(BUTLER RELEASE)
GAME 12: BUTLER (4-7, 3-5 BIG EAST) AT DEPAUL (2-4, 0-4 BIG EAST)
Tuesday, Jan. 19; 7PM ET
Wintrust Arena; Chicago, Ill.
TV: CBS Sports Network - @HorowitzJason & Chris Walker
Radio: 93.5FM/107.5FM/1070AM - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
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@BUTLERMBB | #BUTLERWAY | BUTLERSPORTS.COM
Coming off a home win over Top 10 Creighton, the Bulldogs make the drive up I-65 for a Tuesday night tip with DePaul.
• No. 8 Creighton is the highest-ranked opponent Butler has beaten since a 101-93 win over No. 1 Villanova, Dec. 30, 2017.
• Butler committed only seven turnovers in 45 minutes of play vs. Creighton in Saturday’s win.
• All four of Butler’s wins have come at Hinkle Fieldhouse this season.
• Myles Tate posted his first career double-double (15p/10r) vs. Creighton.
• With 412 assists, Aaron Thompson is now sixth on Butler’s career list.
• Thompson’s 17 points led Butler vs. Creighton; the Bulldogs are 4-1 in Thompson’s career when he leads in scoring.
• Thompson has shot 50 percent or better in each game he has played this season.
• Jair Bolden is tied for the BIG EAST lead at 2.9 three-pointers per game.
• Bolden has led the Bulldogs in scoring in four of his 11 career games in a Butler uniform.
• Bolden is fifth in the BIG EAST in minutes played per game (34.2)
• Bryce Nze pulled down 14 rebounds Tuesday at St. John’s, his best output in a Butler uniform (he had 17 rebounds in a game while at Milwaukee).
• Nze ranks seventh in the BIG EAST at 7.5 rebounds per game.
• Chuck Harris has scored in double figures in seven of his first 10 college games.
• JaKobe Coles (meniscus - left knee) is out indefinitely.
• Six different Bulldogs have led the team in scoring this season.
• Four of Butler’s top eight players in minutes played this season are true freshmen.
• Four different Bulldogs have posted 20-point games for Butler so far this season.
• Only three Bulldogs have appeared in all 10 games this season.
• Freshmen have scored 38 percent of Butler’s points so far this season.
THE SERIES: Butler and DePaul have played 20 times dating back to 1939, with the 14 most recent coming since the Bulldogs joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season. Butler holds a 13-7 lead in the all-time series, including a 12-2 mark in BIG EAST contests.
The teams split the season series in 2019-20 with each winning on its homecourt. DePaul went 10-of-17 from three-point range in a 79-66 win at Wintrust Arena Jan. 18, 2020. Butler limited the Blue Demons to 1-of-12 shooting from behind the arc and forced 17 turnovers in a 60-42 win at Hinkle Feb. 29, 2020.
Butler Leads, 13-7
Streak: Butler, W1
At DePaul: Butler Leads, 7-4
LaVall Jordan (at BU) vs. DePaul: 5-1
First Meeting: Butler, 39-29; 1939 (at DePaul)
Last Meeting: Butler, 60-42; 2/29/20 (at Hinkle)
FIGHT IN THE DAWG: Butler overcame a 13-point deficit with less than eight minutes to play, pulling out a gritty 70-66 overtime win over No. 8 Creighton Saturday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
For Butler, No. 8 Creighton is the highest-ranked opponent Butler has beaten since a 101-93 win over No. 1 Villanova, Dec. 30, 2017.
Creighton unleashed a 26-3 run early in the second half to erase a seven-point Butler halftime lead and ultimately take a 51-38 advantage with 11:28 to play. At that point in the second half, Butler was 1-of-14 from the field, while the Bluejays hit 11 of their first 13 attempts. A Denzel Mahoney free throw had the CU advantage at 13 again (58-45) with 7:38 to play. Butler closed regulation on a 17-4 run to send the game to overtime.
Butler has limited Creighton’s prolific offense to a combined 10-of-45 mark from three-point range in the last two games at Hinkle. According to Creighton, the Bluejays’ 25 points (first half) were its lowest-scoring half of the season, and lowest-scoring first half since a 24-point showing before the break at Butler last January.
THREE IN A ROW: Redshirt senior Bryce Nze has put together three of the most notable performances of his Butler career over the team’s most recent outings. Nze pulled down 14 rebounds Tuesday at St. John’s. It was his highest total in a Butler uniform (although he had 17 in a game while playing at Milwaukee). In the previous game, Nze had 18 points vs. UConn, tying his Butler scoring high (he previously scored 25 points in a game while at Milwaukee).
Against Creighton Saturday, Nze had 15 points and nine rebounds, knocking down two three-pointers in the same game for the first time in his career.
6-0 PULLS DOWN 10: Six-foot freshman point guard Myles Tate posted a career-high 10 rebounds in his first career double-double Saturday vs. Creighton. It was his second time leading the team in rebounding, as he had eight boards in the win over Providence Dec. 23.
YOUNG GUNS: The highest-rated recruiting class in Butler history has lived up to the billing so far. Four true freshmen are among the top eight Bulldogs in terms of minutes played through Butler’s first 11 games. Chuck Harris, Myles Tate and JaKobe Coles (who is currently sidelined with a meniscus injury) have each scored in double figures in multiple games so far this season and all three have led the team in scoring in a game so far this season. In a six-point game midway through the second half at No. 7 Villanova Dec. 16, coach LaVall Jordan employed a line-up of his four freshmen alongside John-Michael Mulloy, who played a total of 76 minutes as a freshman last season.
Harris was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week by the conference office Dec. 28. Harris is the third Bulldog to earn Freshman of the Week honors since the Bulldogs joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season. He joins Kelan Martin (final week of the 2014-15 regular season) and Kamar Baldwin (twice during the 2016-17 season) on that list.
For the season, Harris is third among the Bulldogs with an average of 11.0 points per game. He has scored in double figures in seven of his nine collegiate contests. Among true freshmen in the BIG EAST, only Marquette’s Dawson Garcia (at 13.4 points per game) is averaging more.
Tate recorded a career-high 22 points Jan. 2 at Seton Hall. His output included a career-best five three-pointers.
Tate became the fourth different Bulldog (and second true freshman) to register a game of 20 or more points through the team’s first seven games. Last season, only Kamar Baldwin and Sean McDermott scored more than 20 points in a game.
Tate is among three true freshman who led the team in scoring through the first seven games of the season.
This is only the third season since 2008-09 that three true freshmen have started a game for Butler: 2020-21 (Tate, Harris, Coles); 2011-12 (Roosevelt Jones, Kameron Woods, Jackson Aldridge); and 2008-09 (Gordon Hayward, Shelvin Mack, Ron Nored).
TIGHT SQUEEZE: Butler turned the ball over only seven times in 45 minutes of play in Saturday’s win over Creighton. The Bulldogs committed only six turnovers in the Jan. 6 win over Georgetown, matching the team’s fewest turnovers in a game so far this season. Butler’s average of only 11.2 turnovers per game is second in the BIG EAST and 39th nationally.
This continues a strong trend from last season. Butler had 14 games last season with 10 or fewer turnovers.
YOU WANT HIM BEHIND THAT LINE; YOU NEED HIM BEHIND THAT LINE: Graduate transfer Jair Bolden is off to a hot start in his Butler career. Bolden’s average of 2.9 three-pointers per game is tied for the BIG EAST lead (and 45th nationally), while his three-point percentage of 42.1 percent is in the Top 50 nationally. Bolden is second on the team at 12.8 points per game.
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