GAME 28: Bulldogs (17-10, 7-7 BIG EAST) vs. Providence (17-9, 8-5)
Saturday, Feb. 17  |  12 p.m. ET  
Indianapolis, Ind.  |  Hinkle Fieldhouse
TV: FOX  |  @KevinKugler & StephenBardo
Radio: 107.5 FM, 1070 AM & TuneIn Radio App  |  @MarkMinner & @n_gardner 
@ButlerMBB  |  ButlerSports.com
Tickets: Still available - purchase

Full Notes (PDF)
 
THE SERIES: Butler and Providence will meet for the 11th time Saturday. Providence holds an 8-2 advantage in the all-time series with all of those contests occurring since Butler joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season. PC pulled out a 70-60 win Jan. 15 in Rhode Island. The teams split a pair of meetings last season, each winning at home. Butler went a program-best 20-of-20 from the free throw line at Providence March 7, 2015, winning that contest 68-64.
 
• Kelan Martin leads the BIG EAST at 23.4 points per game in conference play. Martin has scored 20 or more points in 10 of the Bulldogs' 14 BIG EAST contests.
• Kamar Baldwin had 25 points at Providence Jan. 15; Kelan Martin has two double-doubles in eight career games against PC.
• In each of the past three seasons, Butler has closed the BIG EAST regular season with a 3-1 record in its final four games.
• Butler enters Saturday's game on a three-game losing streak. The Bulldogs lost three in a row once before this season, rebounding to win five of their next six.
• Tyler Wideman is shooting 70 percent from the field in BIG EAST games.
• Butler is shooting 78 percent at the free throw line this season, seventh nationally.
• Sean McDermott is averaging 10.0 points per game and shooting 63 percent from three-point range in his last five games.
• The Bulldogs are averaging only 11.3 turnovers on the season, which is second in the BIG EAST.
• Butler hosts Creighton Tuesday in the home finale for the Bulldogs. It is Senior Night for Kelan Martin and Tyler Wideman.
 
FIRST TIME AROUND: Providence used a big second half to defeat Butler, 70-60, in Rhode Island Jan .15. Providence made its first eight shots of the second half and opened the final 20 minutes on an 18-4 run. That turned a 29-25 Butler lead at the half into a 43-33 Providence advantage. Kyron Cartwright led four Friars in double figures with 18 points. PC shot 50 percent, including a 73-percent clip in the second half. Two Tyler Wideman free throws cut PC's lead to 57-53 with 2:45 to play. Providence's Alpha Diallo hit a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to return the lead to seven points and Butler would get no closer. Kamar Baldwin led the Bulldogs with 25 points. He hit four of his seven three-point attempts. Butler shot 35 percent. Wideman had eight points; no other Bulldog had more than six.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Georgetown came into Hinkle Fieldhouse and captured an 87-83 win Tuesday night. The visiting Hoyas shot 59 percent from the field and held off a late rally from the Bulldogs to take the victory. Georgetown pushed the lead to a game-high 15 points with 7:32 to play. As Butler picked up the defensive pressure, the lead would continue to evaporate. Back-to-back Kamar Baldwin lay-ins (sandwiched around a Sean McDermott steal) trimmed the lead to 84-81 with 1:27 to play. The teams traded two free throws that saw Butler trailing, 86-83, with 52 seconds to play. The Bulldogs forced Georgetown into a miss with 25 seconds to play. On the ensuing possession, Butler's missed three-pointer was rebounded by Georgetown and Jahvon Blair hit a free throw to seal the game.
 
WIRED TO SCORE: Kelan Martin leads the BIG EAST at 23.4 points per game in conference play. Martin has scored 20 or more points in 10 of the Bulldogs' 14 BIG EAST contests. Martin's average of 23.4 points per game in conference play trails only Trae Young (30.4ppg, Oklahoma/Big 12) and Jerome Robinson (25.6ppg, Boston College/ACC) among players from the top-ranked seven conferences nationally (BIG EAST, Big 12, ACC, Big Ten, SEC, Pac-12, American).
 
DOWN THE STRETCH: While too many games remain in the regular season to start looking at BIG EAST Tournament seeding scenarios, the middle of the conference standings include very little separation. The Bulldogs are 7-7 in BIG EAST play with four games remaining. Teams currently in the No. 3 through No. 8 positions in the standings are separated by only 3.5 games. Each team has four or five games remaining, including multiple head-to-head match-ups.
 
In each of the past three seasons, Butler has closed the BIG EAST regular season with a 3-1 record in its final four games.

TIGHT GRIP: The Bulldogs committed only nine turnovers in Tuesday's game with Georgetown. The Bulldogs are averaging only 11.3 turnovers on the season, which is second in the BIG EAST. That number drops to 10.3 per game in BIG EAST play, also second in the BIG EAST. Butler has eight games this season when the Bulldogs have committed single-digit turnovers; six of those have come in BIG EAST play.
 
HINKLE-COURT ADVANTAGE: At Hinkle Fieldhouse this season, the Bulldogs are averaging 86.7 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the field. Butler has reached 80 points in 13 of the 15 games. Butler is averaging 72.3 ppg on 43-percent shooting away from Hinkle. Butler is 12-3 this season at home.
 
