THE SERIES Xavier Leads, 43-23 Streak: Xavier, W2 On Neutral Court: Xavier Leads, 4-1 BIG EAST Tournament: Xavier Leads, 2-0 LaVall Jordan (at BU) vs. Xavier: 3-5 GAME 24: #10 SEED BUTLER (9-14, 8-12 BIG EAST) VS. #7 SEED XAVIER (13-7, 6-7 BIG EAST) First Meeting: Xavier, 28-26; 1/16/37 (at XU) Last Meeting: Xavier, 63-51; 2/21/21 (at XU) Wednesday, March 10; 6PM -- BIG EAST Tournament First Round Madison Square Garden; New York, N.Y. BE THE LIFE OF YOUR NEXT ZOOM TV: FS1 - Tim Brando & Bill Raftery GATHERING WITH THESE FUN @BUTLERMBB Radio: 107.5FM/93.5FM/1070AM - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner) FACTOIDS TuneIn Radio App, XM TBD, SiriusXM Internet TBD @BUTLERMBB | #BUTLERWAY | BUTLERSPORTS.COM • Bryce Nze (ankle) and Bo Hodges (calf) are both questionable for Wednesday’s 2020-21 SCHEDULE & RESULTS IN THE METRICS game. • Aaron Thompson will miss the remain- November NET Sagarin KPI ESPN BPI der of the season due to a shoulder injury 25 WESTERN MICHIGAN (FS1) W, 66-62 118 81 134 114 x29 EASTERN ILLINOIS (FS1) PPD sustained vs. Marquette Feb. 17. KenPom # NCAA • Butler and Creighton were the only two December Adj. Efficiency +7.53 110 BIG EAST teams to play all 20 confer- x6 NORTHERN KENTUCKY (FS1) PPD Adj. Offense 102.6 173 ence games this season. BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle Adj. Defense 95.1 59 • Chuck Harris was a unanimous selec- Schedule Strength +13.73 25 x11 KANSAS STATE (FS1) PPD tion to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team. x14 ST. JOHN’S* (FS1) PPD 16 at #7/6 Villanova* (FS1) L, 85-66 ** Through the games of March 8 • Harris scored a career-high 29 points in Crossroads Classic Saturday’s loss to Creighton. 19 vs. rv/rv Indiana (FS1) L, 68-60 • Bryce Golden matched his career-high 2020-21 BY THE NUMBERS 21 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (FS1) L, 76-73 with 19 points at Creighton. x21 DePAUL* (FS1) PPD Butler BU Opponents • Harris is averaging 17.0 points per game 23 PROVIDENCE* (CBSSN) W, 70-64 since Feb. 1, and 19.6 points per game 30 at Providence* (FS1) L, 71-55 63.6 PPG 67.9 -4.3 Scoring Margin over his last five outings. January .412 FG% .457 • Nze has posted five double-doubles this 2 at Seton Hall* (FS1) L, 68-60 .322 3FG% .337 season. 6 GEORGETOWN* (FS1) W, 63-55 7.1 3FG/gm. 6.8 • Butler is allowing only 67.8 points per 9 rv/rv CONNECTICUT* (CBSSN) L, 72-60 .640 FT% .702 game in conference play, which is third in 12 at St. John’s* (FS1) L, 69-57 16 #8/6 CREIGHTON* (FS1) W, 70-66 (OT) 10.7 FT/gm. 11.5 the BIG EAST. 19 at DePaul* (CBSSN) W, 67-53 32.5 Rebounds 33.9 • Butler owns top 10 wins over Creighton x22 SETON HALL* (FS1) PPD -1.4 Reb. Margin and Villanova this season. 