Tag: Butler Bulldogs

Former Butler star Gordon Hayward announces NBA retirement

Gordon Hayward, who nearly led the Butler Bulldogs to a national championship in 2010, announced his retirement from the NBA on Thursday.

After a prolific college and NBA career, former All-Star Gordon Hayward announced on social media Thursday morning he is retiring from the game of basketball.

“Today, I am officially retiring from the game of basketball,” Hayward wrote. “It’s been an incredible ride and I’m so grateful to everyone who helped me achieve more than I ever imagined.”

Hayward’s NBA career was marred by injury, in particular a gruesome leg injury in his first game after signing with the Boston Celtics in 2017 that cost him an entire year.

However, his college career is historic, leading the Butler Bulldogs to an unprecedented run to the national championship game as a five seed in 2010. His half court heave against Duke in the championship game just missed, which would have made Butler one of the unlikeliest NCAA champions in basketball history.

Even though Butler didn’t win it all, Hayward’s performance helped raise the profile of the program and was a catalyst – along with coach Brad Stevens – in getting the school into the Big East in 2013 where they have remained ever since.

The 34-year-old retires after averaging 15.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game over 14 NBA seasons.

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery’s two sons both committed to Butler

The Butler Bulldogs landed 2025 forward Jack McCaffery, the brother of transfer portal addition Patrick and son of Iowa coach Fran McCaffery.

Among the thousands of men’s basketball players who hit the transfer portal to find a new home this offseason, few stand out quite as much as Patrick McCaffery.

McCaffery transferred from Iowa to Butler, which on its face looks like a fairly unsurprising move for the sixth year senior who averaged 8.5 points in 123 games with the Hawkeyes.

However, McCaffery is the son of Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery, leaving his dad’s program after five years. The story gets even more unique with the announcement on Monday that Jack McCaffery, a top 100 recruit in the 2025 class and Patrick’s younger brother, will follow him to Butler rather than playing at Iowa for Fran.

The brothers won’t play together, unless Jack reclassifies to 2024 or Patrick gets a seventh year of eligibility, but nonetheless seeing both pick the same program – and not the one in the Big Ten with dad – is unique.

However, at least according to 247Sports, Jack McCaffery did not receive an offer from Iowa – getting offers from Butler, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest, among others.

The four-star power forward is ranked 113th in the 2025 class at 247 and 90th in the composite rankings, and mentioned coach Thad Matta’s offense and how it runs through the post as a big reason for choosing the Bulldogs, as well as the familial connection.

“My brother goes there too and he likes it a lot so it helped my decision,” McCaffery told 247. “I also built a great relationship with both Coach Joseph and Coach Matta throughout the process.”

SMU and Butler agree to home-and-home series starting in 2024

The SMU Mustangs and Butler Bulldogs will square off in November at Hinkle Fieldhouse as part of a home-and-home series.

The SMU Mustangs and Butler Bulldogs agreed to a home-and-home series that will begin at the start of this upcoming college basketball season.

The first matchup will take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on November 15, 2024, while the return game will be in Dallas during the 2025-26 season. A date for that game has yet to be announced.

SMU is set to compete in the ACC this season after years in the AAC, and they will be headed up by new coach Andy Enfield who left USC to replace Rob Lanier in Dallas.

The Mustangs overhauled the roster with a litany of talented transfers, including Kevin Miller (Wake Forest) Kario Oquendo (Georgia) and Yohan Traore (Santa Barbara).

They’ll face a nice early season test on the road against the Bulldogs, who went 18-15 last year and 9-11 in the highly competitive Big East. Coach Thad Matta lost guards Posh Alexander and DJ Davis in the transfer portal to Dayton and Washington, respectively, but the team is hoping newcomers Patrick McCaffery (Iowa), Jamie Kaiser (Maryland) and Kolby King (Tulane) can pick up the slack.

Both teams project to be outside the NCAA Tournament next March, but whoever wins this game will have a quality nonconference victory on the resume and a momentum builder at the start of the 2024-25 season.

Notre Dame basketball misses out on small forward target who reclassifies

The Irish weren’t chosen

Although Notre Dame basketball was a finalist for North Carolina small forward [autotag]Colt Langdon[/autotag], it really didn’t seem like they were a real contender.

