TIP-OFF: Butler makes its first BIG EAST trip of the season, traveling to #6/6 Xavier for a Saturday match-up. Both teams dropped their BIG EAST openers, but the meeting of ranked teams highlights five BIG EAST games on FS1. Butler is 11-2 overall on the season and ranked #9 in the AP poll and #10 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Xavier enters at 12-1.
THE SERIES: Butler and Xavier are recent BIG EAST rivals, but have a long-standing feud that dates back to a single season in the Atlantic 10 as well as some time together in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now the Horizon League).