The Bulldogs return to action Tuesday night, hosting BIG EAST preseason favorite St. John's at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler enters the game off a loss to Villanova Saturday afternoon; the Bulldogs have lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.
 
Butler Bulldogs (10-5, 1-3 BIG EAST) vs. St. John's (9-5, 2-1)
Tuesday, Jan. 6 • 7PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
 
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Bullet Points on the Bulldogs
• Butler has lost three BIG EAST games; those three opponents are currently a combined 10-1 in conference play this season.
• Michael Ajayi registered his nation-leading 12th double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds against Villanova.
• Ajayi is the national leader in rebounding, averaging 12.3 caroms per game.
• Butler has out-rebounded 13 of its 15 opponents this season. The Bulldogs rank 23rd nationally at 41.9 rebounds per game and have a +8.0 rebounding margin (33rd nationally).
• Butler ranks 16th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage according to KenPom, collecting 38.9 percent of their misses.
• Butler has out-rebounded their opponent by at least 10 in seven games this season (after having only six games of +10 or greater rebounding margin all of last season).
• The Bulldogs went a season-best 13-for-14 from the free throw line against Villanova (93 percent). Over the last six games, Butler is shooting 76.6 percent at the free throw line. The Bulldogs opened the season by shooting only 65.6 percent at the line over the first nine games, shooting 70 percent or better only twice in that stretch.
• The 14 free throw attempts Saturday matched Butler's season-low. On the season, the Bulldogs average 26.1 free throw attempts per game, a mark that is 31st nationally.
• Finley Bizjack scored a game-high 18 points Saturday against Villanova, his best scoring output since Dec. 13 against Providence (26 points).
• Ajayi ranks third in the BIG EAST at 16.3 points per game; Bizjack is sixth at 16.0 points per contest.
• Including most recently at Creighton Dec. 30, Butler has scored 85 or more points in eight games this season; the Bulldogs average 85.0 points per game, which is 61st nationally.
• Butler has committed 10 or fewer turnovers in six of the last eight games (the Bulldogs only had one game among the first seven contests this season with 10 or fewer turnovers).
• Bulldogs among the BIG EAST leaders also include Bizjack (fourth at 2.33 three-pointers made per game), Drayton Jones (fifth at 1.33 blocks per game) and Azavier Robinson (seventh at 1.6 steals per game).
• Through the first 10 games of the season, Butler hit 38.9 percent of their three-point attempts (86-for-221); over the five most recent games, Butler is shooting only 26.7 percent from behind the arc (35-for-131).
• Yohan Traore scored a season-high 20 points to lead the Bulldogs at Creighton Dec. 30; he became the first Bulldog this season to lead the team in scoring off the bench.
• Ajayi went over 1,000 career points (in just 80 career Division I games) in the Dec. 22 win over NJIT. Ajayi has scored 244 points in 15 games so far this season after scoring a total of 221 points in 34 games at Gonzaga last season.
• Thad Matta enters Tuesday's game with 496 career wins as a head coach.
• Eight different Bulldogs have at least four double-figure scoring games for Butler.
 
Red Storm Resume
• BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor leads the Red Storm, averaging 15.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game.
• St. John's is among the nation's leaders in free throw attempts per game (sixth, 28.4), blocked shots (13th; 5.9), and offensive rebounds (14th; 14.4).
• The Red Storm were picked to win the BIG EAST in the preseason coaches poll.
 
Series with St. John's
• The Bulldogs and St. John's first met in the 1958 NIT.
• Twenty-six (26) of the 27 match-ups in the all-time series have come since Butler joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season.
• Eight of Butler's 11 wins in the series have come at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
 
The Series: St. John's leads, 16-11
Streak: St. John's, W6
At Hinkle: Butler leads, 8-4
First Meeting: March 13, 1958; SJU, 78-68 (NIT; NYC)
Last Meeting: March 13, 2025; SJU, 78-57 (BIG EAST Tournament; NYC)
 
Up Next
Butler has the weekend off before returning to action Wednesday, Jan. 14 at Xavier.