The Bulldogs return to Hinkle Fieldhouse for a Saturday afternoon tip with Providence. The teams met in Rhode Island Jan. 8 with the Friars coming away with an 84-65 win. Butler is coming off an 84-54 win at Seton Hall Wednesday. The 30-point win is Butler's third-largest margin of victory in a BIG EAST game since joining the conference prior to the 2013-14 season. (Butler holds 33-point wins over DePaul in 2014 and St. John's in 2016 -- both were also on the road.)
 
Butler (10-13, 3-9 BIG EAST) vs. Providence (11-12, 5-7)
Saturday, Feb. 8 • 3PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse • Indianapolis, Ind.
 
TV: Peacock • Noah Reed & Jess Settles
Audio: Varsity Network App, SiriusXM 85, XM App 85 & TuneIn • @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
 
• Six Bulldogs scored in double figures against Seton Hall; Butler also had six players in double figures in the Nov. 15 win over SMU.
• The Bulldogs shot a season-high 58 percent from the field against Seton Hall; it was Butler's best shooting performance since Nov. 17, 2022 vs. St. Francis (Pa.) when the Bulldogs made 70.4 percent of their attempts.
• Butler scored 48 points in the first half at Seton Hall, the Bulldogs' highest 20-minute output on the season. With the 48-20 halftime lead, Butler has led at the half in eight of the team's 12 BIG EAST games (and was tied in one of the other four games).
• Butler is committing only 14.2 fouls per game, which is the 18th-fewest nationally.
• Boden Kapke recorded his first career double-double in the win over Seton Hall, pulling down a career-best 11 rebounds while matching his career-high with 13 points. Kapke becomes the fifth Bulldog to post at least one double-double this season.
• Butler went 12-for-24 from three-point range at Seton Hall; the 12 made three-pointers matched a season-high and it was the second-best performance in terms of percentage this season (12-for-22 vs. Mississippi State Nov. 29).
• The Bulldogs handed out 19 assists at Seton Hall, the second-highest total for the team this season. Pierre Brooks II had a career-high seven assists in the contest.
• Butler has limited each of its last two opponents to identical 2-for-17 shooting from three-point range. On the season, Butler has held opponents to just a 29.9-percent mark from behind the arc, which is 36th nationally.
• Finley Bizjack has scored in double figures in four of his last five games; he is averaging 14.2 points per game and shooting 15-for-28 (54 percent) from three-point range during that stretch.
• Over his last six games, Andre Screen is averaging 12.7 points per game and 77-percent shooting from the field; he has scored in double figures in five of those six games.
• Patrick McCaffery has hit at least one three-pointer in 29 consecutive games (which includes all 23 games this season and the final six games of Iowa's 2023-24 season). He has 16 games this season with multiple made three-pointers.
• The win at Seton Hall included Bulldog season-lows of 6-for-12 free throw shooting. Butler ranks in the Top 50 nationally in both free throws made (16.5 per game; 40th) and attempted (22.2 per game; 48th).
• Butler out-rebounded Seton Hall, 45-27, Wednesday night. The Bulldogs hold a cumulative +40 rebounding margin over the team's last six games and have not been out-rebounded in any of those games; the Bulldogs are 8-4 when out-rebounding its opponent.
• Seton Hall's leading scorer Isaiah Coleman entered the game against Butler averaging 15.3 points per game; the Butler defense held him to two points on 1-for-10 shooting.
• The Bulldogs defeated Northwestern and No. 25 Mississippi State in taking the Arizona Tip-Off title over Thanksgiving.
 
First Time Around
• Providence scored 44 points in the paint in taking an 84-65 win over Butler Jan. 8 in Rhode Island.
• Providence out-rebounded Butler, 43-26, in the contest; fourteen of the Friars' caroms were on the offensive end.
• Bensley Joseph and Jayden Pierre led four Friars in double figures with 18 points apiece.
• The Friars made 10 of their 24 three-point attempts, while Butler went only 4-for-16 from behind the arc.
 
Providence Points of Emphasis
• The Friars are 11-12 on the season, including 5-7 in BIG EAST games.
• Providence has a +5.4 rebounding margin on the season, which is 41st nationally and second in the BIG EAST.
 
The Series with the Friars
• All 26 meetings in the series have come since Butler joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season.
 
Series:  Providence Leads, 20-6
Streak: Providence, W1
At Hinkle: Providence Leads, 7-4
First Meeting: Jan. 21, 2014; PC, 65-56 (at PC)
Last Meeting: Jan. 8, 2025; PC, 84-65 (at PC)