NCAAB Game Preview - Providence at Butler

Sat Feb 1, 2020 2:00 PM EST

Butler coach LaVall Jordan knew exactly what he wanted to say after the Bulldogs' sloppy first half at Georgetown on Tuesday, but injured point guard Aaron Thompson beat him to it.

Thompson's halftime message seemed to spark No. 16 Butler to a 69-64 Big East victory as the Bulldogs overcame early foul trouble, 12 first-half turnovers and a 14-point deficit.

"It's hard to guard turnovers," Jordan told reporters. "But when I get in the locker room and Aaron Thompson's already having the come-to-Jesus talk that I was about to have, it says a lot about our leadership."

The Bulldogs (17-4, 5-3 Big East) opened the second half on an 18-3 run to take a four-point lead over the Hoyas and will bring a two-game winning streak into a conference home game against the slumping Providence Friars (11-10, 4-4) on Saturday.

The Friars have lost three in a row and four of five, a stretch that began with a 70-58 home loss to Butler on Jan. 10. They have not played since a 64-60 loss at No. 9 Villanova last Saturday.

Kamar Baldwin and Sean McDermott, Butler's usual suspects, carried the Bulldogs past Georgetown while Thompson missed his second straight game with a left wrist injury. His status for Saturday's game is unknown.

McDermott, a 6-foot-6 wing, had 25 points and tied a career high with seven 3-pointers, often on uncontested looks on the perimeter. Baldwin had 13 points, 12 in the second half, and the pair combined for 26 of the Bulldogs' 37 second-half points.

McDermott hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to break a 64-64 tie with 49.9 seconds remaining, and Baldwin hit two free throws 32 seconds left.

That came after Baldwin had a season-high 31 points with eight rebounds and five assists when the Bulldogs broke a three-game losing streak in an 89-85 overtime victory over Marquette on Jan. 24.

"I just kind of pick and choose my spots," said Baldwin, a 6-foot-1 guard who is averaging a team-high 16.0 points to go with 4.3 assists. "Just reading defenses and seeing where I can get to my spots."

McDermott, averaging 11.9 points a game, has 41 points the past two games while going 14 of 20 from the field, 9 of 14 from three-point range.

Providence has lost to all four ranked teams it has played since opening the Big East season 3-0, and offensive production has been a sticking point. The Friars have shot under 40 percent in each of the past five games, 31.7 percent in each of the losses to both Butler and Villanova. They made 3 of 23 three-point attempts against the Wildcats.

"It's frustrating to see, because in practice they're going down," said Providence coach Ed Cooley, whose team is last in the Big East with a 40.1 field-goal percentage.

Senior Alpha Diallo leads the Friars in scoring (13.3 points) and rebounding (8.0), but he was scoreless against Villanova, going 0 for 6 from the field. Sophomore David Duke (12.7 points) had his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds against the Wildcats but was 4 of 16 from the field.

"We're playing for our lives," Cooley told reporters after the Villanova loss. "At some point we have to be able to win these games."

--Field Level Media