Butler returns to Hinkle Fieldhouse for a Saturday tip against Xavier. Michael Ajayi, Yame Butler and Yohan Traore will be recognized in a pregame ceremony.
 
Butler Bulldogs (14-13, 5-11 BIG EAST) vs. Xavier (13-13, 5-10)
Saturday, Feb. 21 • 1:30PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
 
Follow Along
TV/Stream: TNT & truTV • JB Long, Robbie Hummel & Jared Greenberg
Radio/Audio: 93.5 & 107.5FM The Fan, Butler Sports App, SiriusXM 389, Sirius XM App, TuneIn Radio App & ButlerSports.com • @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
 
Approximately One Word for Each of Thad Matta's 500 Career Wins
• Butler's 93-89 win at Georgetown Wednesday night was Thad Matta's 500th win as a head coach.
• Matta is the 81st head coach to register 500 career men's NCAA Division I wins; his winning percentage of .694 is 19th among active head coaches with at least five seasons of experience.
• It's the second meeting between the teams this season as Xavier picked up an 89-75 win over Butler Jan. 14 in Cincinnati.
• Butler shot 56 percent from the field at Georgetown, their third-best accuracy of the season. The Bulldogs shot 70 percent in the first half (21-30), which was Butler's most efficient half of the season.
• Finley Bizjack led five Bulldogs in double figures with 19 points at Georgetown; his six assists were one shy of his career-high.
• Michael Ajayi ranks third nationally with 16 double-doubles this season; he is fifth nationally in rebounds per game (11.2).
• Ajayi has led Butler in rebounding in 26 of the team's 27 games this season. Ajayi has played 94 collegiate games and has pulled down double-figure rebounds in 40 of them.
• In addition to leading the league in rebounding, Ajayi ranks seventh in the BIG EAST at 15.7 points per game. He is also among the conference Top 15 in minutes played (second), field goal percentage (sixth),  blocked shots (eighth), and assists (13th).
• Bizjack is the BIG EAST's second-leading scorer at 17.5 points per game. He leads the BIG EAST in minutes, averaging 33:25 per game. His 2.4 three-pointers per game also rank third in the conference.
• 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 85.4 percent. In conference games, his percentage jumps to 90.1 percent (82-for-91).
• Butler has out-rebounded 18 of its 27 opponents this season. The Bulldogs have a +3.4 average rebounding margin on the season, which ranks third in the BIG EAST.
• Butler has attempted more free throws than their opponents in 23 of the 27 games this season. The Bulldogs average 25.6 free throw attempts per game, which ranks 18th nationally. Butler was 20-for-26 at the line Wednesday at Georgetown.
• The Bulldogs matched a season-best with only six turnovers at Georgetown.
• Wednesday's game at Georgetown was the sixth time this season that Butler has scored more than 90 points.
• Jamie Kaiser Jr. scored 16 points at Georgetown, matching his second-best scoring output of the season.
• Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor's 12 points at Georgetown were his second time in double figures in a Bulldog uniform.
• 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. 
• Ten different Bulldogs have scored at least 13 points in at least one game this season.
• Eight different Bulldogs have registered at least five assists in at least one game this season.
 
Old Friends
• Thad Matta served as the head coach at Xavier for three seasons (2001-04) following his initial season as the head coach at Butler.
• Butler assistant coach Mike Pegues was on Chris Mack's Xavier staff from 2012-18.
 
Musings on the Musketeers
• Xavier leads the BIG EAST in both three-point percentage (36.8 percent) and assist/turnover ratio (1.76).
• Tre Carroll is the BIG EAST's leading scorer at 18.4 points per game.
• Four Musketeers average double figures in addition to Filip Borovicanin, who averages 9.8 points per game and team-bests in both rebounds (7.8 per game) and assists (4.4 per game).
 
First Time Around
• Xavier captured an 89-75 win over visiting Butler Jan. 14.
• Tre Carroll led five Musketeers in double figures with 29 points.
• Michael Ajayi paced the Bulldogs with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
• Xavier shot 47 percent from the field and had 30 assists on 35 made field goals.
 
Across Three Conferences
• The first meeting between Butler and Xavier came in 1937; of current BIG EAST teams, only Butler's series with Creighton dates back earlier (1933).
• The two programs have been rivals in three different conferences: the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, the Atlantic 10 for a single season in 2012-13, and in the BIG EAST since the 2013-14 campaign when both programs (and Creighton) joined the league.
 
The Series: Xavier leads, 51-27
Streak: Xavier, W4
At Hinkle: Butler leads, 19-17
First Meeting: Jan. 16, 1937; Xavier, 28-26 (at XU)
Last Meeting: Jan. 14, 2026; Xavier, 89-75 (at XU)
 
Up Next
The Bulldogs head to Philadelphia for a Wednesday night tip against Villanova.