The Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team represents Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. The school's team currently competes in the Big East Conference. They play their home games at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

History

Butler won the national Amateur Athletic Union tournament in 1924, and were crowned national champions by the Veterans Athletes of Philadelphia in 1929.

The Bulldogs competed as part of the Horizon League since its founding in 1979, and played basketball in other regional conferences before that, including the Missouri Valley Conference. In 2012 they left the Horizon League for the Atlantic 10 and the year after, moved to the Big East.

Despite having played in a mid-major conference, Butler rose to national prominence in the late 1990s. They ranked in most media polls for all but a few weeks from the 2006–07 season to the 2011–12 season, and competed in the postseason every year since 1997, except for 2004, 2005, and 2014. In the 2010 NCAA tournament, Butler was the National runner-up to Duke, advancing to the National Championship Game after defeating Michigan State in the Final Four. With a total enrollment of only 4,500 students, Butler is the smallest school to play for a national championship since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.Neville, Susan S.,Butler's Big Dance. Indiana University Press, 2010 The Bulldogs also went to the championship game in the following NCAA tournament, falling to UConn after defeating VCU in the Final Four. With the victory over VCU, Butler became the first mid-major program to reach the championship game in successive seasons since 1979, when seeding of the tournament began, and the only team from the state of Indiana to reach back-to-back championship games.

After spending one season in the Atlantic 10 Conference, Butler moved into the realigned basketball-only Big East Conference for the 2013–14 season. Their first season was mediocre, finishing 9th out of 10 teams with a 14–17 record, their first losing record since 2004–05. In their second season, despite being picked to finish 7th, the Bulldogs surprised many by finishing tied for second place in the conference. Butler finished the 2015–16 season in a tie for fourth place in Big East play with a record of 21–11, 10–8 in conference and receiving a bid to the NCAA tournament where they advanced to the Second Round.

Basketball community Because of the school's history of basketball success, location in the heart of the land of "Hoosier Hysteria", and lack of a scholarship football program, the Butler University fan base is primarily basketball-oriented. Other athletics enjoy substantial followings of current students and alumni, but only basketball has garnered interest from a national audience.

Two studies estimated that television, print, and online news coverage of Butler's 2010 and 2011 appearances in the NCAA tournament championship game resulted in additional publicity for the university worth about $1.2 billion. In an example of the "Flutie effect", applications rose by 41% after the 2010 appearance. In June 2011, USA Today ranked Butler as one of the top five colleges making use of social media. Specific to basketball, Butler's mascot, Butler Blue, the men's basketball program, head coach Thad Matta, and other coaches have university-endorsed Twitter accounts. Also, online communities Butler Hoops and /r/ButlerUniversity exist to facilitate discussion among fans.

In recent years, the Butler program has also received national attention for its philosophy to the game, which it calls "The Butler Way". At its core, The Butler Way calls for complete commitment and exalts teamwork above self.

Postseason

NCAA tournament results The Bulldogs have appeared in 16 NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 24–16.

1962 – First RoundSweet SixteenRegional Third Place Game Bowling GreenKentuckyWestern Kentucky W 56–55L 60–81W 87–86 1997 No. 14 First Round No. 3 Cincinnati L 69–86 1998 No. 13 First Round No. 4 New Mexico L 62–79 2000 No. 12 First Round No. 5 Florida L 68–69 OT 2001 No. 10 First RoundSecond Round No. 7 Wake ForestNo. 2 Arizona W 79–63L 52–73 2003 No. 12 First RoundSecond RoundSweet Sixteen No. 5 Mississippi StateNo. 4 LouisvilleNo. 1 Oklahoma W 47–46W 79–71L 54–65 2007 No. 5 First RoundSecond RoundSweet Sixteen No. 12 Old DominionNo. 4 MarylandNo. 1 Florida W 57–46W 62–59L 57–65 2008 No. 7 First RoundSecond Round No. 10 South AlabamaNo. 2 Tennessee W 81–61L 71–76 OT 2009 No. 9 First Round No. 8 LSU L 71–75 2010 No. 5 First RoundSecond RoundSweet SixteenElite EightFinal FourNational Championship Game No. 12 UTEPNo. 13 Murray StateNo. 1 SyracuseNo. 2 Kansas StateNo. 5 Michigan StateNo. 1 Duke W 77–59 W 54–52W 63–59W 63–56 W 52–50 L 59–61 2011 No. 8 First RoundSecond RoundSweet SixteenElite EightFinal FourNational Championship Game No. 9 Old DominionNo. 1 PittsburghNo. 4 WisconsinNo. 2 FloridaNo. 11 VCUNo. 3 Connecticut W 60–58W 71–70W 61–54W 74–71 OTW 70–62L 41–53 2013 No. 6 First RoundSecond Round No. 11 BucknellNo. 3 Marquette W 68–56 L 72–74 2015 No. 6 First RoundSecond Round No. 11 TexasNo. 3 Notre Dame W 56–48 L 64–67 OT 2016 No. 9 First RoundSecond Round No. 8 Texas TechNo. 1 Virginia W 71–61 L 69–77 2017 No. 4 First RoundSecond RoundSweet Sixteen No. 13 WinthropNo. 12 Middle TennesseeNo. 1 North Carolina W 76–64 W 74–65 L 80–92 2018 No. 10 First RoundSecond Round No. 7 ArkansasNo. 2 Purdue W 79–62 L 73–76 *Following the introduction of the "First Four" round in 2011, the Round of 64 and Round of 32 were referred to as the Second Round and Third Round, respectively, from 2011 to 2015. Then from 2016 moving forward, the Round 64 and Round of 32 will be called the First and Second rounds, as they were prior to 2011.