That turned out to be the case as the 6-foot, 7-inch and 205-pounder committed to Butler. Originally he was in the 2025 class, but Langdon opted to reclassify to the 2024 class and will play for the Bulldogs this coming season.

This is obviously a loss for the Irish, especially considering that he will start his collegiate career earlier than expected. Notre Dame is still working on finding its first 2025 commitment, but they are still in the mix with multiple solid prospects.

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Notre Dame basketball small forward target will commit this Wednesday

The Irish could finally land its first 2025 commitment

The search for Notre Dame basketball’s first 2025 recruit continues, and on Wednesday it will find out if that will change.

North Carolina forward [autotag]Colt Langdon[/autotag] has narrowed down his list to three schools and will make his choice this Wednesday, July 10th according to On3’s Joe Tipton. LSU, Butler and the Irish will each have a hat on the table for the nation’s No. 135 overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

The Irish offered the 6-foot, 7-inch 205-pound Langdon in October, with Butler being his first offer of his finalists. The Tigers came to the plate late, as they pulled the trigger on a scholarship in March.

Right now, Langdon has one 247Sports Crystal Ball pick in for the Bulldogs, and it was made today. The Irish could still get a commitment from him, but it might be an uphill battle over the next few days.

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Wisconsin basketball to play Butler in neutral site game in 2024-25

Wisconsin basketball to play Butler in neutral site game in 2024-25

Wisconsin basketball will play a neutral site game against Butler this season at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein.

The game is added to an out-of-conference schedule that has been a challenge for the Badgers in recent years. The 2024-25 slate now includes a home battle with top-ranked Arizona, the Greenbrier Tip-Off, this game against Butler and the annual rivalry matchup with Marquette.

Related: Where every member of Wisconsin’s record-breaking recruiting class of 2021 is now

That is all in addition to a conference slate that now includes contests against  USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington. Wisconsin’s recent schedules have been among the toughest in the nation (No. 3-toughest in 2023-24). The current direction of the sport and the team’s tendency to schedule top teams could see those schedules become even more difficult.

This new addition to the schedule is another meeting with longtime Ohio State head coach Thad Matta. His Butler program went 18-15 in his second year in charge in 2023-24. He has the program trending in the right direction after years of struggles after the Brad Stevens (2007-2013) and Chris Holtmann (2014-2017) eras.

 

Wisconsin, meanwhile, reworked its roster this offseason in preparation for the 2024-25 season. It landed three transfers — Central Arkansas guard Camren Hunter, Missouri guard John Tonje and Northern Illinois forward Xavier Amos. Greg Gard and his staff did well given the circumstances of A.J. Storr (transfer portal), Chucky Hepburn (transfer portal) and Tyler Wahl (graduation) all departing after the 2023-24 season.

The Badgers roster appears to be in good shape entering what will be a challenging 2024-25 campaign.

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2023 ESPN Events Invitational: Full college basketball tournament schedule and results

Here is your updated schedule for the ESPN Events Invitational with updated matchups beginning today.

Penn State men’s basketball will ramp up the level of difficulty in non-conference play by participating in this year’s ESPN Events Invitational in Florida. The Nittany Lions are one of eight programs participating in this year’s event over the Thanksgiving weekend, and they will help get things started in the first game with a rematch with Texas A&M on Thursday afternoon.

Penn State bounced the Aggies in the first round of last season’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, but a lot has happened with Penn State’s program since that meeting. Penn State went through a coaching change and a good amount of roster turnover as well. The Aggies continued to build and will arrive in Florida with a top-15 ranking in the basketball polls. A bit of revenge will be on the mind for Texas A&M in the first game of this week’s ESPN Events Invitational.

Penn State could also match up with one of last season’s Final Four teams, FAU, or the former program coached by Mike Rhoades, VCU. This could make for a fun weekend for Penn State.

Penn State is making its second appearance in the ESPN Events Invitational, but the last trip did not go well. Penn State went 0-3 in the 2007 tournament with losses to South Carolina, Rider, and UCF. That year’s tournament was won by NC State with a one-point victory over Villanova. The last Big Ten team to win the tournament was Maryland in 2019. It is the only year a Big Ten school has won the tournament. The Big Ten has been represented in 13 of the 16 events.

