Butler (16-14, 7-10 BIG EAST) at Providence (16-14, 6-11 BIG EAST)
Saturday, March 9; Noon
Dunkin' Donuts Center; Providence, R.I.
TV: FSN affiliates, including FOX Sports Indiana - Brian Custer & Len Elmore
RADIO: 107.5FM & 1070AM - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
TuneIn Radio App, XM 380, SiriusXM Internet 971
@ButlerMBB | ButlerSports.com

Notes (PDF)

The Bulldogs close out the regular season Saturday afternoon, traveling to Providence for a noon tip. Butler and Providence will meet for the second time in 12 days.
 
The Butler duo of Mark Minner and Nick Gardner will have the radio call on 107.5 FM, 1070 AM and the TuneIn Radio app. The tip will air nationally on FOX Sports Network affiliates, including FOX Sports Indiana (Brian Custer and Len Elmore).  
 
Butler enters the game with a 16-14 record, coming off a home win over Xavier Tuesday night. Providence is also 16-14 overall.
 
BIG EAST BREAKDOWN: Heading into the final Saturday of the regular season, none of the 10 seeds in next week's BIG EAST Tournament have yet to be finalized. Butler is currently 7-10 in BIG EAST play, which is tied for eighth place. Providence is 6-11 and alone in tenth place in the BIG EAST standings. Butler's BIG EAST Tournament seed could be as high as No. 4 and as low as No. 10 based on Saturday's results. If both Butler and DePaul (playing at Creighton Saturday night) win, Butler is guaranteed a Top 6 seed and a first round bye in the BIG EAST Tournament. If Butler or DePaul lose, the Bulldogs are guaranteed to play in Wednesday's first round of the BIG EAST Tournament, either in the No. 7-No. 10 or No. 8-No. 9 match-ups.
 
THE SERIES:  Providence owns a 9-3 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs. All 12 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. That 9-3 mark includes a 73-67 overtime win by Providence Feb. 26 in Indianapolis.

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 is Butler's opponent in two of the Bulldogs' final four games.
 
FIRST TIME AROUND: Providence came away with a 73-67 overtime win over Butler Feb. 26 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The visiting Friars got up by 14 in the first half before Butler came charging back in a back-and-forth affair.
 
Butler took a 43-42 lead with 10:50 remaining in regulation on a Joey Brunk free throw. It marked the first lead for Butler since 4-3. Butler's lead would never get extended beyond three points. A 12-2 run by Providence gave the visitors a 58-51 advantage with only 1:50 to play.
 
Five points from Jordan Tucker pulled Butler within two at 58-56 with 55 seconds remaining. Alpha Diallo pushed the lead back to four (60-56) with a bucket in the paint with 30 seconds remaining.

However, the Butler heroics were not over as Nate Fowler (22 seconds remaining) and Kamar Baldwin (11 seconds remaining) each hit huge three-pointers sandwiched around two PC free throws. Baldwin's trifecta knotted the game at 62-62. Providence got an open look in the closing seconds of regulation, but it was no good as the game went to overtime.
 
Butler's only lead in overtime came at 66-65 after a Baldwin lay-up with 2:06 remaining. Isaiah Jackson quickly responded with a three-pointer to give PC a 68-66 advantage. After an empty Butler possession, Jackson hit another three-pointer as the shot clock expired for a 71-66 lead with 37 seconds to play. That was the shot that Butler was unable to overcome.
 
Baldwin led the Bulldogs with 27 points and six rebounds. Butler shot only 31.7 percent from the field, which was the Bulldogs' third-lowest mark of the season. The Bulldogs had more than a third of their points come from the free throw line, where they went 23-of-29.

Providence was led by 21 points from Nate Watson. Diallo and Jackson each had 14 points. Providence shot 41 percent and had a 39-35 advantage in rebounding.

BIG IN THE BIG EAST: Kamar Baldwin led the Bulldogs with 24 points in Tuesday's win over Xavier. It marked the seventh time in BIG EAST play this season that the junior has scored 20 or more points. Earlier in league contests, Baldwin scored 30 (vs. St. John's, Jan. 19) and 28 (vs. Creighton, Jan. 5).

Baldwin's 19.1 points per game in BIG EAST play are fifth in the conference rankings. Baldwin scored 27 points in the Feb. 26 overtime loss to Providence.

GRAB AND GO: The Bulldogs forced Xavier into 15 turnovers in Tuesday night's win. That included 11 steals by Butler. Paul Jorgensen had a career-high five steals to go along with four from Baldwin. Those four steals tied the season-high for Baldwin. Baldwin is sixth in the BIG EAST at 1.5 steals per game, while his career total has risen to 158, which is already sixth on Butler's all-time list.

SENIOR SEND-OFF: Redshirt senior Paul Jorgensen sparked the Bulldogs with 19 points Tuesday night 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 so far this season. Tuesday 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). Fellow senior Nate Fowler added seven points in the win.

GRITTY PERFORMANCE: Butler won Tuesday night 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.

HANDLE WITH CARE: The Bulldogs tied their season-best mark by committing only seven turnovers March 2 at Villanova. It was Butler's ninth single-digit turnover game of the season and the third time with only seven miscues. Butler is committing only 11.0 turnovers per game, which is second in the BIG EAST and inside the Top 30 nationally. Butler's +1.9 turnover margin on the season is also second in the BIG EAST.

Both Aaron Thompson (4.0 assists per game; sixth) and Baldwin (3.3 assists per game; 12th) are among the BIG EAST leaders in assists.

BENCH MOB: Butler's reserves outscored their counterparts from Xavier, 15-10, Tuesday. Butler has had the advantage in bench scoring in 15 of the team's 17 BIG EAST contests. In Butler's BIG EAST games, that combined advantage has been 403-176 (an average of +13.4 points per game). Jorgensen, 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.

Christian David came off the bench against Xavier to tie career-highs with five rebounds and four assists, to go along with a career-best three blocks, in arguably the most well-rounded stat line of his career.

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. McDermott had a team-high eight rebounds in the game as well.