NIT results The Bulldogs have appeared in ten National Invitation Tournaments. Their combined record is 5–10.

1958 N/A First Round St. John's L 69–76 1959 N/A First RoundQuarterfinals FordhamBradley W 94–80L 77–83 1985 N/A First Round Indiana L 57–79 1991 N/A First Round Wyoming L 61–63 1992 N/A First Round Purdue L 56–82 1999 N/A First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinals BradleyOld DominionClemson W 51–50W 75–68L 69–89 2002 N/A First RoundSecond Round Bowling GreenSyracuse W 81–69L 65–66 2006 #8 Opening RoundFirst Round Miami (OH)Florida State W 53–52L 63–67 2019 #5 First Round Nebraska L 76–80 2024 #4 First Round Minnesota L 72–73

CBI results The Bulldogs have appeared in one College Basketball Invitational. Their record is 2–1.

2012 First RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals DelawarePennPittsburgh W 75–58W 63–53L 62–68 OT

CBC results Butler has appeared in the College Basketball Crown once. Their overall record is 1–1.

2025 First RoundQuarterfinals UtahBoise State W 86–84L 93–100

Professional players Bulldogs in the NBA All-time NBA/ABA players NBA & ABA players who attended Butler University

Jerry Steiner 1940 No NBA 1945–47 Bob Evans 1949 Round 4 1949–50 Ralph O'Brien 1950 Round 6 Pick 68 1950–53 Billy Shepherd 1972 Undrafted 1972–75 Gordon Hayward 2010 Round 1 Pick 9 2010–24 NBA All-Star (2017) Shelvin Mack 2011 Round 2 Pick 34 2011–19 Kelan Martin 2018 Undrafted 2019–22 Sean McDermott 2020 Undrafted 2020–21

Bulldogs in the NBA G-League 2026 Michael Ajayi PF Greensboro Swarm Hornets 2025 Jahmyl Telfort SF San Diego Clippers Clippers 2020 Sean McDermott SF Valley Suns Suns

Bulldogs in international leagues Current players overseas 2025 Patrick McCaffery PF CS Vâlcea 1924 2025 Pierre Brooks II SF Tecnoswitch Ruvo Di Puglia 2025 Andre Screen C Kapfenberg Bulls 2022 Bryce Nze PF Dinamo Sassari 2022 Bo Hodges SF Uni Baskets Münster 2022 Christian David SF Blackwater Bossing 2020 Kamar Baldwin PG Bayern Munich 2020 Jordan Tucker SF Promitheas Patras 2019 Paul Jorgensen PG Básquet Coruña 2018 Kelan Martin SF UCAM Murcia CB 2018 Tyler Wideman PF Nuova Pallacanestro Vigevano 1955

All-time players overseas The following former Butler Bulldogs have played professionally in leagues outside of the United States.

