)
Last Meeting: XU, 85-71; 1/16/24 (at XU)
 
Of Note
• Butler earned an 82-63 road win against DePaul Saturday in the team's most recent outing.
• Butler handed out 24 assists (one shy of the team's season-high) against only six turnovers (one more than the team's season-low) in the win over DePaul.
• Butler shot 50 percent from the field against the Blue Demons. The Bulldogs are now 9-1 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field and a perfect 15-0 when shooting a better percentage than their opponent.
• With only six turnovers, Saturday marked Butler's 15th game this season with 10 or fewer turnovers; the Bulldogs are also 12-5 this season when committing fewer turnovers than their opponent.
• Butler only got to the line four times against DePaul, but made each of those attempts. On the season, Butler ranks ninth 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's 24 points led the Bulldogs against DePaul. His five made three-pointers matched a season-high and equaled his output from the previous five games (going a combined 5-for-33).
• Davis also paced the Bulldogs with seven rebounds. Butler's typical starting five has each led the team in both scoring and rebounding in the same game at least once this season (Davis, Thomas and Jahmyl Telfort have each done it twice).
• Davis ranks No. 1 nationally in free throw percentage at 96.7 percent; he has made 55 of 56 free throw attempts in BIG EAST play.
• Pierre Brooks II's 16 points against DePaul were his highest output since scoring 20 points against Georgetown Jan. 23, a stretch of 10 games.
• Andre Screen finished with 13 points against DePaul, the most he has scored in a BIG EAST game this season.
• Posh Alexander handed out nine assists at DePaul, matching his second-highest total of the season.
• Butler's offense put up 82 points at DePaul Saturday. Butler now has 13 games this season scoring 80 points or more (including seven games of 90 or more).
• Butler's 15 NCAA NET ranking Quad 1 games this season are tied for second nationally (along with Baylor and DePaul; Michigan leads the nation with 16 as of Tuesday, March 5).
• KenPom ranks Butler's schedule so far this season as the nation's 11th-toughest slate, while the NCAA NET strength of schedule metric lists it as No. 7 nationally (as of Tuesday, March 5).
• The Bulldogs commit just 13.8 fouls per game, which ranks 12th nationally.
• Alexander leads the BIG EAST and is 24th nationally at 2.17 steals per game.
• Alexander is sixth in the conference and 53rd nationally at 5.0 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 (2.47).
• Jalen Thomas ranks ninth in the BIG EAST in blocks (1.13 per game) and 16th in rebounding (6.0 per game).
• Jahmyl Telfort is fourth in the BIG EAST in minutes per game (34:39).