Butler returns to action Wednesday evening, hosting No. 6/5 Connecticut at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The game serves as Butler's annual Project 44 game, honoring the legacy of the late Andrew Smith.
 
Butler Bulldogs (13-11, 4-9 BIG EAST) vs. #6/5 Connecticut (22-2, 12-1)
Wednesday, Feb. 11 • 7:30PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
 
Follow Along
TV/Stream: TNT & truTV • Spero Dedes, Robbie Hummel & Jared Greenberg
Radio/Audio: Fuego 92.7FM The Fan, Butler Sports App, SiriusXM 389, Sirius XM App, TuneIn Radio App & ButlerSports.com • @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner
(@n_gardner)
 
Notable Notes of Note
• It's the second meeting between the teams this season as UConn defeated Butler, 79-60, Dec. 16 in Hartford.
• Butler is 9-4 this season at Hinkle, including a 3-3 mark in BIG EAST games.
• The Bulldogs enter the contest off a 70-55 road loss at Marquette Saturday. The 55 points were a season-low for Butler.
• Butler has the BIG EAST's second-leading scorer in Finley Bizjack (17.9 points per game) and the conference's leading rebounder in Michael Ajayi (11.6 per game).
• Ajayi pulled down 19 rebounds at Marquette Saturday and had a season-best 20 rebounds in the Dec. 20 win over Northwestern. Entering this season, there were only 15 games in Butler history where a Bulldog had 19 or more rebounds. 
• Ajayi is third nationally in rebounding and his 15 double-doubles rank fourth nationally. He has led the Bulldogs in rebounding in 23 of the team's 24 games this season.
• Bizjack has scored 20 or more points in seven of Butler's 13 BIG EAST games this season, including tying his career-high with 30 points Feb. 4 at Providence. Bizjack has 11 20-point games this season.
• Bizjack ranks second in the BIG EAST in free throw shooting at 86 percent. In conference games, his percentage jumps to 91.5 percent (75-for-82).
• In addition to leading the league in rebounding, Ajayi ranks fifth in the BIG EAST at 15.8 points per game. He is also among the conference Top 15 in minutes played (second), field goal percentage (sixth),  blocked shots (12th), and assists (13th).
• Thad Matta enters Wednesday's game with 499 career wins as a head coach.
• Freshman guard Azavier Robinson will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season due to a left wrist injury that requires surgery. Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor has started the last two games since Robinson was injured.
• Butler was also without Jamie Kaiser Jr. (illness) in Saturday's loss to Marquette. Evan Haywood made his first start of the season in his place.
• Butler has out-rebounded 18 of its 24 opponents this season, including a 43-30 advantage over Marquette Saturday. The Bulldogs have a +4.2 average rebounding margin on the season, which ranks third in the BIG EAST.
• Butler has attempted more free throws than their opponents in 21 of the 24 games this season. The Bulldogs average 26.2 free throw attempts per game, which ranks 15th nationally.
• Butler's ability to get to the line coupled with fouling only 15.6 times per game (43rd nationally) has allowed the Bulldogs to make more free throws (442) than their opponents have attempted (389) so far this season. That ratio is also true in BIG EAST games with Butler making 244 compared to opponents attempting 230.
• Over Butler's current four-game losing streak, the Bulldogs have made only 25 total three-pointers (on 31.6-percent shooting) while the four opponents have combined for 42 trifectas (on 42.4-percent shooting).
• Drayton Jones pulled down a season-best 10 rebounds Feb. 4 at Providence; it marked the fourth game of his career with double-digit rebounds.
• Ten different Bulldogs have scored at least 13 points in at least one game this season.
 
Comments on Connecticut
• UConn's defense allows only 64.5 points per game, a mark that leads the BIG EAST and is 13th nationally. Opponents shoot only 39.5 percent from the field against the Huskies, who also block 5.4 shots per game (14th nationally).
• Five Huskies average double figures, led by Solo Ball and Tarris Reed Jr. at 14.0 points per game. Reed's 7.7 rebounds per game are fifth in the BIG EAST. Silas Demary Jr. lead the conference in assists (6.1 per game).
 
First Time Around
• Connecticut's defensive pressure limited Butler to 30-percent shooting as the Huskies took a 79-60 win Dec. 6 in Hartford.
• Solo Ball led UConn with 26 points. Tarris Reed Jr. added 16 points.
• UConn shot 51 percent for the game.
• The Huskies' defense had 13 blocks on the night.
 
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.
• Eleven of the 12 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, 12-0
Streak: UConn, W12
At Hinkle: UConn leads, 5-0
First Meeting: April 4, 2011; UConn, 53-41 (NCAA Championship Game)
Last Meeting: Dec. 16, 2025; UConn, 79-60 (at UConn)
 
Andrew Smith and Project 44
• Butler annually partners with Project 44 at a home game to highlight the organization's mission to create awareness for the national bone marrow registry.
• Launched in 2016, Project 44 was created in honor of the late Andrew Smith. Wearing No. 44, Andrew was a beloved member of Butler's two-time NCAA Men's Basketball national championship game teams. On Jan. 12, 2016, at the age of 25, Andrew passed away following a two-year battle with cancer.
• Having been a personal recipient of a bone marrow transplant in November of 2015, Andrew and his wife Samantha were blessed with an additional three months together.
 
Up Next
The Bulldogs continue a two-game homestand, hosting Seton Hall Sunday at 6 p.m. at Hinkle Fieldhouse.