The Bulldogs close the regular season Saturday afternoon, traveling to Omaha for a tip with Creighton; the Bluejays are receiving votes in both national polls this week. The BIG EAST Tournament begins Wednesday at Madison Square Garden; Butler and Providence will meet in the opening game of the tournament in the No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed contest. Creighton won the first match-up against Butler this season, taking an 80-76 win Jan. 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
 
Butler (13-17, 6-13 BIG EAST) at rv/rv Creighton (21-9, 14-5)
Saturday, March 8 • 5PM CT
CHI Health Center • Omaha, Neb.
 
TV: FS1 • Kevin Kugler & Nick Bahe
Butler Basketball Live (Audio) with @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner): Varsity Network App, SiriusXM 386, XM App 976 & TuneIn
 
• Butler enters the game in Omaha off a 91-78 loss to Xavier Wednesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse. 
• The Bulldogs matched their season-high with 12 made three-pointers against Xavier; Butler has made 10 or more three-pointers in three of the team's last four games after making 10 or more only six times in the first 26 games of the season.
• On the season, Butler ranks in the Top 50 nationally in both three-point percentage (37.0; 41st) and in three-point percentage defense (allowing opponents just 31.0 percent shooting; 47th).
• Butler made 18 of its 22 attempts from the free throw line Wednesday night against Xavier; Butler's season-long free throw accuracy of 74.5 percent is impressive, but the Bulldogs have been stellar over the last three games (a combined 42-for-49 for 86 percent).
• On the season, the Bulldogs average 16.1 made free throws per game, which is 48th nationally.
• Jahmyl Telfort led the Bulldogs with 20 points against Xavier; it marked his 11th 20-point game of the season. Telfort has led the Bulldogs in scoring in 15 of the team's 30 games so far this season.
• Finley Bizjack matched his career-high with 19 points against Xavier. Bizjack has reached double figures 15 times this season after accomplishing the feat only three times during his 2023-24 freshman campaign.
• Creighton fouls the least of any team nationally, committing only 10.9 per game; Butler ranks 17th in the country at only 14.0 fouls per game.
•  Butler had 12 turnovers in Wednesday's loss to Xavier, but the Musketeers converted those into 22 points.
• Xavier out-rebounded Butler, 32-28, Wednesday. The Bulldogs have only been out-rebounded three times in the team's last 13 games (Butler has eight games in that stretch with a rebounding advantage and there are two games where the teams have tied on the glass).
• Butler is 9-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points, including all six of their BIG EAST wins.
• Butler has shot at least 50 percent from the field in each of its six BIG EAST wins.
• Telfort went over 2,000 career points in the Feb. 26 game against St. John's. Telfort currently is tied for 16th in career scoring among active players who have spent their entire collegiate careers at Division I schools. 
• Bizjack is shooting 32-for-68 (47 percent) from three-point range over the last 12 games; he is averaging 14.5 points per game during that stretch, scoring in double figures in 10 of the 12 games.
• Pierre Brooks II has eight 20-point games on the season, most recently leading Butler with 24 points in the Feb. 22 win at DePaul.
• Patrick McCaffery has hit multiple three-pointers in 19 games this season.
• Andre Screen is eighth in the BIG EAST in blocks and tenth in rebounding.
• The Bulldogs defeated Northwestern and No. 25 Mississippi State in taking the Arizona Tip-Off title over Thanksgiving.
 
Both Ends of the Arc
• In BIG EAST games only, Butler offensively ranks second in both points scored (75.0 points per game) and field goal percentage (making 46.6 percent of attempts from the field).
• On the defensive end, Butler's three-point percentage defense in BIG EAST games only ranks second in the conference as Bulldog opponents are hitting only 31.4 percent of their attempts from behind the arc.
 
First Time Around
• Creighton pulled out an 80-76 win over Butler Jan. 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
• Creighton made seven of eight shots during a 21-6 run that took a 52-49 Butler lead with 14:03 remaining and eventually turned it into a 70-58 Creighton advantage at the 6:26 mark.
• Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 26 points to go along with nine rebounds and six blocks; Steven Ashworth scored 22 points and narrowly missed a triple-double with 12 rebounds and nine assists.
• Butler was led by Patrick McCaffery's 21 points and seven rebounds.
• Boden Kapke came off the bench and sparked Butler with a career-best 13 points. Butler had a 24-4 advantage in bench points.
 
Chatting on Creighton
• Kalkbrenner is second in the BIG EAST in scoring (19.1 points per game) and leads the conference in field goal percentage (65.8),  rebounding (8.8 per game) and blocks (2.7 per game).
• Ashworth leads the BIG EAST in assists (6.9 per game), free throw percentage (93.7), and made three-pointers (3.1 per game).
• Creighton is 19th nationally in assists per game (17.1).
• Defensively, the Bluejays rank in the Top 30 nationally in both field goal percentage defense (40.5 percent) and blocks per game (4.7).
 
The Series with Creighton
• A majority of the meetings in the series have come since both programs joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season, but the teams first met in 1933.
• While Creighton holds an 11-3 advantage in Omaha, one of those three Butler wins came last season as the Bulldogs won, 99-98, Feb. 2, 2024.
 
Series: Creighton Leads, 19-12
Streak: Creighton, W2
In Omaha: Creighton Leads, 11-3
First Meeting: Jan. 30, 1933; Creighton, 27-22 (at CU)
Last Meeting: Feb. 15, 2025; Creighton, 80-76 (at BU)