26 at rv/rv Connecticut* (FS1) L, 63-51 12.3 Assists 13.4 • Butler is 8-4 at Hinkle Fieldhouse this 30 rv/rv XAVIER* (FS1) L, 68-55 11.5 Turnovers 12.4 season. +0.9 • Freshmen have scored 36 percent of February TO Margin 2 at Marquette* (FS1) L, 70-67 1.1 A/TO Ratio 1.1 Butler’s points so far this season. 6 DePAUL* (FS1) W, 68-58 5.5 Steals 5.1 • Nze is fourth in the BIG EAST at 8.0 9 rv/-- ST. JOHN’S* (FS1) W, 76-73 (OT) 2.0 Blocks 3.7 rebounds per game. 13 at Georgetown* (CBSSN) L, 78-63 • Harris leads the Bulldogs in scoring at 17 MARQUETTE* (FS1) L, 73-57 2020-21 STATISTICAL RANKINGS 12.8 points per game; he has five 20-point 21 at rv/rv Xavier* (FS1) L, 63-51 games. 24 --/rv SETON HALL* (CBSSN) W, 61-52 Offensive 28 #8/6 VILLANOVA* (CBS) W, 73-61 • Butler has committed single-digit ALL GAMES BIG EAST ONLY turnovers in eight games this season, Statistic # BE / NCAA # RANK March Points 63.6 11 / 320 63.2 11 including the team’s most recent game at 6 at #14/12 Creighton* (FOX) L, 93-73 Margin -4.3 10 / 264 -4.6 10 Creighton. BIG EAST Tournament FG% .412 11 / 293 .411 10 • Eight different Bulldogs have led the 10 vs. Xavier (First Round / FS1) 6PM 3FG% .322 9 / 246 .317 7 team in scoring this season; five different 11-13 Madison Square Garden (FOX/FS1) 3FG/gm. 7.1 6 / 186 7.1 5 Bulldogs have posted 20-point games. FT% .640 11 / 323 .640 10 * BIG EAST game Rebounds 32.5 11 / 299 32.3 11 • Harris ranks third in the BIG EAST in Reb Margin -1.4 10 / 235 -2.3 10 free throw percentage (.836) and 11th in Assists 12.3 10 / 231 12.5 9 three-point percentage (.393). Turnovers 11.5 4 / 53 11.6 4 • Jair Bolden is fifth in the BIG EAST at TO Margin +0.9 4 / 121 +0.8 5 2.5 three-pointers per game. A/TO Ratio 1.1 6 / 127 1.1 6 • The 52 points scored by Seton Hall Feb. Defensive 24 are a season-low for a Butler oppo- MBB MEDIA CONTACT ALL GAMES BIG EAST ONLY nent. Statistic # BE / NCAA # RANK • Golden recorded his first career double- Associate AD/Communications .........John Dedman Pts Allowed 67.9 3 / 107 67.8 3 double Feb. 21 at Xavier, including a Office Phone ...............................(317) 940-9414 FG% Def .457 10 / 270 .450 9 3FG% Def .337 6 / 184 .320 3 career-best 12 rebounds. Cell Phone ..................................(317) 491-5462 Steals 5.5 9 / 268 5.6 9 E-Mail ................................ [email protected] Blocks 2.0 10 / 306 1.7 10 Twitter ........................................ @JohnDedman TOs Forced 12.4 7 / 240 12.4 6 @ButlerMBB -- 1 BIG EAST CONFERENCE BIG EAST CONFERENCE BIG EAST CONFERENCE 2020-21 BIG EAST All Games ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM+ BIG EAST Freshman of the Week Villanova 11-4 16-5 Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton, G, Jr., 6-2 Dec. 28 Chuck Harris Creighton 14-6 18-7 James Bouknight, Connecticut, G, So., 6-5 March 1 Chuck Harris UConn 11-6 14-6 Julian Champagnie, St. John’s, G-F, So., 6-8 St. John’s 10-9 16-10 *Sandro Mamukelashvili, Seton Hall, F, Sr., 6-11 BIG EAST Honor