The Providence Friars and Butler Bulldogs could each be the type of mid-tier seeds that no national title contender wants to see in the first few rounds of the NCAA Tournament. But both teams need to make it there first. Providence and Butler both have solid resumes but need to add a few more wins down the stretch to punch their ticket to March Madness. These two teams will face off this week in a big game for both sides.
Butler has been the slightly more impressive team this season and also gets the benefit of the home court advantage, which should make it a solid favorite to take care of business in this matchup. Providence already has one victory over Butler on the season and would love to finish off the regular season sweep as it would do a lot to bolster the team’s tournament chances.
At 12 p.m. ET, tune into CBS for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Saturday, February 17, 2018, at the Hinkle Fieldhouse.
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Odds Analysis
Providence is 16-9 straight up and 8-16 against the spread. The Friars have covered in three of their eight attempts on the road this season and is 5-6 against the spread as the underdog. Providence has performed much better as an underdog compared to a favorite this season.
Butler is 17-9 straight up and 13-12 against the spread. The Bulldogs have been impressive at home on the year, covering in 10 of their 13 attempts. Butler is 10-6 against the spread as the favorite on the year.
Last Meeting
Behind a strong second-half performance, Providence defeated Butler 70-60 during the first meeting between these two teams on January 15th. Senior guard Kyron Cartwright led the charge for the Friars with 18 points and scored 16 of those in the second half.
Providence was much sharper offensively than usual in this contest, shooting 50 percent from the field. That was really good compared the Bulldogs, who finished at 34.9 percent from the field. The Friars trailed by four points at halftime, before putting together a much stronger showing after intermission, where they outscored the Bulldogs 45-31.
Sophomore guard Kamar Baldwin finished with 25 points and seven rebounds for Butler. He was the only Butler player in double-digits in what was the second-lowest scoring game of the season for the Bulldogs.
Player to Watch
Kelan Martin – Butler’s senior guard had his worst offensive performance of the season the first time his team faced Providence this season. Martin finished with just six points in that matchup, going 3-of-14 from the field.
That season-low against Providence came on the heels of a career-high against Marquette where Martin finished with 37 points in Butler’s 94-83 win over the Golden Eagles. He has been playing well in the games since, however, and will look for a much stronger performance this time around against Providence.
Martin is averaging a team-high 20.7 points a game in addition to 6.3 rebounds this season. He had 34 points and seven rebounds against No. 5 Xavier on February 6th and finished with 30 points against No. 1 Villanova on last weekend.
Free NCAA Men’s Basketball ATS Picks
Butler shot uncrasterically poorly in the first game and should be much better in this one. Providence isn’t that much worse of a team but look for the Bulldogs to grab control of this one early and hold off a run by the Friars.
Butler is the team that should both win this game and cover the spread. The Bulldogs will score much better in this rematch, so consider the “over” on the scoring total.
NCAA Men’s Basketball Odds: Butler 83, Providence 70
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