Butler returns to action Sunday, hosting Seton Hall at Hinkle Fieldhouse. It's the second meeting between the teams this season as Butler defeated then No. 25 Seton Hall, 77-66, Jan. 17 in Newark. Butler will recognize its most recent induction class to the Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the game.
 
Butler Bulldogs (13-12, 4-10 BIG EAST) vs. Seton Hall (17-8, 7-7)
Sunday, Feb. 15 • 6PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
 
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• Butler is 9-5 this season at Hinkle.
• The Bulldogs enter the contest off an 80-70 loss to No. 6/5 UConn Wednesday.
• The Bulldogs shot 46 percent from the field in the contest, assisting on 21 of their 25 made field goals.
• Led by double figures from both Yohan Traore and Jamie Kaiser Jr., Butler held a 26-8 advantage in bench points.
• Drayton Jones and Traore combined to make 11 of their 13 attempts from the field, registering 29 points between them. With 15 points, Jones led the Bulldogs in scoring for the second time this season.
• Evan Haywood matched his career-high with four made three-pointers, which gave him 12 points in the game.
• Michael Ajayi's statline included a career-high six assists, five rebounds, three blocks and three steals to go along with his seven points.
• Finley Bizjack, who entered the game as the BIG EAST's second-leading scorer at 17.9 points per game, was limited to five points and left the game early with a left wrist sprain. His status is day-to-day.
• UConn shot 51 percent from the field, including 13-for-31 from three-point range, in taking the win Wednesday.
• Ajayi leads the BIG EAST and is fifth nationally in rebounding (11.3 per game). His 15 double-doubles rank fifth nationally. He has led the Bulldogs in rebounding in 24 of the team's 25 games this season.
• Ajayi pulled down 19 rebounds at Marquette Feb. 7 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. 
• Bizjack has scored 20 or more points in seven of Butler's 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 third in the BIG EAST in free throw shooting at 85.6 percent. In conference games, his percentage jumps to 90.7 percent (78-for-86).
• In addition to leading the league in rebounding, Ajayi ranks sixth in the BIG EAST at 15.5 points per game. He is also among the conference Top 15 in minutes played (first), field goal percentage (sixth),  blocked shots (ninth), and assists (13th).
• Thad Matta enters Sunday's game with 499 career wins as a head coach.
• Azavier Robinson will have season-ending surgery on his left wrist in the coming days. Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor has started the last three games since Robinson was injured.
• Butler has out-rebounded 18 of its 25 opponents this season. The Bulldogs have a +3.8 average rebounding margin on the season, which ranks third in the BIG EAST.
• Butler has attempted more free throws than their opponents in 22 of the 25 games this season. The Bulldogs average 25.8 free throw attempts per game, which ranks 18th nationally.
• Over Butler's current five-game losing streak, their opponents have combined for 55 made three-pointers (on 42.3-percent shooting).
• Ten different Bulldogs have scored at least 13 points in at least one game this season.
 
Stuff on Seton Hall
• The Pirates' defense is ranked among the Top 25 nationally in several statistics: points allowed (65.4 per game; 17th), steals (9.6 per game, 11th), blocks (5.4 per game, 13th), and turnovers forced per game (15.1; 19th).
• Three Pirates average double figures, led by Adam "Budd" Clark (12.7 points per game).
• Seton Hall makes 4.9 three-pointers per game, which is 357th nationally; the Pirates shoot 31.4 percent from behind the arc.
 
First Time Around
• Butler went on the road and picked up a 77-66 win over No. 25 Seton Hall Jan. 17 at the Prudential Center.
• Finley Bizjack led the Bulldogs with 25 points.
• Butler went 33-for-41 (80.5 percent) from the free throw line in the win.
• Butler's defense held Seton Hall to 36-percent shooting from the field and the Pirates hit only three of their 17 attempts from behind the arc.
• Butler committed only eight turnovers against the Pirates' pressure defense.
• The 77 points scored by Butler are the third-most by a Seton Hall opponent this season.
 
Previously with the Pirates
• All 27 meetings in the series have come since Butler joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season.
• Butler also won both match-ups between the two teams during the 2024-25 campaign.
• The Bulldogs opened the series by winning seven of the first eight match-ups.
 
The Series: Seton Hall leads, 14-13
Streak: Butler, W3
At Hinkle: Tied, 6-6
First Meeting: Jan. 29, 2014; Butler, 64-57 (at SHU)
Last Meeting: Jan. 17, 2026; Butler, 77-66 (at SHU)
 
Up Next
The Bulldogs travel to the nation's capital for a Wednesday night tip at Georgetown before returning to Hinkle to host Xavier Saturday (Feb. 21).