Roll *Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova, F, So., 6-9 Jan. 4 Myles Tate Seton Hall 10-9 13-12 Collin Gillespie, Villanova, G, Sr., 6-3 Providence 9-10 13-12 Jan. 11 Bryce Nze Jan. 18 Myles Tate Xavier 6-7 13-7 ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM Jan. 25 Jair Bolden Georgetown 7-9 9-12 Damien Jefferson, Creighton, F, Sr., 6-5 Feb. 8 Chuck Harris Marquette 8-11 13-13 David Duke, Providence, G, Jr., 6-7 Butler 8-12 9-14 Nate Watson, Providence, F, Sr., 6-10 DePaul 2-13 4-13 Zach Freemantle, Xavier, F, So., 6-9 Paul Scruggs, Xavier, F, Sr., 6-4 2020-21 Preseason Coaches’ Poll **Through the games of March 6 ALL-BIG EAST HONORABLE MENTION 1. Villanova (9) -- 99 points Denzel Mahoney, Creighton, G-F, Sr., 6-5 2. Creighton (2) -- 91 Jahvon Blair, Georgetown, G, Sr., 6-4 3. Providence -- 79 2021 BIG EAST Tournament Jermaine Samuels, Villanova, F, Sr., 6-7 4. Connecticut -- 69 5. Seton Hall -- 67 Wednesday, March 10 (First Round) BIG EAST ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM 6. Marquette -- 50 #8 Georgetown vs. #9 Marquette *Chuck Harris, Butler, G, 6-2 7. Xavier -- 47 #7 Xavier vs. #10 Butler Adama Sanogo, Connecticut, F, 6-9 8. Butler -- 37 #6 Providence vs. #11 DePaul *Dawson Garcia, Marquette, F, 6-11 9. St. John’s -- 33 *Posh Alexander, St. John’s, F, 6-0 10. DePaul -- 20 Colby Jones, Xavier, G, 6-5 Thursday, March 11 (Quarterfinals) 11. Georgetown -- 13 #1 Villanova vs. #8/#9 Winner *Denotes unanimous selection First-place votes in parentheses. #4 St. John’s vs. #5 Seton Hall +Due to a tie in the voting, an additional posi- #2 Creighton vs. #7/#10 Winner tion was added #3 UConn vs. #6/#11 Winner Friday, March 12 (Semifinals) Saturday, March 13 (Championship Game) 2020-21 BUTLER ROSTER AND PRONUNCIATION GUIDE No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown/High School/Previous School 0 Campbell Donovan** G 5-11 185 R-Jr. Ft. Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger 1 Bo Hodges G 6-5 210 Sr. Nashville, Tenn./Maplewood/East Tennessee State 2 Aaron Thompson*** G 6-2 195 Sr. Glenn Dale, Md./Paul VI Catholic (Va.) 3 Chuck Harris G 6-2 190 Fr. Ashburn, Va./Gonzaga College HS (D.C.) 5 Myles Wilmoth F 6-9 215 Fr. Chestnut Ridge, N.Y./St. Andrew’s School (R.I.) 10 Bryce Nze* F 6-7 230 R-Sr. Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead/Milwaukee 11 Carlos “Scooby” Johnson F 6-6 230 Fr. Benton Harbor, Mich./Benton Harbor 12 Myles Tate G 6-0 160 Fr. Roebuck, S.C./Dorman 21 JaKobe Coles F 6-7 225 Fr. Denton, Texas/Guyer 24 Markeese Hastings* # F 6-7 210 R-So. Wyoming, Mich./Godwin Heights 25 Christian David*** F 6-6 225 Sr. Milton, Ontario/Vermont Academy 30 Mike Parker F 6-6 210 R-So. Wilmington, N.C./Coastal Christian/Salisbury 33 Bryce Golden** F 6-9 260 Jr. Winchester, Va./Saint James School (Md.) 35 John-Michael Mulloy* F/C 6-10 235 So.