Where: Hinkle Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, IN
When: 12:00pm EST
How: FOX (Kevin Kugler & Stephen Bardo)/Fox Sports GO (Where Available)/WEEI 103.7 FM and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/FriarTV
Current Odds: pcbb1917 Odds Central
Tickets: SeatGeek
Game Notes
- Providence and Butler will meet for the 11th time ever on Saturday. Providence leads the all-time series, 8-2, which includes a win earlier this season at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center on January 15th. The Friars are 4-1 against the Bulldogs in Indianapolis.
- Butler is 17-10 this season, including a 7-7 Big East record. After losing to Providence in mid-January Butler reeled off four straight victories before hitting their current 3-game losing streak. Butler is coached by LaVall Jordan who is in 1st season at the helm of the program. The Bulldogs are led in scoring by senior Kelan Martin who is averaging 20.7 points/game. Martin also leads the team in rebounding at 6.4 rebounds/game.
- The Friars notched the upset win, 76-71, last time out at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center against 3rd-ranked Villanova on Valentine’s Day.
- Providence senior forward Rodney Bullock went over 1,000 points in his career against Boston College on November 25th. He became the 48th player in school history to score at least 1,000 points. Bullock is the 17th-fastest Providence player, tied with Eric Murdock, to score his 1,000th point (73 games). Bullock’s current place on the list is 24th with 1,284 points. He is 5 points behind Kadeem Batts.
- Providence senior guard Kyron Cartwright continues his drive up the all-time assist record list at Providence. He began the season tied for 12th with John Linehan (450). Cartwright has 149 assists through 25 games. He has 599 assists in his career, which places him 3rd all-time at Providence. Next on the list in front of Cartwright is Ernie DiGregorio (662). Cartwright recorded his 500th career assist against URI on December 2nd. He is the 7th Providence player to record at least 500 career assists. Cartwright notched a career-high 15 assists in Providence’s win at St. John’s on December 28th.
- Providence officially announced on November 29th that Emmitt Holt would miss the entire 2017-18 season as a redshirt while he continues to recover from abdominal surgery. Holt has been off campus recovering, but is expected to return to school in January. Holt did return to school over the MLK weekend and is back with the team, though he remains out of competition this season.
- Providence announced on January 11th that former Friar Ernie “Pop” Lewis passed away. Lewis was a key member of Providence’s 1987 Final Four team. You can read the official release and watch a tribute video here.
- Opening Line: Providence +8.5 at Butler 2/17/18
Game Preview
Providence and Butler will meet for the 11th time ever on Saturday at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. The game will tip at 12:00pm and be televised on FOX. Providence is 4-1 against Butler in Indianapolis. The Friars are coming off their biggest win at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center since 2009 after downing #3 Villanova on Valentine’s Day, 76-71.
Butler is on a 3-game losing streak after dropping a home game against Georgetown in their last time out on Tuesday. The previous two losses came against the class of the league losing in overtime at home against Xavier and on the road against Villanova.
Last time these teams met the Friars used a blistering 73% second half shooting performance to overtake the Bulldogs by 10 in Providence.
Butler has an explosive offense led by Kelan Martin who is leading the league in scoring during Big East games at 23.4 points/game. Kamar Baldwin led Butler in the previous meeting in January with 25 points, so it isn’t just Martin that can score in bunches. The Bulldogs are a jumpshooting team with Martin taking 75% of his field goal attempts via jumper, including 44% from beyond the arc. Baldwin gets into the lane more frequently but still takes 67.4% of his shots via jumper.
On the other end of the floor the Bulldogs are very good at keeping opponents away from offensive rebounds but they don’t defend the 3-point line well and they can be vulnerable to scoring at the rim with the 8th best Block% in Big East play.
The probable starters are:
Providence
- Kyron Cartwright – #24 – Senior
- Alpha Diallo – #11 – Sophomore
- Jalen Lindsey – #21 – Senior
- Rodney Bullock – #5 – Senior
- Kalif Young – #13 – Sophomore
Butler
- Kamar Baldwin – #3 – Sophomore
- Paul Jorgensen – #5 – Redshirt Junior
- Aaron Thompson – #2 – Freshman
- Kelan Martin – #30 – Senior
- Tyler Wideman – #4 – Senior
The keys to victory for Providence are to knock down 3-point opportunities and free throws and force Butler into taking tough 2’s — especially 2-point jumpers. The Friars are 2nd the last in Big East play in 3-point shooting %, which may be surprising to some considering how well they shot the 3-ball in non-conference play. The looks will be there against Butler and knocking them down will go a long way towards getting a road win. The Friars also must convert at the free throw line to win this game. Butler wants to shoot 3’s. They are fairly good at converting on those attempts. Providence needs to defend out to the 3-point line and force Butler to dribble inside the arc and take contested 2-pointers. It will be even better if they can force Butler into taking 2-point jumpers because that’s an area that everyone on Butler’s team comes out as an overall minus.
Prediction: Providence 73 Butler 72
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