No. 23 Providence dominates Butler inside for 79-58 win

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Bryce Hopkins had 16 points and seven rebounds as No. 23 Providence dominated Butler inside and beat the Bulldogs 79-58 on Wednesday night.

Devin Carter added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Friars (16-5, 8-2 Big East), who have won two straight since back-to-back losses at Creighton and Marquette. Providence had a 42-24 rebounding edge and outscored the Bulldogs 48-20 in the paint.

Eric Hunter Jr. had 12 points and Jayden Taylor scored 10 with a team-high five rebounds for Butler (11-11, 3-8).

The Bulldogs led by seven early in the first half before Providence ran off 13 straight points to take a 22-16 lead. Carter hit a 3-pointer at the end of the half, then PC scored the first six points of the second to make it 42-26.

KEEPING IN TOUCH

Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens sat in the first row behind the Butler bench to cheer on the team he took to back-to-back NCAA finals before leaving for the NBA in 2013. Stevens coached the Celtics for eight years before moving into the front office in 2021.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

After two consecutive losses, to Creighton and then-No. 20 Marquette, the Friars dropped from a high of 19th to 23rd. They have a chance to climb back into the top 20 next week.

UP NEXT

Butler: Hosts Seton Hall on Saturday.

Providence: Visits Villanova on Sunday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25