GAME 16:  #6/6 Butler (14-1, 2-0 BIG EAST) at Providence (10-6, 3-0) 

Friday, Jan. 10;  9PM
Dunkin' Donuts Center ; Providence, R.I.
TV:  FS1 - Dave Sims (@TheDaveSimsShow) & @VinParise 
RADIO:  93.1FM - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
TuneIn Radio App, Sirius 84, XM 84, SiriusXM Internet 84 

The Bulldogs visit Providence Friday night in a match-up of two of the three remaining BIG EAST teams without a conference loss.  

Butler, ranked No. 6 in both of this week's national polls and No. 4 in the NCAA NET rankings, is 14-1. Providence is 3-0 in BIG EAST play, coming off road wins at DePaul and Marquette, and 10-6 overall.

Full Notes (PDF)

THE SERIES: Providence Leads, 11-3
Streak: Providence, W3
In Providence: Providence Leads, 5-1
First Meeting: Providence, 65-56; 1/21/14 (Providence)
Last Meeting: Providence, 80-57; 3/13/19 (New York City; BIG EAST Tournament First Rd)

• Butler's No. 6 ranking is the highest AP poll ranking and the highest in-season coaches poll ranking in program history.
• Butler is fourth nationally, allowing opponents only an average of 54.1 points per game.
• Butler has out-rebounded 12 of its 15 opponents this season after out-rebounding only 10 of 33 in 2018-19.
• Butler has limited its two BIG EAST opponents to 18-percent three-point shooting; Creighton and St. John's each went 4-of-22 from behind the arc. 
• Three of Butler's next four games are away from Hinkle Fieldhouse.
• Butler is committing only 11.1 turnovers per game, which is 17th nationally.
• This is Butler's sixth 14-1 start since 2001-02. Prior to that, the last 14-1 start was 1930-31, Tony Hinkle's fifth season coaching Butler. 
• Butler's opponents have hit only 37.2 percent of their shots, the 14th-best defensive effort in the nation.
• Kamar Baldwin had 20 points - all in the second half - in the Jan. 4 win over Creighton.
• Baldwin is averaging 18.2 points per game and shooting 46.7 percent from 3FG in road and neutral games. 
• Sean McDermott recorded his first two career double-doubles in Butler's last two games. 
 • McDermott has hit multiple three-pointers in seven straight games.
• Butler held a 46-24 rebounding advantage at St. John's Dec. 31, its largest margin since 63-28 vs. The Citadel Nov. 14, 2015. 
• Bryce Nze had a season-high 12 rebounds and tied his career-high with five assists at St. John's Dec. 31. 
• Only four of Butler's 15 opponents have reached 60 points. 
• Butler's last five opponents have combined to score 91 points in the first halves of those games (average of 18.2). 
• Butler owns the nation's longest streak of non-conference home wins at 58.
• Seven of Butler's 13 non-conference opponents came from power conferences. Five are KenPom Top 50 (all Top 100).

LAST TIME OUT: Butler posted a 71-57 win over Creighton Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Senior Kamar Baldwin led the Bulldogs with 20 points, all coming in the second half.

The visiting Bluejays, coming off a 92-point performance in a win over Marquette, become Butler's 11th opponent in 15 games to be held under 60 points. Creighton, which entered the game shooting 38 percent from behind the three-point line while making 9.5 triples per game, was limited to 4-of-22 shooting from long range Saturday afternoon by the Bulldogs' defense.

Butler returned to its trademark care of the ball Saturday against Creighton, committing only seven turnovers. It is the eighth game this season where Butler has had 10 or fewer turnovers.

NEW YEAR'S EVE: The ball dropped...and dropping the ball.: Once up by 23 points only to find themselves down five with three minutes to play, Butler escaped St. John's and New York City on New Year's Eve with a 60-58 win in its BIG EAST opener. Butler had lost its last three games at Carnesecca Arena.

Christian David's three-pointer from the corner off an offensive rebound with 43 seconds to play proved to be the game-winner for Butler. It was his only basket of the game. 

Butler, which led 42-19 with 18:08 remaining, was forced into 24 turnovers as St. John's used a 29-4 run to take its first lead at 48-46 with 6:49 to play. Butler won the game in the final three minutes by scoring the final seven points. 

ON THE DEFENSIVE: 
• Only four Butler opponents have scored 60 or more points; Butler has also limited four opponents to 50 or fewer points.  
• Only four of Butler's opponents have registered more assists than turnovers (Stanford, Ole Miss, Florida, at St. John's). 
• Only two of Butler's opponents have shot better than 44 percent from the field (Missouri, Stanford). 
• Butler has limited opponents to 26.4-percent shooting from three-point range, the eighth-best defensive effort nationally. Both of Butler's BIG EAST opponents (St. John's and Creighton) shot 4-of-22 (18 percent).

ONE YEAR AGO: Butler and Providence played three times in a 16-day span near the conclusion of last season with the Friars taking all three match-ups, including a victory in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament.

NOTES FROM THE NON-CONFERENCE:
• Butler ran its non-conference home winning streak to 58 games, the longest active streak in the nation. 
• Butler's non-conference schedule included seven power conference opponents. Only two of those seven power conference match-ups came at Hinkle Fieldhouse (Minnesota, Florida).
• All seven of Butler's power conference opponents finished the non-conference portion of the schedule ranked among the KenPom Top 80.
• Butler's only non-conference loss came on the road at Baylor Dec. 10 (53-52). The Bulldogs limited Baylor to 19 points and 24-percent shooting in the second half, nearly overcoming a 16-point deficit.
• Butler was Purdue's only non-conference opponent to out-rebound the Boilermakers (36-30); the Bulldogs were also the first team to score 70 points vs. Purdue in 2019-20.
• Butler held Florida to 6-of-26 shooting from behind the arc in the Bulldogs' win Dec. 7. 
• Kamar Baldwin scored a season-high 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting, leading Butler to a road win over Ole Miss Dec. 3. The senior matched a career-high with four three-pointers, and the 31 points were one shy of his season-high. 
• Baldwin earned MVP honors at the 2019 Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, leading the Bulldogs to the title with 22 points in the championship game win over Stanford Nov. 26. Seventeen of those points came in the final 8:34 of the contest, including the game-winner with five seconds remaining. 
• The Hall of Fame Classic is Butler's seventh in-season tournament championship since 2001.
• Butler began its regular season opener vs. IUPUI Nov. 6 with eight available players. After Baldwin and Campbell Donovan were injured within the first five minutes of the contest, the Bulldogs played six players for the final 35 minutes of the 80-47 win.