Marquette-Butler Preview

Butler's scoring production has dropped since losing Andrew Chrabascz to injury, and its latest performance was one of its worst this season.

The No. 23 Bulldogs are expected to shuffle their lineup Wednesday night when they try to sweep the season series from struggling Marquette.

Butler (19-8, 9-5 Big East) was averaging 76.2 points during a five-game winning streak, but has lost two of three since, failing to crack 60 in the last two without Chrabascz.

The forward, third on the team with 11.1 points per game, is out at least another week after undergoing surgery on a broken bone in his right hand.

The Bulldogs struggled in nearly every facet in Saturday's 73-56 loss at Xavier - their most lopsided of the season. They shot 35.1 percent, had 14 turnovers to nine assists and finished with just four points in transition.

"They outplayed us in basically every area," coach Chris Holtmann said. "Obviously, I've got to do a better job of getting us prepared for this type of game. They were physical, tough and aggressive, got every loose ball, made every shot they needed to make.

"They imposed their will on us defensively and we certainly didn't have an answer for them inside."

Holtmann claimed he's looking to make changes to the lineup, but the bench only totaled 14 points on 5-of-22 shooting Saturday with just two of five reserves scoring.

Finding some production could be vital since Chrabascz had a career-best 30 points to lead all scorers in a 72-68 overtime win against Marquette (11-15, 3-11) on Jan. 31. Freshman Tyler Wideman has replaced him in the lineup the last two games, mustering two points in each.

Roosevelt Jones had just two points - 11 below his season average - and missed 11 of 12 shots against the Golden Eagles last month. He's totaled 32 points in the last two games.

Leading scorer Kellen Dunham was in foul trouble Saturday, finishing with nine points while matching a season high with four turnovers. The junior guard scored 17 points at Marquette, but needed to hit 6 of 7 from the line to make up for missing 9 of 16 field goals.

Dunham could benefit from a return to Hinkle Fieldhouse, where he's averaging 21.3 points while connecting on 18 of 36 from the floor in his last three. He scored 18 in a 69-57 overtime win there over the Golden Eagles on Jan. 18, 2014.

Marquette has lost seven of eight true road games on the season, and is 1-9 overall since Jan. 17. The Golden Eagles suffered an 87-76 home loss to sixth-ranked Villanova on Saturday, their 12th straight defeat to a Top 25 team

It's unclear if they'll have guard Matt Carlino back, as he's missed four straight games with a concussion. He's averaging 17.3 points in Big East play, scoring 18 against Butler last month.

JaJuan Johnson, however, is coming off his best performance since replacing Carlino in the lineup. The sophomore guard scored 20 points with five assists Saturday after totaling 12 while making 5 of 21 from the field over the two prior contests.

Duane Wilson matched Carlino's 18 points versus the Bulldogs on Jan. 31, but he's been below that mark in four of five games since.

These teams have split 32 all-time meetings.