Men's Basketball: Weekly Release

Feb. 4, 2002

HOME STRETCH: The Bulldogs (20-3, 7-3 Horizon League), having clawed their way back into the Horizon League race, will play four of their final six games at Hinkle Fieldhouse, beginning with two home games this week. First up is a re-match with Detroit (12-9, 6-3 Horizon) on Thursday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. The Titans handed Butler its biggest margin of defeat this season with a nine-point, 63-54, decision in Detroit last month. Detroit will enter the game one-half game behind the second place Bulldogs in the conference standings. Butler will close the week at home with a 12 p.m., contest against Cleveland State (10-11, 4-6 Horizon) on Saturday, Feb. 9.

Butler is 6-2 in Hinkle Fieldhouse this season, but just 2-2 in the Horizon League.

EVENED UP: Butler completed a three-game road swing last week with back-to-back wins over teams that had beaten the Bulldogs this season. Coach Todd Lickliter's squad held on to a slim, 59-58, victory over league-leading UW-Milwaukee when the host Panthers missed a three-point field goal attempt at the buzzer. UW-Milwaukee had beaten Butler, 73-72, on a three-point field goal at the buzzer 11 days earlier. The Bulldogs then closed their tour with a 72-57 victory at Wright State, the team that handed Butler its first loss this season, 90-87, in double-overtime.

Butler has won at least 20 games in six consecutive seasons.

ELITE COMPANY: Butler's winning percentage of .870 (20-3) is tied for fourth best in Division I. Butler, Duke, Cincinnati, Western Kentucky and Gonzaga lead the nation in victories with 20.

Only seven teams in Butler basketball history have won more than 20 games in a season.

HOT 'DOGS: Butler's current four-game winning streak is the longest active streak in the Horizon League. The Bulldogs have won six of seven games since dropping a 63-54 decision at Detroit on Jan. 10. Butler has the overall longest win streak in the Horizon League this season with 13 consecutive victories to open the season.

MULTIPLE OPTIONS: Butler's balanced offensive attack was on full display in the Bulldogs' road wins at UW-Milwaukee and Wright State. Senior Rylan Hainje led four Butler players in double-figures at UW-Milwaukee with 18 points. He scored 16 points in the first half, while leading Butler to a 12-point halftime lead. Joining the 6-6 forward with twin-digit scoring efforts were junior Joel Cornette (12), sophomore Mike Monserez (12) and junior Brandon Miller (12). Hainje and senior Thomas Jackson shared the team scoring lead at Wright State with 18 points apiece, but they received plenty of support from Miller (12), Cornette (11) and junior Darnell Archey (11). Jackson tallied 12 points in the first half against the Raiders, while Hainje notched 14 in the second half. Six different players have led the Bulldogs in scoring in a game this season.

Butler has had at least three players score in double-figures in 18 of 23 games this season.

DOUBLE TAKE: Junior Joel Cornette recorded consecutive double-doubles in Butler's wins at UW-Milwaukee and Wright State. The 6-10 forward 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds against the Panthers and then posted 11 points and a season-high 11 rebounds at Wright State. His last rebound at UW-Milwaukee sealed Butler's victory over the league-leading Panthers. Cornette has had four double-doubles in the past five games.

SCORING SURGE: Brandon Miller has had six double-figure scoring performances in Butler's past seven games and each came in a Butler win. Miller failed to reach twin-digits in Butler's three league losses.

Butler is 30-4 all-time when Brandon Miller scores in double-figures, including 14-0 this year.

HEALTHY EFFORT: Junior Darnell Archey, slowed by an upper-respiratory illness for the past two weeks, scored 11 points in seven minutes in the second half at Wright State. The 6-0 guard hit all four shots he attempted, including three from beyond the three-point arc. Archey had only scored two points in Butler's previous three games.

Darnell Archey ranks 7th on Butler's all-time list for three-point field goals with 123.

BEST OFFENSE: Wright State scored 90 points in a double-overtime victory over Butler, while UW-Milwaukee had 73 points in its last second win at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs held both teams below 60 points in the re-match games. Butler limited UW-Milwaukee, the Horizon League's top-scoring team, to 58 points, while holding Wright State, which boasted the league's second-best offense, to 57. It was the second-lowest point total of the season for both teams. The Bulldogs have held 13 opponents below 60 points this season and have won all 13 games!

Butler ranks fourth in Division I in scoring defense (57.7).

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS: The Bulldogs have out-rebounded their past four opponents, including Loyola, the top rebounding team in the Horizon League. Butler had a 27-26 rebounding edge at UW-Milwaukee, before out-boarding Wright State, 34-20. Butler is 12-0 this season when out-rebounding its opponent.

RAINING THREES: The Bulldogs hit nine 3-point field goals at Wright State and eight at UW-Milwaukee. Butler leads the Horizon League and ranks 15th in Division I in 3-point field goals (8.7).

BULLDOG BITS:

The Bulldogs lead the Horizon League and rank 17th in Division I in scoring margin (+13.3).

Butler leads the Horizon League in fewest turnovers per game (10.2 pg). The Bulldogs also lead the league in turnover margin (+6.26) and assist/turnover ratio (1.42).

Butler boasts three of the top free throw shooters in the Horizon League - 4. Brandon Miller (.859), 9. Rylan Hainje (.746) and 11. Thomas Jackson (.734).

Senior Thomas Jackson leads the Horizon League in assist/turnover ratio (2.76), ranks second in steals (2.22) and stands fourth in assists (4.43).

Forward Rylan Hainje has started 111 games during his Butler career. Point-guard Thomas Jackson has started 92 consecutive games, while juniors Joel Cornette and Brandon Miller each have 55 straight starts for the Bulldogs.

Rylan Hainje and Thomas Jackson both joined Butler's 1,000-point club this season. Hainje currently is 15th on Butler's all-time scoring list with 1,251 career points, while Jackson is 18th with 1,223 career points. Ted Guzek, 1954-58, holds the No. 14 spot with 1,311 career points.

Junior Darnell Archey has connected on 32 consecutive free throws, dating back to last season. He's hit 60 of his last 62 attempts from the charity stripe.

Seniors Rylan Hainje, Thomas Jackson and Scott Robisch are the third-winningest senior class in Butler basketball history. The trio have contributed to 89 Butler victories during their tenure with the Bulldogs. The top spot belongs to LaVall Jordan, who graduated last year after helping Butler to 91 wins, while Mike Marshall and Andrew Graves sit in second place with 90 victories.

According to STATS, Inc., Butler's Rylan Hainje ranks as the ninth most-improved free throw shooter in Division I this season. Hainje has improved from .632 a year ago, to .746 this season.

The Bulldogs are 45-6 in Hinkle Fieldhouse over the past four seasons.

MAYBE YOU MISSED THIS:

The announced attendance of 7,740 for the Butler-Wright State game was the largest crowd to see a Wright State game in the Nutter Center this year. That followed the Butler-UW-Milwaukee game, which drew a Klotsche Center record crowd of 5,015. This season, the Bulldogs have faced a sellout crowd at Ball State's Worthen Arena and played in front of the largest non-league crowd at Purdue's Mackey Arena. The more than 16,000 fans that watched Butler play Indiana in the championship game of the Hoosier Classic set a Conseco Fieldhouse record for the tournament. Butler also faced the biggest crowds of the season at Youngstown State's Beeghly Center and at the UIC Pavilion.