Butler's 10th BIG EAST contest of the year will be played against Seton Hall on Wednesday night at Walsh Gym. The Bulldogs didn't make this trip last year due to conference scheduling, making the 7 p.m. tip tomorrow the first visit to South Orange on a week night for BU since Feb. 22, 2022.
 
Game Day
Date: Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Location: South Orange, N.J. - Walsh Gym
Live Stats: SHUPirates.com
Watch: FloSports.com – BEDN
 
Bulldog Bits
- Kilyn McGuff recorded a double-double in each BIG EAST game last week.
- McGuff had 15 points and 13 rebounds vs. Creighton and 19 points and 10 rebounds vs. DePaul.
- McGuff's 10-rebound game vs. DePaul moved her career total to 603!
- McGuff leads the team and ranks second in the conference in rebounds per game (8.3).
- McGuff leads the BIG EAST and ranks 22nd in the nation in double-doubles (9).
- BU is third in the league in rebound margin (+4.0).
- Butler outrebounded each opponent last week, winning the battles 30-26 and 36-34.
- McGuff is the seventh-best free throw shooter in the league, connecting on 76 percent of her attempts.
- McGuff went 9-for-10 from the line on Sunday.
- BU leads the conference in free throw attempts (18) and free throws made (12) per game.
- Butler made 19 free throws in their last game, their third highest total of the season.
- McGuff ranks seventh in the conference in minutes played per game (33).
- There were eight ties and 19 lead changes between Butler and DePaul on Sunday afternoon
- Butler leads the BIG EAST in bench points per game (23.1).
- Butler's bench scored exactly 23 points vs. DePaul.
- Sydney Jaynes needs two assists on Sunday to reach 200 in her career.
- Lily Zeinstra set new career-high totals vs. DePaul making five of her 10 shot attempts vs. the Demons.
- Riley Makalusky scored 15 points for BU on Sunday, going 4-for-7 from the field and 7-for-7 from the line.
- It was Makalusky's first double figure scoring game since Dec. 29 (vs. Seton Hall).
 
BIG EAST Standings
UConn 10-0, 19-2
Creighton 8-1, 16-4
Seton Hall 6-2, 14-5
DePaul 6-3, 11-11
Marquette 5-3, 13-6
Villanova 5-4, 11-10
Georgetown 3-6, 10-10
Butler 2-7, 12-10
Providence 2-7, 9-13
St. John's 1-8, 11-9
Xavier 1-8, 6-14
 
Scouting Seton Hall                                                                           
The Pirates beat St. John's on Saturday to improve to 14-5 on the season. Their 6-2 conference record is good enough for third place in the BIG EAST standings. SHU has three players scoring in double figures. Faith Masonius averages 16.8 ppg, Jada Eads is second on the team at 14.2 a game and Savannah Catalon is back on the court with her 13.0 scoring average. Head Coach Anthony Bozzella has a team that leads the league in turnovers forced per game (20.1). They also rank second in the BIG EAST in steals per game (10.8), 3-point attempts per game (24.2), free throw percentage (78.3) and turnover margin. Eads is the best 3-point shooter on the team, Masonius and Amari Wright are top-ten in the league in steals per game and Yaya Lopes is one of the best shot blockers in the BIG EAST.
 
All-Time Series                                                                                                   
Seton Hall leads the all-time series against Butler 18-6. These two programs only met once last year with the Pirates coming out on top at Hinkle Fieldhouse 64-50. Butler split the season series in 2022-23 with a 79-45 setback in South Orange followed by a 76-64 win on Senior Day. That victory broke up nine-straight Seton Hall wins. Butler hasn't won at Walsh Gym since Jan. 4, 2014.
 
Last Game vs. The Pirates                                                                              
Seton Hall secured a 69-49 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Dec. 29. Jada Eads led all players with a career-high 26 points to go with four steals. Faith Masonius had 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Yaya Lops and Kayden Lawson scored nine points apiece. The Pirates held the lead the entire game after a 10-0 run just minutes into the contest. Riley Makalusky scored 11 points, with nine of those coming on free throws. Karsyn Norman scored nine points, all on three-pointers.
 
Close But No Cigar                                                                                           
Butler led DePaul by 11 points with five minutes to play in the fourth quarter, but a 10-0 Blue Demon scoring run sparked a comeback that led to their overtime victory. BU is now 1-2 in overtime games this year and are 0-3 in games decided by five points or less. In the month of January, four of Butler's five losses have been by seven points or less.
 
Closing In on 1,000 Points                                                                             
Kilyn McGuff is only 20 points away from 1,000 in her collegiate career. The Belmont transfer scored 19 recently in a setback to DePaul, pushing her season total to 257. She had 329 points as a sophomore and approached the 300 mark last year. She averages 11.7 points per game and has scored in double figures 14 times this season. She has led BU in scoring six times.
 
600 Club                                                                                                               
Kilyn McGuff had a team-high 10 rebounds vs. DePaul to move her career total to 603. McGuff has 182 rebounds this season, that's already eight more than she had all of last year at Belmont in 33 starts. She averages 8.3 per game and is now on pace to break into the single-season top ten list in the Butler record book.
 
Main Ingredient                                                                                                  
Kilyn McGuff leads Butler in points, field goals, 3-pointers, free throws, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, total rebounds, and minutes played. She and Karysn Norman are the only two Bulldogs to start in every game this season.
 
Makalusky Makes an Impact                                                          
Riley Makalusky is fresh off her best BIG EAST performance of the season. She shot 57 percent from the field on her way to scoring 15 points against the Blue Demons. Her only other double figure scoring game against a conference foe was against Seton Hall when she had 11.
 
Moving In The Right Direction                                                                       
Butler had 67 points against DePaul on Sunday, posting her their highest scoring output of the year against a BIG EAST opponent. The Bulldogs are only allowing 60 points per game in conference action. DePaul was the first BIG EAST team to top 70 points against BU this year. Seton Hall was close in their first meeting at Butler. They recorded 69 points in their win at Hinkle on Dec. 29.
 
What's Missing?                                                                                                
Caroline Strande and Jordan Meulemans are both out for the season. Meulemans was sidelined just days before Butler's first game and Strande suffered a season-ending injury on Dec. 29 vs. Seton Hall. Strande was a Second Team All-BIG EAST selection last year and became the first Bulldog in program history to lead the team in points, rebounds and assists during the same season. Meulemans made 61 3-pointers last year, shooting 42 percent from behind the arc.
 
18 3-Pointers                                                                                        
The Bulldogs set a single-game program record against Saint Francis by hitting 18 3-pointers. Eight different players made at least one 3-pointer and no Bulldog made more than four. As a team, BU shot 56.3 percent from behind the arc, making 18 of their 32 attempts. The old record of 16 was reached two times previously. BU hit 16 3-pointers at Georgetown on Jan. 11, 2014 and the 2023-24 team matched that effort with 16 against St. Thomas in game two of the Tiger Turkey Tip-Off.
 
10 Wins                                                                                                                 
The Bulldogs reached 10 non-conference wins before the start of BIG EAST play for just the second time since joining conference. Butler went 6-2 in November and highlighted that stretch of action with a 56-46 home win over Indiana. The victory came in front of a record-setting crowd of 4,135 fans.
 
Up Next                                                                                                                 
Butler's first game of February will be played in Hartford at the XL Center against #6 UConn. The game will air on SNY and begin at 1 p.m.