Butler hosts Indiana State Sunday night in the Bulldogs' second exhibition of the season. Butler's Ronald Nored and Indiana State's Matthew Graves are two of the four Butler graduates currently serving as Division I men's head coaches (joining Baylor's Scott Drew and the Miami RedHawks' Travis Steele).
 
Butler and ISU also played an exhibition prior to last season with Butler taking a 105-80 decision.
 
Butler Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) vs. Indiana State Sycamores (0-0, 0-0 MVC)
Sunday, October 18 | 6:30PM | Exhibition
Hinkle Fieldhouse // Indianapolis, Ind.
TV/Stream: WISH-TV and WISHTV.com • Will Haskett & Joey Brunk
Radio/Audio: Fuego 92.7FM, Butler Sports App & ButlerSports.com • @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
 
The Series: Butler leads, 70-57
Streak: Indiana State, W1
First Meeting: Jan. 15, 1904; BU, 28-16
Last Meeting: Dec. 7, 2016; ISU, 72-71 (Regular Season)
 
NOT TO BE 'IG-NORED'
• Graves is a 1998 Butler graduate who finished his playing career with 994 points. He was a member of Butler's coaching staff from 2001-13 and was the lead assistant to Brad Stevens for all four of Nored's seasons as a player (which included the back-to-back national championship game appearances in 2010 and 2011).
• In Butler's first exhibition Sunday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse, visiting Indiana pulled away in the second half, taking a 96-68 exhibition win over the Bulldogs.
• A decisive 24-3 run midway through the second half turned a 54-53 game into a 78-56 Indiana lead with 7:29 remaining in the contest.
• No Butler starter played after the 8:30 mark of the second half.
• Jalen Jackson led Butler with 17 points and Jordan Ellerbee added 16 points for the Bulldogs Sunday against Indiana.
• Eduardo Klafke and Baron Walker each handed out a game-high five assists for the Bulldogs.
• Nored was hired in March at his alma mater after spending the last decade on coaching staffs in the NBA.
• The Bulldogs return five players from last season's roster, headlined by Drayton Jones and Jalen Jackson.
• Jones was one of two Bulldogs to start all 32 games during the 2025-26 season. He led the team by shooting 59 percent from the field last season.
• Jackson led the Bulldogs to a 5-1 start in 2025-26 before his season was ended due to surgery on his left ankle.
• Butler's 10 newcomers include five NCAA transfers, three international players who have yet to play NCAA basketball, and two domestic freshmen.
• Butler's roster has four players from Indiana, five players from five other states, and a total of six international players from five different countries.
• Asim Djulovic starred for Mega Superbet in the AdmiralBet ABA and KLS leagues in his native Serbia. He averaged 12.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
• Samu Adler led his Salon Vilpas team to the Korisliiga league title in his native Finland, earning Player of the Year honors while also being named Finals MVP. He averaged 16.3 points per game during the season.
• Adler played on the Finland National Team in both Feb./March and July, 2026 in qualifying rounds for the 2027 FIBA World Cup.
• Adler has a broken finger on his left hand and will miss Sunday's exhibition against Indiana State.
• Three of the team's incoming transfers averaged double figures last season: Treyson Anderson at North Dakota State, Jordan Ellerbee at Florida Gulf Coast, and Christian Moore at The Citadel; the other two transfers arrive from power conference programs: Eduardo Klafke (Ole Miss) and Samis Calderon (Kansas).
• Anderson shot 36 percent from three-point range and was third in the Summit League in blocked shots during the 2025-26 campaign at NDSU.
• Ellerbee set the freshman season scoring record at FGCU (446 points), which included a 42-point game against Kennesaw State Nov. 26, 2025.
• Nored retained general manager Tony Bollier and assistant coach Jon Diebler as members of his 2026-27 coaching staff. The three assistants that he added to his staff for the upcoming season have each coached on teams that advanced to at least the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament: Kotie Kimble (Final Four at Miami), Jalen Courtney-Williams (Elite Eight at Creighton), and Emerson Kampen (Sweet 16 at Butler).