Butler hit 80 points for the 15^th time this season with the 87-83 loss to Georgetown Tuesday. The Bulldogs are now 12-3 when scoring 80 or more. Butler has scored 80 points or more in all three of its home losses this season. The 93 points against Xavier were the most points scored by Butler in a loss since a 99-94 double-overtime loss to DePaul Jan. 9, 2014, Butler's third game as a member of the BIG EAST.
 
HOT FROM DISTANCE: Kelan Martin made a career-high eight three-pointers Feb. 10 at Villanova. That came one game after Martin hit a (then) career-best six three-pointers against Xavier Feb. 6. In the two regular season match-ups with Villanova, Martin made 12 of his 16 attempts from behind the arc (75 percent).
 
BIG MAN IN THE MIDDLE: Tyler Wideman had 19 points and six rebounds for Butler in Tuesday's loss to Georgetown. Most of his work came down low as Butler had a 48-30 advantage in points in the paint. Wideman leads the BIG EAST in field goal percentage in both all games (.695) and in conference play (.704).
 
Butler's single-season field goal percentage record (min. 100 attempts) belongs to Duane Lightfoot, who posted a .657 mark in 2002-03. The BIG EAST single-season record for field goal percentage in conference play is .683 (held by Louisville's David Padgett during the 2007-08 season).
 
Wideman is also in the Top 15 of the BIG EAST in free throw percentage for both all games (.794, 15th) and in conference play (.833, tenth). Wideman shot .415 from the free throw line as a freshman.
 
7-7-?: Sophomore Kamar Baldwin tied a career-high with seven assists Tuesday against Georgetown. He also had seven assists in the Dec. 30 win over Villanova. Baldwin's effort came one game after Paul Jorgensen had seven assists at Villanova (Feb. 10). The seven assists tied a career-high for the transfer from George Washington, who also had seven helpers against LaSalle Feb. 21, 2016 (while at GW).
 
MORE ON MARTIN: Kelan Martin has 1,864 career points, which puts him in the No. 5 spot on Butler's career scoring list. In 68 BIG EAST games, Martin has registered 1,004 career points. He is one of only 42 players who have scored 1,000 career points in regular season BIG EAST games. In 27 games this season, Martin has already scored 560 points, a mark that is seventh on Butler's list for senior campaigns. His 197 career three-pointers are sixth on Butler's career list.
 
Martin is the first Bulldog with back-to-back 30-point scoring performances (vs. Xavier and Villanova, Feb. 6 and Feb. 10) since Matthew Graves in 1997-98. Martin's career-high 37 points against Marquette Jan. 12 were the most by a Bulldog since Graves scored 42 against Cleveland State on Jan. 15, 1998.
 
For the second consecutive season, Martin has been named one of 10 finalists for the Julius Erving Award, which is presented annually to the nation's top small forward.
 
At 20.7 points per game, Martin is on pace for the highest single-season scoring average since Darin Archbold averaged 24.8 in 1991-92.

YOU WANT THEM ON THAT LINE; YOU NEED THEM ON THAT LINE: Butler went 16-for-19 (84 percent) at the free throw line against Georgetown Tuesday. Butler has shot 80 percent or better from the line 14 times this season, including six of the last seven games. As a team, Butler is shooting 78 percent from the free throw line this season. That percentage improves to 81 percent in BIG EAST play. Butler is in the Top 10 nationally in free throw shooting.
 
At 87.9 percent, Kelan Martin is third in the BIG EAST in free throw shooting. Martin is 25-of-26 (96 percent) at the free throw line over his last four games.
 
FIGHT IN THE DAWGS: Butler overcame an 18-point first half deficit Feb. 6 against Xavier to take a second-half lead before ultimately falling in overtime. The Bulldogs were in search of another large comeback win. Earlier in the season, Butler overcame a 15-point deficit with 3:46 to play in regulation in an overtime win over Ohio State, and posted a 20-point comeback in an overtime win over Georgetown in the BIG EAST opener.
 
Ws vs. Ls: In BIG EAST play, Butler is 7-0 when shooting a better field goal percentage than its opponent, and 0-7 when being out-shot by the opposition. In Butler's seven BIG EAST wins, both the Bulldogs and their opponents average 20 free throw attempts per game. In the seven losses, Butler's opponent is attempting 10.6 more free throws per game than Butler. Paul Jorgensen and Tyler Wideman are combining for 22.6 points per game in the team's seven BIG EAST victories.
 
UNCOMMON LATELY: Butler went only 5-of-22 from three-point range Tuesday against Georgetown. The 22.7-percent shooting was the team's third-worst shooting percentage of the entire season. In the previous six games, Butler was averaging 11 three-pointers per game on 43-percent shooting.
 
PROVIDING A SPARK: Freshman forward Christian David came off the bench in the first half against Georgetown Tuesday and promptly scored seven points in six minutes. The seven points came on two three-pointers and a free throw after being fouled on one the makes. David was 1-of-11 from behind the arc entering the game. His seven points were the second-highest output of his career and Tuesday was his first time in being the team's top bench scorer.