The non-conference slate continues for Butler as they welcome Chicago State for a Tuesday night matchup in Indianapolis, Ind.
Butler (2-0) on Saturday defeated IU Indianapolis 112-80 to give the Bulldogs a second straight win to start the year. Butler’s 112 points were the Bulldogs’ most in a game since 2015 against The Citadel.
Jalen Jackson led the Bulldogs, who had all 12 players who played score points, with 17 on 6-of-10 shooting. Finley Bizjack and Azavier Robinson each had 13 while Michael Ajayi had 11 with 14 rebounds.
“We have preached defense from day one this summer … I thought for the most part we did a pretty decent job defensively in the half court,” said coach Thad Matta after the game Saturday. “We didn’t guard the ball once they got past half court. We never got squared back up. We gave him some layups on that, but we got to keep building [on that].
Butler was selected to finish 10th (second-to-last) in the Big East Preseason Coaches Poll. Matta brought in five transfers this season with Ajayi (Gonzaga) being the most notable given his time at Gonzaga and some NBA draft buzz.
Ajayi was named to the Big East weekly honor roll for his performances in Butler’s first two games, including his 24 points and 12 rebounds in their opener against Southern Indiana.
Chicago State (0-2) continues its run of tough midwest teams to start their season as they’ve fallen 92-62 at in-city rival DePaul and 108-86 at St. Louis on Thursday.
Four Cougars scored in double figures in Thursday’s loss led by 19 and eight rebounds from Dailliss Cox. Marcus Tankersley and Stephen Byard each had 15 along with 12 from Braelon Bush.
The Cougars were selected to finish sixth in the NEC preseason coaches poll after finishing with a record of 4-28 on the season a year ago, including 1-19 away from home.
“Our peers recognize the strides we’ve made. We’re hungry to prove ourselves and climb even higher,” head coach Landon Bussie said.
These programs have not matched up since the 1985-86 season when they played each other twice and split the two games, each decided by four points or less.
-Field Level Media
