INDIANAPOLIS - Sean McDermott led four Butler players in double-digits with 26 points and Bryce Nze added 11 points and 11 rebounds as the host Bulldogs dispatched of the Jaguars in both teams' season opener on Wednesday night (Nov. 6), 80-47. Butler shot a sizzling 59 percent from the field and limited IUPUI to just 37 percent shooting as the Jaguars dropped to 0-6 all-time to the Bulldogs. 

Junior Marcus Burk led the Jaguars with 17 points in his IUPUI (0-1) debut and Colorado State-transfer Zo Tyson contributed eight points and five boards off the Jaguars' bench in the loss. Junior Jaylen Minnett added seven points and five boards on just 3-of-12 shooting. He did extend the nation's fourth-longest streak with at least one made three in a game, hitting for a 37th straight game. 

"In the first half, we ran our offense and got the ball to the third or fourth side. We were in the right positions and in position to get some offensive rebounds and second chance points," head coach Byron Rimm II said. "In the second half, it kind of got out of hand. Guys turned the ball over, we took some bad shots and some guys got a little bit of an attitude and it went badly from there."

While McDermott was nearly perfect from the perimeter, hitting 10-of-11 field goal attempts and 4-of-5 from deep, the Bulldogs bludgeoned IUPUI on the inside, outscoring the Jags 50-22 in the paint. 

After Minnett hit a tough fadeaway with 11:57 left in the first half to make it 12-11, Butler reeled off a 13-2 run to take a 25-13 advantage. McDermott sparked the run with an open trey and Nze added a pair of buckets during the burst on the inside. The lead grew to 14 when Khalif Battle picked off a pass near midcourt and raced the other way for an emphatic one-handed jam. However, IUPUI fired back with six straight points late in the half, beginning with a Tyson two-handed slam and capped by a Burk midrange jumper. 

Butler scored the final basket of the half on a Bryce Golden dunk to take a 36-26 lead at the break. 

The teams traded baskets on the opening possessions of the second half before Butler unloaded a 16-0 run to end any suspense. By the time Burk snapped the run by swishing a wing three, Butler had a commanding 54-31 lead with 13:35 to play. 

Butler was limited to just eight healthy bodies at tipoff and both Kamar Baldwin and walk-on Campbell Donovan left the game to injuries in the first half. Golden was pressed into extended minutes and answered with a career-high 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists while Aaron Thompson played all 40 minutes and had eight points, nine assists and three boards. Golden hit 8-of-16 shot attempts while Nze, a former Horizon League foe at Milwaukee, was 5-of-6 from the floor. 

Rimm utilized just seven players as Tyson, who missed the exhibition game due to injury, played 27 minutes off the bench and freshman point guard Mike DePersia played 25 minutes. Grant Weatherford closed with six points and five boards and Elyjah Goss contributed six points in the loss. 

The Jaguars will be back on the road on Saturday (Nov. 9) when they take on reigning Missouri Valley Conference champion Bradley at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. That game will be broadcast on ESPN+.