The Bulldogs return to the East Coast Wednesday night, traveling to Providence for a BIG EAST tip with the Friars. Butler enters the contest after dropping a 70-62 decision at St. John's Saturday afternoon.
 
Butler (7-8, 0-4 BIG EAST) at Providence (7-8, 1-3)
Wednesday, Jan. 8 • 8:30PM
Amica Mutual Pavilion • Providence, R.I.
 
TV: Peacock • John Fanta & Tim Welsh
Audio: Varsity Network App, SiriusXM 381, XM App 971 & TuneIn • @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
 
Quick Hits
• Patrick McCaffery posted his first double-double of the season (and the second of his career) with 13 points and 11 rebounds against St. John's.
• Butler has had a player record a double-double in four straight games (McCaffery, Jahmyl Telfort twice, Andre Screen); four different Bulldogs have posted at least one double-double this season (Pierre Brooks II had one against Merrimack Nov. 22).
• Butler has lost seven straight games, which is the program's longest skid since February, 2014. Butler's schedule is currently ranked as the 17th-toughest nationally by KenPom.
• Butler held a 47-46 rebounding advantage over St. John's as all eight Bulldogs who saw action pulled down at least three rebounds.
• The Bulldogs' defense limited St. John's to 1-for-21 shooting from three-point range (5 percent); it marked the eighth game this season that a Butler opponent has been held to less than 30-percent shooting from behind the arc.
• On the season, Butler's opponents are shooting only 29.1 percent from three-point range, a defensive effort that leads the BIG EAST and is Top 40 nationally.
• After shooting better than 70 percent from the free throw line in 12 of the team's first 13 games, Butler is a combined 21-for-43 (49 percent) from the charity stripe over the last two games. The past two games have dropped Butler's free throw accuracy from 76.7 percent (43rd nationally at the time) to 73.4 percent (126th nationally currently).
• Butler's average of 17.9 made free throws per game ranks 27th nationally. The Bulldogs attempt 24.3 free throws per game, which is 24th nationally.
• Butler's 38.2-percent accuracy from three-point range ranks 30th in the country. Butler's top three scorers (Telfort, Brooks, McCaffery) are shooting a combined 40.6 percent from three-point range.
• Butler committed a season-worst 21 turnovers at St. John's; Butler had turned the ball over a total of 38 times over the previous five games (7.6 per game).
• Butler ranks 350th nationally in turnover margin (-4.6 per game) as the team generates only 3.5 steals per game (353rd nationally) and forces opponents into only 7.7 per game (which is 352nd nationally). 
• Telfort played all 40 minutes Saturday at St. John's; he leads the BIG EAST and is Top 30 nationally in minutes played at 35:34 per game; McCaffery (sixth) and Brooks (seventh) are also among the conference leaders.
• Telfort leads the BIG EAST in both free throws made (67) and is second in free throws attempted (86).
• Telfort's season average of 15.8 points per game ranks ninth in the BIG EAST.
• Brooks is 11th in the BIG EAST in scoring at 14.8 points per game.
• McCaffery's 41.8-percent accuracy from three-point range is 60th nationally. He has hit multiple three-pointers in 11 of the team's games, including five twice.  
• Screen enters Wednesday's game just shy of a milestone with 997 career points. 
• Screen is fifth in the BIG EAST at 1.7 blocks per game, while his 5.8 rebounds per game rank 13th.
• Kolby King made his first start in a Butler uniform Saturday at St. John's; he had 4 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
• The Bulldogs defeated Northwestern and No. 25 Mississippi State in taking the Arizona Tip-Off title over Thanksgiving.
 
Tough Slate
• KenPom ranks Butler's schedule as the 17th most difficult nationally (as of Jan. 6).
• The Bulldogs' 2024-25 schedule includes six games against teams ranked in the Top 15 of this week's AP poll (Jan. 6) and an additional seven against teams receiving votes in this week's poll. (Butler has already played four of the six games against those current Top 15 teams.)
 
Profiling Providence
• Providence is 7-8 on the season, which includes a 6-2 mark at home.
• The Friars are 2-8 since winning their first five games of the season; those two wins came against BYU and at DePaul in their BIG EAST opener.
• Bryce Hopkins is both the leading scorer (17.0) and rebounder (7.7) for the Friars, but he has been limited to three games, a stretch from Dec. 3-10 that included the wins over BYU and DePaul.
• Jayden Pierre (24) and Wesley Cardet Jr. (18) led the Friars in Sunday's 87-84 loss at No. 11 UConn.
 
The Series with the Friars
• All 25 meetings in the series has come since Butler joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season.
• Butler's 75-72 win over Providence at Hinkle Fieldhouse Feb. 10, 2024 in the most recent meeting between the two programs halted a seven-game winning streak for the Friars in the series.
• Providence holds a 9-2 advantage in games played in Rhode Island.
 
Series:  Providence Leads, 19-6
Streak: Butler, W1
At PC: Providence Leads, 9-2
First Meeting: Jan. 21, 2014; PC, 65-56 (at PC)
Last Meeting: Feb. 10, 2024; BU, 75-72 (at BU)
 
Up Next
The Bulldogs return to Hinkle Fieldhouse to host Creighton Saturday. The Noon tip will air on FOX. The game is also the program's annual IMS Checker Out game, which will include a large Indianapolis Motor Speedway and INDYCAR presence with fans asked to wear blue or white depending on the section they are seated in.