Jermaine Guice Thomas Jackson Ryan Hainje Brandon Polk A.J. Graves Mike Green Matt Howard Shelvin Mack Rotnei Clarke

Coaching history Harlan Page1920–192698–36.7310Tony Hinkle1926–1942; 1945–1970560–392.58861Frank Hedden1942–194518–15.5450George Theofanis1970–197779–105.4292Joe Sexson1977–1989143–188.4321Barry Collier1989–2000196–132.59823Thad Matta2000–2001; 2022–202687–77.53011Todd Lickliter2001–2007131–61.68232Brad Stevens2007–2013166–49.77245Brandon Miller2013–201414–17.4520Chris Holtmann2014–201770–31.69303LaVall Jordan2017–202283–74.52901Ronald Nored2026–present0–0.00000

Awards and honors Hall of Fame inductees Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Harlan Page (Coach) – 1962 Tony Hinkle (Coach) – 1965

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Tony Hinkle (Coach) – 2006 Harlan Page (Coach) – 2006

Individual coaching honors 2007 Todd Lickliter NABC 1956 Tony Hinkle Indiana Collegiate 1961 Tony Hinkle Indiana Collegiate 1962 Tony Hinkle Indiana Collegiate 1973 George Theofanis Indiana Collegiate 1977 George Theofanis Indiana Collegiate 1978 Joe Sexson Indiana Collegiate 1984 Joe Sexson Horizon League 1991 Barry Collier Horizon League 1997 Barry Collier Horizon League 1999 Barry Collier Horizon League 2000 Barry Collier Horizon League 2001 Thad Matta Horizon League 2005 Todd Lickliter Horizon League 2007 Todd Lickliter Horizon League 2009 Brad Stevens Horizon League 2010 Brad Stevens Horizon League 2017 Chris Holtmann Big East

Individual Player honors 2003 Brandon Miller Guard Chip Hilton Award 2008 Mike Green Guard Chip Hilton Award, Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award 2010 Matt Howard Forward Elite 88 Award 2011 Matt Howard Forward Academic All-American of the Year, Elite 88 Award 2015 Alex Barlow Guard Senior CLASS Award 1949 Ralph "Buckshot" O'Brien Mid-American Conference 1962 Tom Bowman Indiana Collegiate Conference 1977 Wayne Burris Indiana Collegiate Conference 1978 Tom Orner Indiana Collegiate Conference 1991 Darin Archbold Horizon League 1997 Jon Neuhouser Horizon League 2002 Rylan Hainje Horizon League 2006 Brandon Polk Horizon League 2008 Mike Green Horizon League 2009 Matt Howard Horizon League 2010 Gordon Hayward Horizon League

2014 Alex Barlow Guard Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year 2015 Alex Barlow Guard Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Big East Sportsmanship Award 2016 Kellen Dunham Guard Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Big East Sportsmanship Award 2018 Tyler Wideman Forward Big East Sportsmanship Award 2019 Nate Fowler Center Big East Sportsmanship Award 2019 Paul Jorgensen Guard Big East Sixth Man of the Year 2020 Kamar Baldwin Guard Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Big East Sportsmanship Award

All-Conference team selectionsYearNamePos.Conf.1980 †GMCC1981 †FMCC1982 †FMCC1983 †FMCC1983 ‡FMCC1984 †FMCC1985 †CMCC1986 †CMCC1987 †GMCC1987 ‡FMCC1988 †CMCC1988 ‡FMCC1989 †FMCC1991 †FMCC1992 †FMCC1993 ‡GMCC1994 †GMCC1994 ‡FMCC1996 †FMCC1997 †FMCCYearNamePos.Conf.1997 ‡GMCC1999 †FMCC2000 ‡FMCC2000 ‡GMCC2001 †GMCC2001 ‡GMCC2002 †GHorizon League2002 †GHorizon League2003 ‡FHorizon League2003 ‡GHorizon League2004 ‡BHorizon League2005 ‡FHorizon League2006 †FHorizon League2007 †GHorizon League2007 ‡GHorizon League 2008 †GHorizon League2008 †GHorizon League 2008 ‡FHorizon League2009 †FHorizon League2009 †FHorizon LeagueYearNamePos.Conf.2010 †FHorizon League2010 †FHorizon League2010 †GHorizon League2011 †FHorizon League2011 ‡GHorizon League2012 ‡GHorizon League2013 †GAtlantic-102014 ‡GBig East2015 †GBig East2015 ‡FBig East2016 ‡FBig East2016 ‡FBig East2017 †FBig East2017 ‡FBig East2018 †FBig East2019 ‡GBig East2020 †GBig East † – ‡ –

All-Americans H. W. Middlesworth – 1924 Frank Baird – 1934 Jerry Steiner – 1940 Bob Dietz – 1941 Ralph "Buckshot" O'Brien – 1950 Jimmy Doyle – 1950 Ted Guzek – 1957 Billy Shepherd – 1971 Chad Tucker* – 1985 A. J. Graves* – 2007 Mike Green* – 2008 Matt Howard* – 2009 Gordon Hayward* – 2010 Kelan Martin* – 2018