Saturday Free Pick: Providence at Butler

Noon Eastern Saturday, February 17, 2018 – On Fox – Providence at Butler – College basketball- Free Pick

The spread currently is Butler -8 points. There is no total listed at the time of writing this article.

I am going to keep this one short and sweet. There are two major factors considered when picking this game against the spread. One is their head to head record. The second is how they have been playing lately.

Providence just came off a huge win beating #3 Villanova. They are 17-9 SU and 9-15 ATS. They scored 75 points per game while allowing 72 PPG. They have won three of their last five games played.

Butler is coming off three straight losses. Their record is 17-10 SU and 13-13 ATS. They score 80 PPG and allow 72. Their last win came two weeks ago when they smashed DePaul by 23 points. Since then it has been losses to Xavier, Villanova and Georgetown.

Head to Head

Providence owns Butler head to head. They are 8-2 SU and ATS as well. In their last meeting, on January 15th of this year, Providence beat Butler squarely by ten points.

Trends

• Providence is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
• Providence is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games
• Providence is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
• Butler is 1-5 SU and ATS in its last 6 games when playing Providence

The last betting trend listed there is most important. Butler has a hard time with Providence.

Is this the game where Butler finally steps up to Providence? We think so. I think Butler wins this game and breaks their losing streak but does not cover the spread. I like Providence to keep it real close and to cover the 8 points.