Providence @ Butler preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 10, 2020 ) Butler 70, Providence 58

No. 17 Butler seems to have crawled out of a recent rut and looks to stretch its current winning streak to three games when it hosts Providence in a Big East clash Saturday. After losing three straight by an average of 12 points, the Bulldogs knocked off Marquette and Georgetown to slide into a third-place tie in the conference.

Senior star Kamar Baldwin tied a season high with 31 points in the first of those two straight victories and then had 12 of his 13 points in the second half against the Hoyas. "They just do a great job, and then the second half, I just kind of pick and choose my spots," Baldwin told reporters after helping his team erase an 11-point halftime deficit. "Just reading defenses and seeing where I can get to my spots." The Friars opened 3-0 in the conference but a home loss to Butler on Jan. 10 started their current 1-4 swoon. Leading scorer Alpha Diallo (13.3) was held scoreless on 0-of-6 shooting in last Saturday's 64-60 loss to No. 10 Villanova as Providence shot under 40 percent from the floor for the fifth straight time.

TIME: 2 p.m. ET. TV: Fox Sports 1

ABOUT PROVIDENCE (11-10, 4-4 Big East): The Friars are last in the Big East in shooting (40.1 percent), eighth in 3-point percentage (31.3) and eighth in free-throw percentage (67.9) after their cold shooting effort versus the Wildcats. "This has been a very taxing year," coach Ed Cooley told reporters. "It's not like we're not getting the energy, not like we're not putting in the effort. In practice, their (shots are) going down. What's hurting us has been our offensive efficiency." Sophomore guard David Duke is the only other player scoring in double figures on average with 12.7 points per game, and junior center Nate Watson (9.8) is third on the team after tying his season high with 18 points against Villanova.

ABOUT BUTLER (17-4, 5-3): Baldwin paces the Bulldogs with 16 points per game and senior forward Sean McDermott comes in next at 11.9. McDermott averaged 7.7 points on 24.1 percent shooting during the team's recent three-game skid, but he had 16 points in the win over Marquette and nailed seven of his 10 3-point attempts en route to 25 versus Georgetown. Junior forward Bryce Nze averages 9.3 points on a team-high 61.9 percent shooting and also tops the squad with seven rebounds per contest.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Nze has 11 assists over his last three games after producing a total of 11 over his previous 13.

2. The Friars recorded four assists against Villanova and they're averaging just 8.4 during the 1-4 stretch.

3. Baldwin and teammate F Jordan Tucker scored 17 points apiece in Butler's 70-58 win at Providence earlier this season, while Diallo led the Friars with 21.

PREDICTION: Butler 72, Providence 63