By now, most everyone knows that Butler and Georgetown have a pretty friendly off-the-court relationship, mainly because of “The Big Dogs Tour” and the adorable pictures and videos of Butler Blue III (“Trip”) and Georgetown’s bulldog, Jack.

That’s all fine and well, but at 5:00 Saturday, the Bulldogs and Hoyas will go at each other in a Big East battle in the nation’s capital. And everyone knows that a Big East battle can be downright rough, tough, mean, and season-altering. As the conference foes beat each other up night after night, each win means a little more than the last. Coming off an upset of No. 21 Seton Hall Tuesday night, Butler looks to keep the momentum rolling against the Hoyas. Tip-off is at 5:00 on Fox Sports 1.

Tale of the Tape

Butler Bulldogs (13-5 overall, 3-2 Big East)

• The Bulldogs have been going through some ups and downs this year, and are currently on an upswing, coming off two straight Big East wins (Xavier, Seton Hall).
• The Bulldogs are the only Big East team with two conference road wins this season.
• Junior Kellen Dunham continues to lead the team with 16.8 points per game, but junior Roosevelt Jones, in his typical unorthodox fashion, is certainly making an impact in his comeback season
  • Jones is averaging 12.2 PPG, 5.8 rebounds per game, and 3.9 assists per game

Georgetown Hoyas (11-5, 3-2)

• D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, a preseason Big East Player of the Year candidate, doesn’t quite have the gaudy numbers many expected, but he leads the team with a solid 15 PPG and 3.6 assists per game.
• The Hoyas are coming off a 78-72 road win against a pesky DePaul team.
• The 6-foot-10, 350 pound monster that is Joshua Smith made ESPN’s list of 10 college basketball players that could play football.

Round 2 – Ding, Ding!

While it is the first official Big East game between the Hoyas and Bulldogs, this is their second meeting of the season. Butler beat Georgetown in the third place consolation game at the Battle 4 Atlantis in late November. Dunham and Georgetown’s Isaac Copeland each had 16 points in that game. Dunham has continued to pour in the points, while Copeland has scored over six points just one time since then. The Hoyas will be looking for a bench player to step up as an X-Factor Saturday.

Butler’s post duo of senior Kameron Woods and sophomore Andrew Chrabascz handled the big bruiser Smith well in November, limiting him to just seven points and nine rebounds. Defending the post has been a strong point of the Bulldogs this season, so that should be one of the keys to victory in D.C. for Butler.