GAME 28: BUTLER (15-12, 6-8 BIG EAST) VS. PROVIDENCE (15-13, 5-10 BIG EAST)
Tuesday, Feb. 26; 7PM ET
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
TV: FS1 - @BrandonGaudin & @NickBahe
RADIO: 107.5FM, 1070AM - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
TuneIn Radio App, Sirius 98, XM
 
After their only weekend off from BIG EAST action, the Bulldogs return to action Tuesday night, hosting Providence at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
 
The Butler duo of Mark Minner and Nick Gardner will have the radio call on 107.5FM, 1070AM and the TuneIn Radio app. The 7 p.m. tip will air nationally on FS1, featuring Butler alum and former "Voice of the Bulldogs" Brandon Gaudin alongside Nick Bahe. 
 
Butler enters the game with a 15-12 record, coming off a road loss to Marquette Wednesday night. The Bulldogs are 6-8 in BIG EAST play, currently tied for sixth in the conference standings. Providence enters at 15-13 overall and 5-10 in conference play. The Friars lost at home to Marquette Saturday in their most recent outing.
 
WHO ARE THESE GUYS?: The Bulldogs have finished regular season home-and-home series with six BIG EAST opponents already this season prior to meeting Providence for the first of two match-ups. Butler and the Friars will play twice within 12 days to close the regular season. Those make up two of Butler's final four games. It marks two of Providence's final three conference games as they have one bye date remaining. Butler will close the regular season at Providence Saturday, March 9.
 
THE SERIES: Providence owns an 8-3 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs. All 11 match-ups have come since Butler joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season. The Bulldogs and Friars have split the season series in each of the past two seasons, with each team winning on its home court in all four of those recent match-ups.

HE'S 'SEAN' FIRE: Redshirt junior Sean McDermott had a career-high 27 points in Wednesday's loss at Marquette. McDermott made eight of his 13 attempts from the field, including a 4-of-5 performance from behind the arc. Both his seven made free throws and eight free throws attempts were career-highs.

For McDermott, Wednesday's performance was his fourth 20-point game of the season and the sixth time he had led the Bulldogs in scoring in 2018-19. McDermott had a team-high eight rebounds in the game as well.

APPROACHING A GRAND: Redshirt senior Paul Jorgensen enters Tuesday night's game with 987 career points. That includes 675 in 62 career games at Butler in addition to 312 points in his two seasons at George Washington prior to transferring to Butler. After averaging 3.6 and 4.9 points per game, respectively, in his two seasons at GW, Jorgensen has averaged 10.9 points per game (while shooting 37 percent from three-point range) during his time at Butler.
 
Jorgensen has scored in double figures in six straight games. Jorgensen is averaging 12.7 points per game over this six-game stretch, which came on the heels of four straight single-digit scoring outputs.

FROM BEHIND THE ARC: McDermott has hit 43 percent of his three-pointers this season, a mark that is good for fifth in the BIG EAST. His 2.5 three-pointers per game are eighth in the conference ranks. Paul Jorgensen is shooting 40 percent from three-point range (11^th in the BIG EAST), making 2.2 three-pointers per game (which is tenth in the BIG EAST). Jordan Tucker, who became eligible to play Dec. 15 as a midyear transfer, has hit 31 three-pointers in BIG EAST play. He and McDermott are tied for tenth in three-pointers made per conference game at 2.2 makes per game. 

Tucker (two), McDermott (three) and Jorgensen (three) have combined for eight games this season hitting five or more three-pointers. In fact, each of the three has hit six three-pointers in a single game this season.

BALANCED ATTACK: The Bulldogs are averaging 74.1 points per game in BIG EAST play despite only one Butler player being among the top 30 in the conference in scoring (that's Kamar Baldwin at 18.9 points per game, which is sixth). Both Tucker and McDermott are averaging 10.1 points per game in league play, followed by Jorgensen (9.3) and Joey Brunk (7.7).

Butler has had five players score at least 20 points in a single game this season, while five different Bulldogs have also led the team in scoring in a game this season.

HOME IS WHERE THE HOT IS: The Bulldogs are 11-3 this season at Hinkle Fieldhouse. In those games, Butler is averaging 78.6 points per game, while shooting 40 percent from three-point range.

ON THE OFFENSIVE: In Butler's last home game, a 91-78 win over DePaul Feb. 16, DePaul actually out-shot the Bulldogs, 54.9% to 54.4%; however, Butler's greatest advantage came from behind the arc as Butler made 12 of its 28 three-point attempts. Butler is now 9-2 on the season when hitting 10 or more three-pointers. The Bulldogs have hit 10 or more three-pointers in six of their last 10 games. The Bulldogs have also shot 40 percent or better from behind the arc 10 times this season, including the win over DePaul (42.9 percent).

The 91 points for Butler are the team's second-best output of the season, trailing only the 95 points Butler put up against Northern Illinois Dec. 8.

GIVE BUT LITTLE TAKE: The Bulldogs had 18 assists against only eight turnovers in the home win against DePaul Feb. 16. This was Butler's eighth single-digit turnover game of the season. Butler is committing only 11.1 turnovers per game, which is second in the BIG EAST and just outside the Top 30 nationally. Butler's +1.8 turnover margin on the season is also second in the BIG EAST. Aaron Thompson and Baldwin each had five assists in Butler's win over DePaul Jan. 16. Both Thompson (4.1 assists per game; fourth) and Baldwin (3.4 assists per game; 12th) are among the BIG EAST leaders in assists.

SPARK OFF THE PINE: Butler has had the advantage in bench scoring in 13 of the team's 14 BIG EAST contests. In Butler's BIG EAST games, that combined advantage has been 350-131 (an average of +15.6 points per game). Jorgensen, Nate Fowler and Henry Baddley combined for 32 points off the bench against St. John's Feb. 12 as Butler had a 32-2 advantage in points off the bench.

ON THE GLASS: Butler out-rebounded DePaul, 31-23, Feb. 16. The Bulldogs are now 8-2 on the season when out-rebounding their opponent. DePaul entered that game with a +6.3 rebounding margin, which was tops in the BIG EAST.  
 
BIG IN THE BIG EAST: Including his 25-point performance in the team's most recent home game versus DePaul, Kamar Baldwin has registered five 20-point games in BIG EAST play. He scored Butler's first eight points of the game against DePaul. Baldwin is averaging 18.9 points per game in conference games, a mark that is sixth in the BIG EAST. Baldwin is also fifth in the conference with an .846 mark from the free throw line in BIG EAST games.

PUTTING THE D IN DAWGS: Butler improved to 11-2 this season (and 4-0 in BIG EAST games) when holding its opponent under 70 points with the win over Georgetown Feb. 9. On the season, the Bulldogs are allowing opponents only an average of 69.4 points per game, which is third in the BIG EAST.