Friars Win in OT: Providence 85, Butler 75

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Game Recap

Providence got out to a 15-0 start in this game with Butler coming right off the airplane Saturday morning after the Bulldogs had to say an extra night in Indianapolis due to mechanical issues with their plane. However, after that Butler settled in while the Friars went cold in what would be the first of two scoring droughts that allowed the Bulldogs to get right back into the game. Providence’s lead shrunk from 15-0 with 15:09 to play down to just 2 thanks to a 12-0 Butler run right before the half. The score heading into halftime was 37-33. Ticket Gaines had 9 of Providence’s first 15 and ended up with 12 first half points. Bryce Hopkins had the other 6 points in the 15-0 start but his shooting woes away from the rim continued with a 2/8 shooting performance in the first half. Hopkins did finish with his team-leading 5th double-double (12 points and 13 rebounds in 41 minutes) but 5/14 from the field (0/5 from 3) to go with 2/7 at the free throw line is cause for concern. Hopkins needs to see some jumpers go through the net or the sagging defense will continue against him which will clog the lane.

The Friars got the lead back up to 7 right out of the locker room, but Butler answered and ultimately took their first lead, 43-42, behind a DJ Davis triple nearly 5 minutes into the second half action. Davis had a very good game finishing with a team-high 22 points. The rest of the way it was quite literally a back and forth affair with neither team leading by more than a possession until Providence got up by 4 with 8:30 to go in the second stanza. That 2 possession lead was erased the very next time Butler had to ball and the game would come down to the final seconds of regulation with Butler leading by 3, 69-66, and not executing on a strategy that Thad Matta indicated in the postgame was the plan to foul a Providence player to force the Friars to shoot 2 free throws down by 3 points. The result? A beautifully executed play with Jayden Pierre running up the right side of the court and finding Gaines on the wing for an open 3-point look after Gaines slipped a screen he was setting for Devin Carter.

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The teams headed to overtime tied at 69 and, as Tim Fuller said in the postgame with John Rooke and Joe Hassett, the Friars would look to finish the game how they started. That meant a blitz in overtime like the 15-0 start. That blitz was led by Carter who scored 10 of Providence’s 16 overtime points. Carter didn’t score his first points until the final 90 seconds of the first half. From there Carter had 10 points in the second half and then 10 in overtime. The other hero of this game was Josh Oduro who was a steady presence despite some foul trouble. Oduro finished with 19 points on 8/14 shooting to go with a team-high 14 rebounds. Oduro and Pierre had 6 assists a piece along the way of 17 team assists on 30 made field goals. Butler managed just 6 assists on 29 made field goals. Providence ranks 5th best in the country allowing just 36.8% of made field goals to come via assist. The Division 1 average is 50.8%. The other thing of note is Providence had just 7 turnovers which is a season-low and only the second time the Friars have limited giveaways to single digits (9 turnovers vs URI on 12/2/23).

Three huge 3-pointers from the Friars OT win vs. Butler, with @JRbroadcaster and @sonarhassett on the call. (possible headphone warning towards the end) #pcbb pic.twitter.com/4MQAqDgXIc

— FʀɪᴀʀTV (@FriarTV) December 24, 2023

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Next Game

Providence finishes their homestand with Seton Hall at the Amica Mutual Pavilion for a 6:30pm ET tip on FS1 on Wednesday, January 3rd.

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Mike Hopkins

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