• Providence and Butler started off slowly on offense in the inaugural contest of the 2019 Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden. Providence scored the first bucket, but Butler answered with 10 straight points to lead, 10-2, about 6 minutes into the action. This was a far cry from the offensive barrage Providence put on Butler early in last Saturday’s Senior Day game at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. Isaiah Jackson came off the bench and hit a 3-pointer that stopped the Butler run. The Friars continued to be cold and Butler got out to a 10-point lead before Nate Watson made a shot near the rim and AJ Reeves made a triple to cut the Butler lead in half.  A pair of blocks by Kalif Young and Makai Ashton-Langford on Nate Fowler seemed to spark Providence. The Friars hit a few buckets and played solid defense before David Duke nailed a 3-pointer to put Providence ahead, 23-21 with just over 4 minutes to go in the first half. Providence would end up with an 8-0 run over a 1:25 span, and a 13-2 run over the previous 4:07 of play. Butler tried to stem the tide, but the Friars jetted out to a 7-0 run this time, largely on the back of Maliek White. White was en fuego over the final few minutes and buried his third 3-pointer of the half just before the buzzer to give Providence their largest lead of the half, 38-27. Providence closed the half making their final 8 field goals and turn a 10 point deficit at the 10:01 mark into an 11 point lead at the break.
• Butler opened the half with 5 straight points and made their first 3 field goals. Providence didn’t falter, though. White stayed hot, and Diallo scored 6 of the Friars’ first 12 points of the half, including a triple with 15:27 to go  that extended Providence’s lead to 13, their largest of the  night at that point. The offense didn’t slow down for Providence. The Friars stretched the lead to 21 on the back of a 15-0 run that coincided with a scoring drought of more than 5 minutes for Butler. Aaron Thompson, who was the best player for Butler on the offensive end in this game, snapped the Providence run. Kamar Baldwin dealt with foul trouble much of the night and was forced to the bench with his 4th foul at the 11:15 mark of the second half with just 6 points on 3/7 shooting. The Friars didn’t take their foot off Butler’s neck and led by as many as 26 points in the second half on their way to a date with (1) Villanova on Thursday at noon.
• Butler led by 10, 17-7, with 10:01 to go in the first half. Since that point the Bulldogs were outscored by Providence, 73-40, over the final 29:59 of the game.
• Providence was led by White with a career-high 19 points. Also in double figures for the Friars were Diallo with 18, Duke with 16 and Jackson with 13. Diallo led the way with 8 rebounds and White led the Friars with 5 assists.
• Butler was led by Tucker with 14 points. Thompson was the only other Bulldog to score in double figures with 12 points on 5/5 shooting.
• Butler is now 1-6 all-time in the Big East Tournament since joining the league for the 2013-14 season.
• Providence returns to Madison Square Garden for a 12pm tip against (1) seed Villanova. The game will air on FS1.

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