The Bulldogs head to Hartford for a Tuesday night tip against UConn.  Butler hasn't played in nearly a week as the team had a BIG EAST "mini-bye" as the team without a weekend conference game. Butler enters the contest off an 82-77 win over Seton Hall Wednesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
 
Butler (8-10, 1-6 BIG EAST) at #19/18 UConn (13-5, 5-2)
Tuesday, Jan. 21 • 7PM
XL Center • Hartford, Conn.
 
TV: FS1 • Jason Benetti & Bill Raftery
Audio: Varsity Network App, SiriusXM 384, XM App 974 & TuneIn • @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
 
• This is the second meeting between Butler and UConn as the Huskies won a 78-74 match-up Dec. 21 in Indianapolis.
• Butler will be done with its home-and-home series with UConn prior to playing DePaul, Georgetown or Xavier once.
• Butler went 23-for-28 from the free throw line in the win over Seton Hall; the 23 makes tied a season-high. Butler's average of 17.4 made free throws per game ranks 26th nationally. The Bulldogs attempt 23.6 free throws per game, which is 34th nationally.
• The Bulldogs committed only eight turnovers against Seton Hall; Butler has single-digit turnover outputs in seven of the last nine games. Butler opened the season with only one single-digit turnover game among the team's first nine outings.
• The Seton Hall win was the fifth game this season that Butler scored more than 80 points and the fifth game that the Bulldogs shot 50 percent or better from the field.
• Butler's 17 assists against Seton Hall tied for the team's second-highest total this season; seven of the eight Bulldogs to see action in the win had at least one assist.
• Butler's bench accounted for 27 points in the win over Seton Hall, one game after the Butler bench held a 24-4 advantage in the Jan. 11 game against Creighton.
• Butler is committing only 14.8 fouls per game, which is the 33rd-fewest nationally.
• Butler is 48th nationally, averaging 36.9-percent accuracy from three-point range on the season.
• The Bulldogs out-rebounded Seton Hall, 31-24, Wednesday night, which included limiting the Pirates to only five offensive rebounds. The +7 rebounding margin was Butler's best against a BIG EAST opponent so far this season. Butler is 6-3 when out-rebounding its opponent this season, but one of those losses came to UConn (as Butler held a 32-31 rebounding edge Dec. 21).
• Pierre Brooks II paced Butler with 19 points in the win over Seton Hall; it was his seventh time this season leading the team in scoring. Brooks leads the team in scoring in BIG EAST play and has registered double figures against each conference opponent.
• Jahmyl Telfort leads Butler in scoring, assists and steals; he ranks third on the team in rebounding.
• Patrick McCaffery led the Bulldogs with 21 points against Creighton Jan. 11, his second-highest scoring output of the season. It marked his third 20-point game of the season and the tenth of his career. He has hit multiple three-pointers in 13 of the team's games, including five twice. 
• Despite the recent success taking care of the ball, Butler ranks 346th nationally in turnover margin (-3.8 per game) as the team generates only 3.5 steals per game (354th nationally) and forces opponents into only 7.7 per game (which is 352nd nationally).
• Butler's win over Seton Hall halted a nine-game losing streak, which was the program's longest skid since the 1989-90 season. Butler's schedule is currently ranked as the 22nd-toughest nationally by KenPom.
• Four different Bulldogs have recorded a double-double this season (Brooks, McCaffery, Telfort twice, Andre Screen); four of the team's five double-doubles have come against BIG EAST opponents.
• The Bulldogs defeated Northwestern and No. 25 Mississippi State in taking the Arizona Tip-Off title over Thanksgiving.
 
First Time Around
• Down 14 in the second half, Butler was able to claw all the way back to briefly tie the game before falling to No. 13/11 Connecticut in the closing minutes by a score of 78-74 in the Dec. 21 contest at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
• Andre Screen led the Bulldogs with a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double in the loss. Patrick McCaffery also scored 17 points.
• Alex Karaban led the Huskies with 21 points, while Liam McNeeley added 17 points and seven assists.
• UConn made 11 of their 24 attempts from three-point range (46 percent).
• Butler got to the free throw 28 times, making 23 (81 percent).
 
Update on UConn
• UConn is 13-5 on the season and 5-2 in BIG EAST play.
• UConn ranks in the Top 15 nationally in several offensive categories: first in assist/turnover ratio (1.9), fifth in assists per game (19.3 per game), tenth in free throw percentage (78.8), and 12th in field goal shooting (49.5). Defensively, UConn's 6.7 blocks per game are second nationally.
• Alex Karaban leads the Huskies at 15.6 points per game, hitting 42 percent of his three-point attempts.
• UConn has lost two of its last three games, including its first home loss of the season it the team's most recent outing (68-63 to Creighton).
 
The Series with the Huskies
• The Bulldogs and UConn first met in the 2011 NCAA Championship Game in Houston.
• The remaining match-ups in the series have come since UConn returned to the BIG EAST prior to the 2020-21 season.
 
Series:  UConn Leads, 10-0
Streak: UConn, W10
In Conn.: UConn Leads, 4-0
First Meeting: April 4, 2011; UConn, 53-41 (NCAA Champ Game)
Last Meeting: Dec. 21, 2024; UConn, 78-74 (at BU)