Friars Lose: Providence 61, (13) Butler 78

• Providence came out slow and dropped their 2nd straight Big East game and 3rd straight game overall. All 3 of those losses have come on the road. Providence got down big at the half to the tune of 45-26 and despite getting the game to within 9 they never really challenged the Butler Bulldogs.
• Kyron Cartwright carried the scoring for Providence with a career-high 26 that vastly surpassed his previous career high of 19 set earlier this season against Rhode Island. Cooley called for Cartwright to take more shots but I’m not sure he wanted his junior point guard shooting 22 times from the field. Cartwright also contributed 6 rebounds and 4 assists in 38 minutes.
• Rodney Bullock started slow but had a much better second 20 minutes. He finished with 17 points on 6/11 shooting to go with 4 rebounds in 36 minutes.
• Emmitt Holt was hampered by foul trouble much of the first half, but wasn’t overly productive when on the floor. He finished with just 6 points on 2/6 shooting in 22 minutes.
• Jalen Lindsey was chided by Cooley a few times for issues on the defensive end and also dealt with foul trouble that would cause him to leave the game early.
• Providence got little from anyone besides Cartwright and Bullock on offense and the bench scoring numbers were cringeworthy: Butler’s bench outscored Providence’s, 29-5.
• The ugliest stat of the game was 11/22. That was Providence’s performance at the free throw line.
• Butler shot a blistering 62% from the field, including 72.7% in the first half.
• Butler used a balanced scoring attack with 4 players in double figures. Kelan Martin led the way with 15 points, Andrew Chrabascz and Avery Woodson each had 11 points and Kethan Savage scored 10 points.
• The Friars head home to open Big East play at the Dunk against Georgetown on Wednesday, January 4th at 7:00pm EST. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.

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Mike Hopkins

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