Providence Friars 54 (17-10)

Butler Bulldogs 69 (18-10)

Recently, whenever the Friars have played Butler, I get a look at Kelan Martin’s stats coming into the game and his play never seems to match the stats.  I did some digging into his numbers against the Friars before the game and came up with this:

Kelan Martin’s last 4 games against the Friars:

14-53 Field Goals (26.4%)

4-20 3-point Field Goals (20.0%)

10.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.0 BPG, 3.0 TOs

His Avgs this year:

44.7% FG 35.4% 3-pt FG 20.7 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 2.3 TOs

So it wasn’t just in my head, he actually been pretty locked up by the Friars over the last two seasons.

Unfortunately for Providence, the good Kelan Martin showed up and stuck those numbers right down my throat.  Martin was the best player on the floor, scoring a game-high 19 points and grabbing 7 boards while Butler ran away with the game at home.  He still needed 17 shots to get to 19 points, but the Friars couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn all game, so that was more than enough to pull out the win.

Game Notes:

• The Friars starting 5 were a combined 8 for 38 from the floor (21%).
• Jalen Lindsey was 0-8, including 0-7 from three.
• Kyron Cartwright was 1-8 for 3 points and had as many turnovers (2) as assists (2).  Even his one bucket was extremely tough to come by.

Toughness and effort beats size. Every. Single. Time. #pcbb #KyronCartwright #WhereWasTheFoulCall pic.twitter.com/IGlRenwyOV

— The Morning Hangover (@TheMorningHang) February 17, 2018 

• Alpha Diallo has 11 points and 9 rebounds but was just 4-13 from the floor, including 1-5 from three.  He was the only starter to finish in double-figures.

I’m not sure how either of these passes got through but I’m sure that I like it #pcbb #KyronCartwright #JalenLindsey #AlphaDiallo #AgainWheresTheFoul pic.twitter.com/3nqVsc6NQx

— The Morning Hangover (@TheMorningHang) February 17, 2018

• Rodney Bullock was 2-7 for 7 points.  Nice block though.

Rodney says to meet him at the rim if you feel luck #pcbb #RodneyBullock #SwatCity pic.twitter.com/5DaKo261Ok

— The Morning Hangover (@TheMorningHang) February 17, 2018 

• Kalif Young had 4 points in 10 minutes.
• The Friars bench out-scored the Friars starters 28-26.  And they did so playing 56 minutes compared to 144.
• Nate Watson played only 8 minutes but was 2-4 for 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 block, and 1 assist.

Big Nate thrives with contact #pcbb #NateWatson #WasThatAFly pic.twitter.com/mYdL099oQU

— The Morning Hangover (@TheMorningHang) February 17, 2018

• Maliek White was 4-7 from the field and tied Alpha Diallo for a team-high 11 points, except White did it in 20 less minutes of playing time and with half the shot attempts.
• The Friars shot 30% for the game, 28.6% from three and 66.7% from the line.

Next Up, the Friars return home to face Seton Hall, the only Big East team that they have yet to beat this year.