Here is a full schedule of this year’s ESPN Events Invitational, with TV and stream information and approximate starting times for each game. This tracker will be updated with final scores, photos, and updated matchups as the tournament unfolds, so be sure to bookmark this post for future reference.

ESPN Events Invitational: Best photos of Penn State vs. Butler

Ka-chow! Butler’s mascot was entertaining fans at the ESPN Events Invitational by riding Lightning McQueen.

For the second time in as many days over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Penn State fell short in the ESPN Events Invitational. Penn State was defeated by Butler in a consolation round game of the weekend tournament at the Walt Disney World Wide of Sports complex on Friday, 88-78.

Kanye Clary scored a career-high 28 points in the losing effort as Penn State went cole with its shooting to close the first half and could not answer a critical run by Butler in the second half.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s second game in the ESPN Events Invitational.

Penn State comes up short against Butler in ESPN Events Invitational

Penn State falls behind Butler and can’t make a comeback for second loss in ESPN Events Invitational.

Penn State isn’t exactly feeling like they are in the most magical place on Earth after dropping a second straight game in the ESPN Events Invitational in Disney World. The Nittany Lions came up short against Butler in a consolation round game on Friday afternoon, 88-78.

[autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag] led Penn State with 28 points, a new career-high for the sophomore guard, and [autotag]Ace Baldwin Jr.[/autotag] had 15 points, but Penn State went cold with its shooting to close out the first half. The cold spell allowed Butler to take a 42-39 lead into halftime after Penn State had been up by as many as 9 points.

Butler went on a solid run to start the second half to build a 10-point lead but Penn State climbed back to within three points following a three-pointer by [autotag]Leo O’Boyle[/autotag] to cap a 7-0 run midway through the second half. Butler had one more good run in them to put some separation between them and Penn State, and that allowed the Bulldogs to seize a victory in the ESPN Events Invitational’s consolation side of the weekend tournament bracket.

 

Penn State will play its final game in the ESPN Events Invitational on Sunday. The Nittany Lions will face the loser of the VCU vs. Boise State game in the other consolation game played on Friday night.

Penn State’s final game of the weekend will be played on Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. ET on ESPNU.

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ESPN Events Invitational: How to watch Penn State vs. Butler on Black Friday

Grab a plate of leftover turkey and settle in for Penn State basketball’s game against Butler on Friday afternoon. Here is how to watch.

Penn State will continue its journey in the ESPN Events Invitational on Black Friday with a matchup against Butler on Friday afternoon. After both teams lost their opening game against a ranked opponent, the Nittany Lions and Bulldogs will square off in the consolation round at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

Penn State lost to Texas A&M in the opening game of the ESPN Events Invitational on Thanksgiving, 89-77. Butler came up short against FAU, 91-86. Texas A&M and FAU will play in the semifinal game on Friday as well.

This is the second straight season Penn State and Butler will meet. The two teams played each other in State College last season as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games schedule, with Penn State winning 68-62 last November.

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Penn State will be led by [autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag], who is averaging 17.8 points per game this season. [autotag]Ace Baldwin Jr.[/autotag] is adding 11.2 ppg with 3.4 assists and 2.6 steals per game. Butler had five players score in double figures in their loss to FAU, including a 19-point effort from Jahmyl Telfort.

The winner of today’s game will meet the winner of the VCU vs. Boise State matchup in the other consolation game. This leaves the possibility of a Penn State-VCU matchup on the table. Penn State head coach Mike Rhoades coached VCU before taking the Penn State job and a couple of other VCU players followed him to State College. The winners of the consolation games will meet on Sunday, as will the losing teams.

Here is how to watch today’s basketball game as you fill up on some Thanksgiving leftovers and prepare for tonight’s football game between Penn State and Michigan State.

Penn State vs. Butler Men’s Basketball

  • Date: Friday, Nov. 24
  • Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: ESPN

Here is the full schedule of games for the entire ESPN Events Invitational.

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