Previewing Butler

By Craig Leighton
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Updated: February 23, 2014

Providence College takes on Butler University Sunday afternoon at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Friars are looking to rebound after a heartbreaking double overtime loss to Villanova Tuesday night. Here is a preview of the upcoming game.

The Last Game Providence beat Butler 65-56 at the Dunkin Donuts Center on a very snowy January 22nd evening. Bryce Cotton led the Friars in scoring with 18 points and Kadeem Batts had a career high 17 rebounds as the Friars dominated the glass 37-22. Kellen Dunham led the Bulldogs in scoring with 17 points.

The Building This will be the first time that the Friars play at the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse which was home to the annual Indiana high school championship games, including the Milan Miracle in 1954 when tiny Milan High School beat the much larger Muncie Central High School. The film Hoosiers was loosely based on this game and many scenes in the movie were filmed at the Hinkle Fieldhouse.

(I wonder if Ed Cooley is going to have Casey Woodring get on Carson Desrosiers’ shoulders and measure the height of the rim?)

The Local Guy Rhode Island native Andrew Chrabascz is having a great freshman season at Butler and was recently moved into the starting lineup. Over the last five games the Cushing Academy graduate has averaged 11 points a game. Chrabascz is a hard nosed type of player with a very high basketball I.Q.

Missing Pieces If any team can sympathize with the Friars over missing players that they were counting on for big contributions it is the Butler Bulldogs. Before the season started Butler lost leading returning scorer and rebounder Roosevelt Jones. Since the start of the season guards Rene Castro and Andrew Smeathers have both transferred to other programs. Most recently Kameron Woods, the leading rebounder in the Big East, has been temporarily suspended by head coach Brandon Miller. His status for the PC game remains unclear.

Keys to Victory The Friars are bigger than than the Bulldogs, particularly if the suspended Woods does not play, and will once again need to control the paint. Kadeem Batts should be able to have a very good game down low if he is on. It will also be very important to get out to an early lead on the road and not let Butler dictate the flow of the game. Cotton will need to have a typical game ( 20 points, 5-8 assists) and the Friars will need to commit fewer turnovers than they did against Villanova. On the defensive end they will need to control Dunham’s looks from the outside and also make sure no one else blows up and has a “career game”.

What the Game Means Road games are very hard to come by in the Big East but this is a very winnable game for the Friars. It is also a must win if PC hopes to keep its NCAA tournament dreams alive. The Friars will need to win three of the next four games to keep their tourney hopes alive starting with Butler on Sunday.

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