Kris Dunn provides finishing touch on Providence’s win over Butler
Through 35 minutes of basketball Tuesday night in Providence, it was fair to wonder what All-American guard Kris Dunn was thinking.
The 16th-ranked Friars were doing all they could to stave up No. 18 Butler and avoid a third consecutive home loss in Big East Conference play. It wasn’t as if Dunn wasn’t contributing, but he had only three points and it was clear Providence was going to need more from him down the stretch to win.
Dunn did not disappoint.
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In the final five minutes, Dunn made two 3-pointers and provided a beautiful assist through traffic to forward Ben Bentil for the go-ahead slam dunk in a 71-68 victory.
Dunn’s second 3-pointers proved to be the margin of victory. His nine points, seven assists and five rebounds did not constitute the most impressive outing of his season, but Dunn made the difference for his team making sure the Friars did not allow another Big East opponent to steal a win on their court.
While Dunn turning up the intensity late ultimately guided Providence to the win, Bentil was solid throughout, leading the Friars with 20 points and also took a charge against Roosevelt Jones with 14 seconds remaining.
Butler still managed to get a tying 3-point attempt off from Kellen Dunham, who was rushed into the shot and missed. The Bulldogs dropped to 2-4 in conference play with two of those losses coming against the Friars
Dunham led Butler with 21 points and Jones scored 16. The Bulldogs had just one loss on their resume and quality wins against Cincinnati and Purdue entering conference play, but defensive deficiencies have caught up with them even as they appear to be improving on that end. Butler has ranked in the top 70 in the nation in points per possession for nine consecutive years. They were seventh nationally in that area last season but only recently climbed into the top 150 this season.
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Providence entered the game in the midst of an offensive slump of sorts. The Friars were shooting 32 percent from the floor and 19 percent from behind the 3-point line in the three previous games combined. Those numbers from behind the arc didn’t improve dramatically Tuesday, but the Friars did shoot 42 percent as a team, meaning Providence overcame the problems it brought into the game while Butler continued to battle its defensive woes.
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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
