Bulldogs (3-1) vs. South Carolina (4-0)
Friday, Nov. 21 • 2PM
Greenbrier Tip-Off • White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.
 
The Bulldogs travel to West Virginia for the 2025 Greenbrier Tip-Off. Butler will play South Carolina Friday and Virginia Sunday. Northwestern is also part of the event. (Butler and Northwestern will play in the Indy Classic Dec. 20.) This will be the first meeting between Butler and South Carolina. The Bulldogs and Virginia have played only once (a 77-69 Virginia win in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament).
 
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More Bulldog Knowledge
• Butler won the 2024 Arizona Tip-Off in the team's most recent multi-team event (MTE) appearance, taking wins over Northwestern and Mississippi State.
• Butler enters the event at the Greenbrier off its first defeat of the season, falling 87-85 at SMU Saturday.
• Finley Bizjack led the Bulldogs with 18 points on five made three-pointers against SMU.
• Bizjack is 10-for-18 from three-point range over the last two games.
• Butler is 30-for-65 (46 percent) from behind the arc over the last two games. On the season, the Bulldogs are 36th in the NCAA at 40.2-percent accuracy from three-point range.
• The Bulldogs have assisted on 48 of their 59 made field goals over the last two games. Butler ranks 11th in the nation at 21.0 assists per game.
• Michael Ajayi has opened the season (and his Butler career) with four consecutive double-doubles.
• Ajayi ranks tenth nationally at 11.8 rebounds per game; his 8.75 defensive rebounds per game are third in the NCAA.
• Butler is averaging 31.3 free throw attempts per game, a number that is 21st in the NCAA. The team is only converting those attempts at a 67.2-percent clip.
• The Bulldogs are averaging 95.8 points per game on the young season; that ranks 19th nationally.
• Butler's bench outscored their counterparts from SMU by a 30-10 margin Saturday. On the season, Butler is averaging 40.0 bench points per game, which is 23rd nationally.
• Six different Bulldogs have at least two double-figure scoring games for Butler through four contests; that includes both Yohan Traore and Azavier Robinson off the Butler bench.
• Butler has 11 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game; all 11 are also averaging at least 4.0 points per game. 
• Butler has out-rebounded all four of its opponents on the young season. The Bulldogs rank 17th in the NCAA in rebounding margin (+15.0 per game). The Bulldogs only had six games last season with a rebounding margin of +10 or better but have accomplished the feat in three games so far this season. Averaging 46.3 rebounds per game, Butler ranks 18th nationally.
• The Bulldogs opened the season with three straight 30-point wins. Butler also opened the 2023-24 season with three consecutive wins of 30+ points.
• Butler hit 17 three-pointers in the 98-66 win over Chicago State Nov. 11. That was just three shy of the program record and the most by the Bulldogs since Butler hit 17 against Northern Illinois in a 95-68 win Dec. 8, 2018. Thirteen of those makes came in the first half.
• Jamie Kaiser Jr. finished with a career-high 16 points against Chicago State. He registered the first double-double of his career with 12 points and a career-best 10 rebounds against USI in the season opener Nov. 5.
• Butler's 112 points Nov. 8 against IU Indy are the most by the Bulldogs since scoring 144 in a win over The Citadel Nov. 14, 2015.
• Butler's 61 points in the second half of the Nov. 8 win against IU Indy is the first 60-point half for the Bulldogs since Nov. 6, 2023 against Eastern Michigan.
• Butler had 11 blocks in the Nov. 8 win over IU Indy, the most by the Bulldogs since they also had 11 in a Nov. 19, 2022 win over The Citadel. 
• In the season-opener vs. USI Nov. 5, Ajayi and Kaiser became the first Butler duo to post double-doubles in the same game since Aaron Thompson and Bryce Nze accomplished the feat Feb. 9, 2021 against St. John's.
 
Gushing on the Gamecocks
• South Carolina is 4-0 on the season.
• Meechie Johnson leads the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game.
• The Gamecocks average 11.3 three-pointers made per game.
• The USC defense so far this season has limited opponents to only 4.0 made three-pointers per game on 24.6-percent shooting from behind the arc.