GAME 32: BUTLER (16-15, #9 SEED) VS. PROVIDENCE (17-14, #8 SEED)
BIG EAST Tournament - First Round
Wednesday, March 13; 7PM
Madison Square Garden; New York, N.Y.
TV: FS1 - Gus Johnson, Bill Raftery & @LisaByington
RADIO: 107.5FM & 1070AM - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
TuneIn Radio App, Sirius 133, XM 201, SiriusXM Internet 964

Notes (PDF)

The Bulldogs open the BIG EAST Tournament Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Butler, seeded ninth, will meet eighth-seeded Providence in a 7 p.m. first round match-up.
 
There might not be two teams more familiar with each other than Butler and Providence as Wednesday's game will be the third match-up between the teams over a 16-day period.
 
The Butler duo of Mark Minner and Nick Gardner will have the radio call, which is also available via the TuneIn Radio app. The tip will air nationally on FS1 with Gus Johnson, Bill Raftery and Lisa Byington narrating the action.  
 
Butler enters the game with a 16-15 record; Providence is 17-14.
 
BIG EAST BREAKDOWN: Butler, Providence and DePaul each finished the BIG EAST schedule with a 7-11 record. That put the teams in a three-way tie for eighth. Providence earned the No. 8 seed by going 3-1 against the other two teams, while Butler (2-2) was awarded the No. 9 seed and DePaul (1-3) will open the BIG EAST Tournament as the No. 10 seed.  

THE SERIES:  Providence owns a 10-3 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs. All 13 match-ups have come since Butler joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season. One of the match-ups came in the BIG EAST Tournament, as Providence took a 74-60 win at Madison Square Garden in the 2016 BIG EAST Quarterfinals. That match-up came with the teams as the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, respectively.

EARLIER THIS SEASON: The Bulldogs had finished regular season home-and-home series with six BIG EAST opponents prior to meeting Providence for the first of two match-ups on Feb. 26. Providence was Butler's opponent in two of the Bulldogs' final four games. The Friars came away with a 73-67 overtime win at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Feb. 26, and followed that with an 83-70 win in Providence Saturday (March 9) in the regular season finale for both teams.

Butler had a similar turnaround last season when the Bulldogs lost to Seton Hall in the regular season finale and then turned around to play the Pirates five days later in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals. Butler won the tournament game, 75-74.
 
BIG EAST HONORS: Butler junior Kamar Baldwin earned All-BIG EAST second team honors as voted on by the league's head coaches.

On the season, Baldwin's 17.5 points per game lead the Bulldogs and are seventh in the BIG EAST entering the postseason. He is also among the conference leaders in free throw percentage (.856; third), steals (1.5 per game; fifth), and assists (3.2 per game, 13^th). The 6-foot-1 guard also leads the Bulldogs in rebounding at 5.0 per game.

In Butler's 18 BIG EAST games, Baldwin's scoring output jumps to 18.9 points per game, which is fifth among conference players. Baldwin registered double figures in all 18 conference games this season, featuring seven games with 20 or more points (which included one 30-point performance).

Baldwin scored 27 points in the Feb. 26 overtime loss to Providence, and 15 points Saturday at Providence. Baldwin also had a 25-point game against the Friars last season (Jan. 15, 2018).

SENIOR RECOGNITION: Butler's seniors Nate Fowler and Paul Jorgensen were recognized by BIG EAST coaches with the 2018-19 BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award and BIG EAST Sixth Man of the Year Award, respectively.

Fowler has played a key role in several of Butler's community service initiatives. Through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, Butler "adopted" elementary-aged Seth Dennison as a teammate over the past two seasons. Dennison, who suffers from an extremely rare chromosome deletion, regularly attends team events, games and practices with his family. Fowler's volunteer service also includes the Bread N Bowl soup kitchen, Riley Children's Hospital Field Day, YMCA Summer Camps, and the Caring & Sharing Adopt a Family Christmas Program.

For the last few years, Fowler has been part of Butler's Basketball Clinic for Children with Special Needs. The annual clinic is spearheaded by Butler chemistry professor Anne Wilson with Butler student-athletes leading drills and spending time with the enthusiastic participants.

In the classroom, Fowler is a Dean's List student with a 3.6 GPA, working toward a dual major in Mechanical Engineering and Economics. The dual-degree program has Fowler taking classes on both the Butler and IUPUI campuses this season. He earned 2017-18 CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.

Jorgensen started only three of Butler's 18 BIG EAST games in earning the conference's Sixth Man of the Year Award. On the season, Jorgensen's 11.8 points per game are second on the team. Jorgensen also ranks second on the Butler roster in three-pointers made (68) and three-point percentage (.389); both marks rank among the BIG EAST Top 15. He scored his 1,000^th career point March 2 at Villanova, a total that includes two seasons at Butler and two seasons at George Washington.

Fowler is the fourth Bulldog (in Butler's six seasons as a BIG EAST member) to be selected as the conference's Sportsmanship Award recipient. He joins Tyler Wideman (2018), Kellen Dunham (2016) and Alex Barlow (2015).

DOWN THE STRETCH: Paul Jorgensen registered double figures in nine of the Bulldogs' final 10 BIG EAST games of the regular season after accomplishing the feat in only one of the team's first eight conference games this season. Jorgensen sparked the Bulldogs with 19 points March 5 against Xavier on his Senior Night at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Jorgensen's night included five three-pointers. His 19 points were the most for him in BIG EAST play this season. His Senior Night was also the fourth time this season that Jorgensen had hit five or more three-pointers (and the first time in BIG EAST play this season).

GRAB AND GO: The Bulldogs forced Providence into 18 turnovers Saturday after forcing Xavier into 15 turnovers in the March 5 win. Butler has a total of 20 steals in those two games. Jorgensen had a career-high five steals to go along with a season-high four from Baldwin against Xavier. Baldwin added three more swipes against Providence in the regular season finale. With more than a season remaining in his Butler career, Baldwin is already sixth on Butler's all-time steals list with 161 steals. 

HANDLE WITH CARE: Butler only committed nine turnovers Saturday at Providence, the tenth single-digit turnover game of the season. The Bulldogs tied their season-best mark by committing only seven turnovers March 2 at Villanova. Butler is committing only 10.9 turnovers per game, which is second in the BIG EAST and inside the Top 30 nationally. Butler's +2.1 turnover margin on the season is also second in the BIG EAST.

Both Aaron Thompson (4.0 assists per game; sixth) and Baldwin (3.2 assists per game; 13th) are among the BIG EAST leaders in assists.

GRITTY PERFORMANCE: Butler won its Senior Night game March 5 against Xavier despite shooting only 41.3 percent from the field. It was Butler's second-worst shooting performance in a win this season, bettering only the 41.2 percent that the Bulldogs shot against UC Irvine Dec. 21. The Bulldogs also overcame an eight-point Xavier lead early in the first half.

SECOND UNIT: Butler has had the advantage in bench scoring in 16 of the team's 18 BIG EAST contests. In Butler's BIG EAST games, that combined advantage has been 429-206 (an average of +12.4 points per game).

HE'S 'SEAN' FIRE: Redshirt junior Sean McDermott had a career-high 27 points in the Feb. 20 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, the performance was his fourth 20-point game of the season and the sixth time he had led the Bulldogs in scoring in 2018-19.