(13) Winthrop (26-6) vs. (4) Butler (23-8)
Game Time: 1:30 p.m. EST / Site: Milwaukee, WI (Bradley Center)
Television: TNT (Carter Blackburn-PxP/Mike Giminski-Color / Audio: 104.1 The Bridgel, pregame 12:30 p.m. (EST) (Dave Friedman-PxP/Mike Pacheco-Color)
Live Stats  / Live Audio (Stream not allowed---tune into 104.1 The Bridge or FM 94.3 over the airwaves)

MILWAUKEE, WI—Winthrop men's basketball is set to make its 10^th NCAA Tournament appearance when it faces the 4^th-seeded Butler Bulldogs, Thursday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. (EST) inside the Bradley Center.

Winthrop earned a 13-seed, which is tied for the second best seeding in the tournament in program history. The Eagles captured their 11^th Big South Conference Championship and enter the contest with a 26-6 record. Butler received an at-large bid as it comes into the game at 23-8 on the year.

The game will be live at 1:30 p.m. on TNT (Turner Network Television) as Carter Blackburn and Mike Giminski will call the action. The game will also be available on 104.1 The Bridge or FM 94.3 as Dave Friedman and Mike Pacheco will bring fans all the action as well as a one-hour special pregame show starting at 12:30 p.m. (EST).

The Eagles took part in their open practice on Wednesday as the team got familiar with the arena as they look to capture their first NCAA Tournament win since 2007 when the team defeated 6^th seeded Notre Dame, 74-64.

This year's team is averaging 79.7 points per game and features the program's best three-point shooting team after the Eagles broke the school mark for triples in a season with 304. That record breaks the one set last season with 285. Pat Kelsey led teams now own four of the top five single-season three-point marks.

The team's 26 victories are the most under Kelsey and the third most in the history of the program for a single-season. Kelsey reached 100 victories in his career during the Big South Tourney, as he became the league coach to capture 100 wins in his first five seasons.

Winthrop faces a Butler squad that averages 76.3 ppg and ranks 94^th nationally in defending the three. The Bulldogs are averaging 7.6 three-point field goals themselves, which ranks 145^th nationally. The Eagles are averaging 9.5 threes, which ranks 23^rd in the nation and defending the three the Eagles hold opponents to .310 percent (ranked 20^th nationally).

Senior Keon Johnson and junior Xavier Cooks are All-Big South First Team selections as they lead the way offensively for the Eagles. Johnson, the 2016-17 Big South Player of the Year, finished second in the league and is 10^th in the national in scoring at 22.5. He set the program record for career points, career free throws made and career three-point field goals made. Cooks is averaging a double-double over the last 20 games of the season and enters the game scoring 16.3 ppg and 9.2 rebounds per game. He has a double-double in the last three games and seven of the last eight games.

The offense has a lot of balance beyond Johnson and Cooks as Anders Broman is third on the team at 8.3 ppg and Roderick Perkins is scoring 7.5 ppg and coming off a 15-point performance in the Big South Championship game. Behind the arc the Eagles have four games with 45 or more threes and five with 35 or more.

The Bulldogs are led by All-Big East Second Team selection Kelan Martin, who is scoring a team-best 16.1 ppg and is a dual threat with 58 made threes and a career-high 109 free throws made. All-Big East First Team honoree Andrew Shrabascz is second on the team in scoring at 11.0 ppg and 4.6 rpg and is second on the team in assists, third in steals. Kamar Baldwin is the third Bulldog scoring in double-figures at 10.0 per game as he's also averaging 3.6 rebounds and leads the team in steals with 55 (1.8 per game).

This is the third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament for Butler and the 15^th in the history of the program.