The Bulldogs return to Hinkle Fieldhouse for their final tip of 2022, hosting Providence Thursday night. Butler will welcome back a number of men's basketball alumni and their families for Thursday's game. Many will be located in one of the sections that typically houses Butler's Dawg Pound student section.
 
Butler (8-5, 0-2 BIG EAST) vs. rv/rv Providence (10-3, 2-0)
Thursday, Dec. 29;  6:30PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
 
PDF Notes Available at https://bit.ly/3NGADRf
 
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THE SERIES: Providence Leads, 16-5
Streak: Providence, W4
At Hinkle: Providence Leads, 6-3
First Meeting: PC, 65-56, 1/21/14
Last Meeting: PC, 65-61, 3/10/22  
 
Bulldogs vs. Friars
• All 21 match-ups between the two teams have come since Butler joined the BIG EAST in the 2013-14 season.
• Providence took all three games played between the teams last season, but all three contests were single-possession games in the final minute.
• Chuck Harris led the Bulldogs in each of the three games, while Nate Watson did the same for PC.
• The 69-62 PC win Jan. 23 in Rhode Island featured 13 lead changes. The 71-70 overtime win by PC at Hinkle Feb. 20 included the Friars overcoming a 19-point deficit. The March 10 BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal was a 65-61 PC win.
 
Of Note
• Eleven Bulldogs played in Thursday's game at Creighton, the first time this season that more than nine players saw action in a contest for Butler.
• Jalen Thomas and Ali Ali each played in their second games as Bulldogs Thursday against Creighton. Thomas (pulmonary embolism) and Ali (concussion symptoms/nasal surgery) had missed the first 11 games of the season.
• Thomas went 4-for-5 from the field and scored the first eight points of his Butler career; Ali scored seven points after registering six points in his Dec. 17 opener vs. UConn.
• Butler's five starters are each averaging double figures in scoring and more than 30 minutes played per game. The balance among those five includes field goal attempts that range from 115 to 144 through 13 games.
• Manny Bates, Jayden Taylor and Chuck Harris have each led the Bulldogs in scoring in at least four games so far this season (includes ties).
• Butler has placed all five starters in double figures three times this season, with the most recent coming at Cal Dec. 10.
• Butler's average of 8.2 bench points per game ranks last (of 352 teams) nationally. That output should increase with the return of Ali and Thomas to the rotation.
• Butler is 8-0 this season when leading at halftime.
• Harris is averaging 16.6 points per game and shooting 45.7 percent from three-point range at Hinkle Fieldhouse this season.
• The Bulldogs are shooting 53 percent from the field and 41 percent from three-point range in the team's seven home games this season.
• Butler is committing only 12.3 fouls per game, which is second in the nation.
• Butler's 4.8 blocks per game are 47th nationally.
• Bates is 16th nationally in blocks per game at 2.5 per game.
• For the season, Butler is shooting 48.1 percent from the field, which is 47th nationally.
• Bates is 22nd nationally with a 62.6 field goal percentage.
• Butler has shot 50 percent or better from the field eight times already this season; the Bulldogs hit the 50-percent mark six times all of last season (31 games). In a similar fashion, Butler already has six games this season shooting 40 percent or better from three-point range, which was only done four times during the 2021-22 season.
• Butler's free throw percentage of 74.9 percent is 50th nationally.
• Both Harris (89.2 percent; 32nd) and Taylor (86.4 percent; 62nd) rank among the national leaders in free throw percentage.
• Among active coaches with at least 10 seasons of NCAA Division I experience, Thad Matta's .738 winning percentage ranks fourth (Few, Self, Calipari).
• Thad Matta is 19-2 at Hinkle Fieldhouse as the head coach at Butler (2000-01 and the current 2021-22 seasons).
• Bates led the Bulldogs with 22 points and 10 rebounds against Kansas State Nov. 30, his third double-double of the season.
• Eric Hunter Jr. posted the first double-double of his collegiate career in the Dec. 10 win at Cal; he scored 13 points to go along with a career-high 11 rebounds.
• Including his seasons at Purdue, Hunter has 984 career points.
• Harris is now tied with Gordon Hayward for 22nd in Butler history in career three-pointers (116).
• Harris posted career-highs of 32 points and six three-pointers in the Dec. 3 win over Tennessee Tech.
• Simas Lukosius handed out a career-high seven assists against Kansas State Nov. 30, which also matched the most by a Butler player this season.
• Myles Tate has missed the last four games due to a non-COVID illness. John-Michael Mulloy has yet to play this season due to an ankle/foot injury.