NCAAB Game Preview - Southern University at Butler

Sat Dec 14, 2019 12:00 PM EST

No. 18 Butler will try to avoid consecutive losses when it hosts Southern on Saturday at Indianapolis.

The Bulldogs (9-1) dropped their first game of the season at No. 11 Baylor on Tuesday, when they made just four of their first 17 shots to fall into an early hole. The defeat ended the program's best start since 2006-07.

Butler coach LaVall Jordan said his team learned a lot from their loss to Baylor.

"We have a lot of respect for Baylor and their program," Jordan said. "They are a tough group and they out-toughed us in the opening stretch. I'm proud of the way we responded and how we fought back. We just couldn't get that basket or two to flip the scoreboard. Our leadership and grit was really good in the second half, but we needed it for all 40 minutes."

The Bulldogs weren't the only team to fall from the unbeaten ranks Tuesday, when No. 1 Louisville and No. 4 Maryland also lost to leave five unbeaten teams left in Division I.

That didn't lessen the pain from the defeat for the Bulldogs, who mounted a strong second-half comeback.

Butler is looking to get back on track. Five of its wins have come against power-conference opponents.

One of the reasons for Butler's solid start is strong defense. They've been outrebounded in only two games this season, including by one rebound in the defeat to Baylor.

The Bulldogs will have to limit their mistakes in Big East Conference play. Baylor turned 11 Butler turnovers into 17 points, while Butler managed to score just five points off 11 Baylor turnovers. Butler entered the Baylor game committing 9.9 turnovers a game, which ranked second nationally at the time.

Butler opened the season with five straight single-digit turnover games, including a season-low five in a win over New Orleans on Nov. 6.

Kamar Baldwin is on a hot streak for the Bulldogs. He scored a season-high 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting against Mississippi on Dec. 3. He added 19 points in the one-point loss to Baylor. Sean McDermott chipped in by making six of his eight shots for 16 points.

The comfort of playing at home should help the Bulldogs, who own the nation's longest streak of consecutive nonconference home wins at 56.

The Jaguars have played a difficult schedule early this season. They lost 85-62 at Wright State on Thursday night.

Damiree Burns and Brendon Brooks each scored 16 points in the loss. Burns also had a team-high nine rebounds. Micah Bradford, who had been averaging nine points, missed all seven of his shots.

--Field Level Media