Butler travels to Hartford for a game at Top-10 ranked UConn Tuesday. Butler opened the BIG EAST season Saturday with a 113-110 double-overtime win over Providence.
 
Butler Bulldogs (8-2, 1-0 BIG EAST) at #5/5 Connecticut (10-1, 0-0)
Tuesday, Dec. 16 • 8:30PM
PeoplesBank Arena • Hartford, Conn.
 
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Butler and Providence Just Traded Baskets Again as You Are Reading These Bullet Points
• The Bulldogs and UConn played twice last season; the Huskies won both match-ups by a combined six points (with one of the two contests going to overtime).
• Michael Ajayi led the Bulldogs with season-highs of 28 points and 15 rebounds in the win over Providence.
• His performance against Providence earned Ajayi BIG EAST Player of the Week honors for the second time this season (also Nov. 24 following the Greenbrier Tip-Off).
• Ajayi now has eight double-doubles in Butler's 10 games this season. Ajayi began the season with six consecutive double-doubles. The last Bulldog to have five or more consecutive double-doubles was Gordon Hayward (with five between Feb. 11-March 6, 2010).
• Ajayi is the first Bulldog with 15 rebounds in a game since Bo Hodges against Providence March 10, 2022 in the BIG EAST Tournament.
• Ajayi is second nationally, averaging 11.9 rebounds per game.
• In addition to Ajayi's 28 points, Finley Bizjack scored 26. They are the first Bulldog duo to each score 25 points in the same game since Jahmyl Telfort and DJ Davis against Texas Tech Nov. 30, 2023.
• Evan Haywood scored a career-high 18 points in the win over Providence. His fourth three-pointer of the game (which tied his career-high) was the game-winner with 35 seconds remaining in the second overtime period.
• Drayton Jones had a career-high eight assists to go along with 11 points and seven rebounds. His previous career-high was four assists (twice) during his time at South Carolina State.
• Butler had six players in double figures for the first time since a win at Seton Hall Feb. 5, 2025.
• Despite playing 50 minutes, the Bulldogs committed a season-low seven turnovers.
• Butler held a 50-45 rebounding advantage over Providence and has now out-rebounded nine of its 10 opponents this season. The team's rebounding margin of +9.5 per game ranks 27th nationally.
• The Bulldogs only had six games last season with a rebounding margin of +10 or better but have accomplished the feat six times already this season.
• Butler ranks tenth nationally in offensive rebounding percentage according to KenPom, collecting 40.5 percent of their misses.  
• The Bulldogs went to the free throw line 38 times against Providence, converting 27. On the season, Butler ranks eighth in the nation at 28.8 free throw attempts per game.
• The Bulldogs average 90.1 points per game this season, which is 19th nationally.
• On the season, Butler is hitting 38.9 percent of their long-range attempts, which is 26th nationally.
• Bizjack is second in the BIG EAST in both scoring (18.8 points per game; 60th nationally) and three-point percentage (38.9 percent; 95th nationally).
• Jalen Jackson will have season-ending ankle surgery. He last played Nov. 23 in the Greenbrier Tip-Off. Jackson has announced that he will return to Butler next season.
• Freshman Azavier Robinson has taken over the starting point guard role since Jackson last played Nov. 23 against Virginia.
• Eight different Bulldogs have at least two double-figure scoring games for Butler through seven contests; that includes Haywood, Traore and Robinson off the Butler bench. 
• Butler received votes in both the Dec. 1 and Nov. 24 national coaches polls, the first votes for the Bulldogs this season.
• Butler is averaging 15.9 fast-break points per game, which is 45th nationally.
• The Bulldogs picked up wins over South Carolina and Virginia to win the 2025 Greenbrier Tip-Off.
• Ajayi earned both BIG EAST Player of the Week and USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week honors Nov. 24 after averaging 16.0 points, 14.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game in Butler's two wins at the Greenbrier.
 
One for the Record Books
• Butler topped Providence, 113-110, in double-overtime at Hinkle Fieldhouse Dec. 13.
• The game had 30 lead changes and 20 ties.
• It's the second-highest combined point total in a BIG EAST conference game (223). On Feb. 9, 2002, Notre Dame (116) and Georgetown (111) combined for 227 in a four-overtime contest.
• It marked the eighth time overall that two league teams scored 100 in a BIG EAST game and the first since Jan. 9, 2019 (Marquette 106, Creighton 104).
• It's the first Butler game where both teams scored at least 100 points since Evansville defeated the Bulldogs, 136-128, in double-overtime Feb. 9, 1991.
• It's the fifth-most points scored by Butler in a game in program history (the Bulldogs' 112 points in the Nov. 8 win over IU Indy are sixth in program history).
 
Hubbub on the Huskies
• UConn's defense allows only 61.8 points per game, which is eighth nationally. The Huskies also rank in the Top 20 nationally in field goal percentage defense.
• UConn has four Top 25 wins this season.
• Five Huskies were recognized with All-BIG EAST Preseason honors.
 
History with the Huskies
• Butler and UConn first met in the 2011 NCAA national championship game in Houston, the second of the Bulldogs' back-to-back runs to the Final Four.
• Ten of the 11 match-ups in the series history with UConn have come since the 2020-21 season when the Huskies re-joined the BIG EAST Conference.
 
The Series: UConn leads, 11-0
Streak: UConn, W11
In Conn.: UConn leads, 5-0
First Meeting: April 4, 2011; UConn, 53-41 (NCAA Championship Game; Houston)
Last Meeting: Jan. 21, 2025; UConn, 80-78 (OT) (at UConn)
 
Up Next
The Bulldogs take a break from BIG EAST play to close out the non-conference portion of their schedule. Butler and Northwestern will tip Saturday afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis as part of the Indy Classic. Butler then hosts NJIT at Hinkle Fieldhouse Monday (Dec. 22).