Butler, Providence enter Big East tourney on downturns

NEW YORK -- Providence and Butler ended disappointing regular seasons with the dubious claim of being among the Big East's coldest teams.

Two teams on lengthy losing streaks will open the Big East tournament Wednesday afternoon when eighth-seeded Providence faces ninth-seeded Butler in an opening round game, with the winner advancing to face top-seeded St. John's on Thursday.

Providence (12-19) is concluding its first losing season since going 15-17 in former coach Ed Cooley's first season in 2011-12. The Friars also finished with a losing conference record for only the second time since 2011-12 and only saw star forward Bryce Hopkins play in three games due to a slow recovery from a knee injury.

"It's zero and zero," coach Kim English said after Providence extended its losing streak to five with a 76-68 loss at Xavier on Saturday. "Every team in this league is zero and zero now. I thought we took a step in the right direction in some ways to get some good mojo headed into the city. So excited to hook it up with Butler."

Bensley Joseph showed flashes this season by averaging 12.9 points. He produced four games of at least 25 points, including a 27-point showing at Xavier. He also had a 1-for-10 showing at Creighton, a 1-for-12 performance against UConn and a 1-for-9 outing against St. John's.

Joseph also finished Saturday's loss with five of the 17 turnovers by the Friars, who averaged a league-worst 12.7 giveaways per game this season.

The Friars are on the brink of their first 20-loss season since finishing 11-20 in 1984-85 and their average margin of defeat in the current skid is 14.8 points. Providence's finish is part of a 1-9 slide since eking out a two-point victory at Seton Hall on Jan. 28 and it includes an 82-81 loss at Butler on Feb. 8.

Butler (13-18) finished with a losing record for the fourth time in five seasons and dropped the final four games by an average of 10.5 points.

The Bulldogs are the Big East's second-worst scoring defense and allowed at least 80 points in each of their final three games and 10 games overall. Butler ended its third regular season under coach Thad Matta with an 87-74 loss at Creighton on Saturday and allowed at least 50 percent shooting from the field for the ninth time.

"It's a new season," Matta said. "Obviously, we got to take a look and continue to teach and coach and get better. But it's all on the line now."

Jahmyl Telfort leads the Bulldogs with 16.2 points per game on 47.2 percent shooting, up from 43.5 percent in his first season. He ended the campaign by scoring 19 at Creighton and also scored 24 in the previous meeting with Providence.

--Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media