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Game Notes & Preview: (4) Providence (22-9, 10-8) vs (5) Butler (21-9, 10-8) 3/10/16

Where: Madison Square Garden – New York, NY

When: 2:30pm EST

How: FS1 (Justin Kutcher & Jim Jackson)/WEEI 103.7 FM and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/FriarTV

Game Notes

  • Providence and Butler will meet for the 7th time on Thursday with the Friars leading the series, 5-1. The teams have never met in the Big East Tournament. Providence has won the Big East Tournament twice (1994, 2014).
  • Butler finished the regular season 21-9 (10-8). The Bulldogs are led by Chris Holtmann, who is in his 2nd season at the helm of the Butler program. The Bulldogs were swept by Providence during the regular season but Butler swept Seton Hall. The Bulldogs are led in scoring by senior Kellen Dunham and sophomore Kelan Martin, who each average 16.2 points/game. Senior Roosevelt Jones and Martin are the leading rebounders, each averaging 6.7 rebounds/game.
  • Kris Dunn was honored on Senior Night, along with Junior Lomomba prior to Providence’s game against Creighton on March 2nd. Dunn recently became the 6th Friar to amass 200 career steals. He went over the 1,000 point mark on January 30th against Georgetown on a spectacular finish at the rim. His 1,145 career points rank 31st all-time at Providence and  he’s 14 point behind Bill Eason for 30th. Dunn also has 532 assists (t-4th all-time), 475 rebounds and 205 steals (t-5th all-time). He is 2 steals behind Harold Starks for 4th. He is the only player in school history to have amassed 1,000 points, 500 assists, 400 rebounds and 200 steals in a career at Providence.
  • Ed Cooley got his 100th career win at Providence on March 2nd against Creighton.
  • Dunn and Ben Bentil were named First Team All-Big East performers. Dunn repeated as the Big East’s Defensive Player of the Year and Bentil was named the Big East’s Most Improved Player.
  • Opening Line: (4) Providence +3.5 vs (5) Butler 3/10/16

Game Preview

Providence swept Butler during the regular season and the narrative heading into this game is how it’s hard to beat a team three times in one season. I’m not going to use this space throwing numbers at you or records of team’s that are playing for the 3rd time in a season where a team won the first two matchups, but just remember that it’s and old adage for a reason. The Friars present some matchup difficulty for the Bulldogs and that’s been the case all three seasons that Butler has been in the league.

The probable starters according to the game notes and prior box scores are:

Providence
  • Kyron Cartwright – #24 – Sophomore
  • Kris Dunn – #3 – Junior
  • Junior Lomomba – #32 – Junior
  • Rodney Bullock – #5 – Sophomore
  • Ben Bentil – #0 – Sophomore
Butler
  • Roosevelt Jones – #21 – Senior
  • Kellen Dunham – #24 – Senior
  • Kelan Martin – #30 – Sophomore
  • Andrew Chrabascz – #45 – Junior
  • Tyler Wideman – #4 – Sophomore

The keys to a Providence victory are:

  1. Score at the rim
  2. Make free throws
  3. Force Butler off the 3-point line

The first two keys are related. Providence needs to attack the rim against a Butler frontline that lacks a true rim-protector. Generally, when you attack the basket, you get fouled. When you get fouled attacking the basket, you are awarded free throws. Making those shots at the charity stripe is critical to winning close games in March.

The third key is to push Butler off the 3-point line and make them take tough two’s. The Bulldogs have the best 3-point shooting percentage in league play at 39.3%. They shot 45% in wins this season and just 32% in losses. If Providence limits Butler to 6 or 7 made 3-pointers — or less– they will have done a good job of defending the perimeter.

Prediction: Providence 75 Butler 73

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