--/rv Butler Bulldogs (7-1) vs. Boise State (5-3)
Saturday, Dec. 6 • 2PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
 
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The First Bullet Point Here Should be that Red Panda is Performing at Halftime of Saturday's Game
• Saturday's game begins a home-and-home series with the Broncos; the teams will meet in Boise next season.
• Butler and Boise State have played on neutral courts in each of the past two seasons, splitting those match-ups.
• Finley Bizjack scored 29 points in Tuesday's win over Eastern Michigan. The output was one point shy of his career-high (set against Boise State in April at The Crown).
• Bizjack went 6-for-10 from three-point range against Eastern Michigan, with the six three-pointers matching his career-high (also set in The Crown game against Boise State).
• Bizjack leads the BIG EAST in three-point percentage (45.6 percent; 42nd nationally) and is third in the BIG EAST in scoring (19.0 points per game; 59th nationally).
• Michael Ajayi posted his seventh double-double of the season (in eight games) with 19 points and 13 rebounds against Eastern Michigan Tuesday.
• 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 ranks third nationally in both rebounding (12.0 per game) and defensive rebounding (8.75 per game).
• The Bulldogs average 90.0 points per game this season, which is 28th nationally.
• Butler shot 52 percent from the field in Tuesday's win over Eastern Michigan, the team's fourth game this season making at least half their attempts. On the season, the Bulldogs are shooting 50.2 percent from the field. That is tops in the BIG EAST and 35th nationally.
• Butler has out-rebounded all eight of its opponents this season and the team's rebounding margin of +13.0 per game ranks fifth nationally.
• The Bulldogs only had six games last season with a rebounding margin of +10 or better but have accomplished the feat in six of eight games so far this season.
• Butler ranks sixth nationally in offensive rebounding percentage according to KenPom, tracking down 42.4 percent of their own misses.
• Butler's 19 free throw attempts in Tuesday's win over Eastern Michigan were a season-low. On the season, Butler is averaging 29.1 free throw attempts per game, which is 11th in the country.
• The Bulldogs made 11 of their 20 attempts from behind the arc in Tuesday's win over Eastern Michigan with the 55-percent mark being a season-best. On the season, Butler is hitting 41.1 percent of their long-range attempts, which is tenth 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.
• Butler is ranked No. 23 in the NCAA's NET ranking. The rankings debuted Monday (Dec. 1) with the Bulldogs at No. 21. The Bulldogs trail only UConn and St. John's among BIG EAST teams in the NET rankings.
• Jalen Jackson has missed the last two games with an ankle injury. In his place, Azavier Robinson made the first start of his career in the Nov. 28 win over Wright State, finishing with nine points, a career-high four assists, three rebounds and three steals.
• Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor made his Butler regular season debut in Tuesday's win over Eastern Michigan after injuring his ankle in the Oct. 29 exhibition against Notre Dame.
• Butler has 10 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game.
• Butler scored 65 second-half points in the Nov. 28 win over Wright State (94-69). The Raiders held a 32-29 halftime lead, Butler's first time trailing after 20 minutes this season. The 65 points were Butler's largest output in a half since scoring 71 and 73 in the Nov. 14, 2015 win over The Citadel (144-71).
• Butler received votes in both the Dec. 1 and Nov. 24 national coaches poll, the first votes for the Bulldogs this season.
• Butler's defense has guarded the arc well this season; only two of the Bulldogs' eight opponents have shot better than 32 percent from three-point range.
• Butler is averaging 17.3 fast-break points, which is 32nd nationally.
• Yohan Traore scored a season-best 16 points on 6-for-6 shooting from the field in the Nov. 28 win over Wright State. Traore and fellow Butler center Drayton Jones combined for 24 points, making all 10 of their attempts from the field.
• In addition to Ajayi's 14 rebounds in the Nov. 23 win against Virginia (which tied his season-high), Jamie Kaiser Jr. matched his career-high with 10 rebounds and Jones set a season-high with nine boards.
• Six different Bulldogs have at least two double-figure scoring games for Butler through seven contests; that includes both Traore and Robinson off the Butler bench. Evan Haywood has one double-figure scoring performance this season, which also came off the bench.
• In Butler's two wins at the Greenbrier Tip-Off, Kaiser registered more steals (seven over two games) than misses (four over two games - combined 6-for-8 from the field and 6-for-8 from the free throw line).
 
'Bout the Broncos
• Boise State enters the contest with a 5-3 record and has not played since the Maui Invitational Nov. 24-26.
• Andrew Meadow leads four Broncos in double figures, averaging 13.6 points per game. Javan Buchanan (who played his first two seasons at Indiana Wesleyan before transferring to Boise and earning 2024-25 Mountain West Sixth Man of the Year honors), Georgetown transfer Drew Fielder, and UCLA transfer Dylan Andrews also average double figures.
• The Broncos are among the Top 30 teams in the country in defensive efficiency.
• Boise State has averaged 24.8 wins per season over the last four years, earning NCAA Tournament berths three times during that four-year stretch.
 
Bulldogs and Broncos...
• Butler and Boise State have met twice previously, splitting neutral-court match-ups over the past two seasons. Butler's win came in the 2023 ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando and the Broncos picked up a win in the quarterfinals of the inaugural College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas earlier this year.
 
There's No Place Like Hinkle
• Butler is 87-5 in their last 92 home games against non-conference teams.
• Thad Matta is 29-4 at Hinkle Fieldhouse against non-conference opponents as Butler's head coach (which includes the 2000-01 season and since his return in 2022).
 
Up Next
The Bulldogs open BIG EAST play Saturday, Dec. 13 when Providence visits Hinkle. The tip concludes a four-game homestand for the Bulldogs.