Year 2 of the Kim English era didn’t go well for Providence. After a season-ending injury to star forward Bryce Hopkins, the Friars finished eighth in the Big East, one spot behind their former head coach Ed Cooley at Georgetown, and English’s group limped to the finish line.
Providence has lost five straight games heading into the Big East Tournament opener on Wednesday, and well outside of the bubble, its season could come to a merciful end. Prior to that five-game losing streak, the Friars had dropped four in a row, including an 82-81 loss to Thad Matta’s Butler Bulldogs.
Not fairing much better lately, Butler lost five of its final six games in the regular season. Yet, both teams have a chance to salvage their seasons in the Big East Tournament, and on Wednesday afternoon at Madison Square Garden, the Bulldogs and Friars will play for a spot in the Big East quarterfinals where No. 1 seed St. John’s awaits.
Here’s how you can watch this conference tournament matchup.
How to watch Butler vs. Providence
- Date: Wednesday, March 12
- Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
- Venue: Madison Square Garden
- How to Watch (TV): Peacock
- Streaming: Peacock
- Butler record: 13-18 (6-14)
- Providence record: 12-19 (6-14)
Butler vs. Providence odds, spread and total
Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
Moneyline
- Butler -125
- Providence +105
Spread
- Butler -1.5 (-110)
- Duke -1.5 (-110)
Total
- 149.5 (over -105/under -115)
Butler injury report
- N/A
Providence injury report
- Jabri Abdur-Rahim, G: OUT (knee)
- Bryce Hopkins, F: OUT (knee)
Providence and Butler series history
- Providence all-time record vs. Butler: 20-7
Butler vs. Providence prediction
Despite all of their flaws, these are two of the better three-point shooting teams in the country, and the last time they got together, they were both red-hot from beyond the arc. Providence shot 16/32 from three while Butler made 10 of its 19 attempts from deep. The Friars are 68th in the country in three-point percentage and Butler is 39th, but it’s hard to expect both teams to shoot over 50% from deep in this matchup. And with both teams playing at a modest pace this season, it could be much lower-scoring.
Neither team forces turnovers, both in the bottom 10% of all teams in opponent turnover rate and Butler does not let its opponents get to the free throw line, boasting a 99th percentile opponent free throw attempt rate of 21.6%.
These are not lockdown defenses, but if there’s anything to bank on in this matchup of struggling Big East teams, it’s that offense will be more difficult to come by than last meeting.