After tonight’s men’s basketball game against St. Bonaventure, Butler will officially be halfway through its inaugural season in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
The Bulldogs currently sit in second place in the A-10 standings, with an overall record of 18-4 and a conference record of 5-2.
The two conference losses have come against La Salle on a last-second shot at the end of regulation on Jan. 23 and against Saint Louis on Jan. 31.
Virginia Commonwealth sits at the top of the conference standings with a conference record of 6-2.
Just one game in the loss column separates the top nine teams in the A-10 standings. Only the top 12 go on to the A-10 tournament in March.
The A-10 currently has 10 teams in the top 100 of the RPI, according to RPIRatings.com, second most of any league behind the Big East (13).
Butler is ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25. That marks the eighth consecutive week for Butler in the Top 25.
The A-10 has six other teams that have received votes in the AP, ESPN and USA Today Coaches Polls.
Saint Joseph’s, Saint Louis, Temple and Xavier have all gotten votes in both polls. La Salle and VCU both received votes in last week’s polls.
Butler’s current seniors are 51-8 in Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs have five of their final nine contests on their home court.
BUTLER PLAYERS TO WATCH
Rotnei Clarke—The senior guard leads his team in scoring, averaging 17.1 points per game.
He has scored in double figures 15 times this season.
Clarke is one of 50 players named in the Atlanta Tipoff Club 2012-13 Naismith Early Season Watch List.
Khyle Marshall—The junior forward averages 10.2 points per game, one of five Butler players averaging double figures in scoring.
Marshall also averages five rebounds per game, third best on the team.
Butler is 12-0 this season when Marshall scores in double-figures.
Roosevelt Jones—The sophomore forward has averaged 10.6 points per game on the season, including 13.3 points over the last 10 games.
Jones leads the Bulldogs in rebounds with 5.5 per game.
He also leads the team in assists with 3.6 per game.
Andrew Smith—The senior center is the only active collegiate player to have played in two national championship games.
He is the second-leading scorer for Butler, averaging 11.5 points per game.
Smith became the 34th Butler player to score 1,000 career points during the recent win against Rhode Island.
Kellen Dunham—The freshman guard is averaging 10.6 points per game and 12.4 in Hinkle.
He leads the A-10 and ranks fourth in the NCAA Division I in free throws, shooting at 92.1 percent.
Alex Barlow—The sophomore guard has started in 15 games for the Bulldogs this season.
He is leading his team with more than one steal per game.
Erik Fromm—The junior guard is averaging 3.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
