PC Set to Face Butler in Big East Tournament Opener

PC Set to Face Butler in Big East Tournament Opener

The fourth seeded Providence College Friars kick off their Big East tournament on Thursday, March 10 when they play fifth seeded Butler at 2:30 p.m. at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York. 

After a rough month of February in which the Friars only won 2 games, the Friars are healthy and have won three straight entering tournament play. 

""For the Friars it's all about energy, Bentil is going to give you a consistent performance every night, the rest of the team relies on the energy of Kris Dunn. If he isn't playing with energy, defensively and offensively, the other guys are going to struggle," said Friars radio analyst Joe Hassett.

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Scouting Butler 

The Friars played Butler twice this season, beating them both times, but it has been awhile. 

The last meeting coming in Mid January at the Dunkin' Donuts Center, which PC won 71-68 and before that the Friars beat Butler 81-73 in the first conference game of the season. 

The Bulldogs got off to a slow start in conference play, losing three of their first four games of the conference season and fell from the 9th ranked team in the country to out of the national rankings all together. 

However, the Bulldogs recovered to go 10-8 in the Big East, 21-9 overall and come into the tournament having won four of their last five, and seven of their last nine, games. 

Butler is led by guard Kellen Dunham and Kelan Martin who each averaged 16 points per game, while forward Rosevelt Jones is tied with Martin in rebounding, each pulling down 6.7 rebounds per game.

In the last 6 meetings, Butler is 1-5 against the Friars.

Good Vibes at The Garden 

If you believe confidence carries over from one game to the other, then you have to believe that the Friars can't wait to take the floor at Madison Square Garden on Thursday afternoon. 

Providence played at MSG in their final game of the regular season against St. John's and shot 50% from the field and 43% from three-point land. A further breakdown of those numbers would show that the Friars shot 45% from three in the second half, 48 % from the field in the second half. 

PC hit 13 threes in the game and sharpshooter Jalen Lindsey poured in a career high 30 points, going 6 of 9 from beyond the arc. 

Providence carries a 5-2 record over the last three seasons at Madison Square Garden. 

Bracketology Report 

In the most recent NCAA tournament projection (March 8) from ESPN's Joe Lunardi, the Friars are off the bubble and are seeded 8th in the West region. 

A win or two in the Big East tournament would likely get Providence out of the 8/9 game, where they would have to play a #1 seed in the second round, and potentially back to a 6 or 7 seed which is where they were a couple of weeks ago. 

For comparison, Butler is projected 9th in the Midwest region. 

Game time

So a projected 8 seed in Providence is set to battle a projected 9 seed in Butler in the first round of the Big East tournament. 

Both teams appear to be a lock for the big dance, but both teams know that seeding can be improved. 

"Everybody has to raise their game, coming into March we need to be the best that we can be as a team and right now it's time to get focused," Kris Dunn said . 

PC and Butler can be seen on Fox Sports 1. 

See the Friars Projected Starting Lineup Below