Untimely missed free throws handed Butler basketball its third straight loss on Wednesday night, as Butler fell to Providence 97-87 in double overtime at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
The Bulldogs missed five straight free throws over the end of regulation and beginning of overtime, sullying multiple opportunities to win the game.
Butler is now 13-10 and 4-8 in the Big East.
Here are three observations:
Finley Bizjack picks apart Providence defense, draws fouls
At first, Finley Bizjack’s impact was two-fold: He both led Butler in scoring and forced multiple Providence players into foul trouble.
Nearly half of Bizjack’s points came from the free-throw line, as he drew six fouls to start the game 12 of 12 from the charity stripe. He forced Providence to rethink its defensive strategy in the first half, with some of its players in early foul trouble. He got foul opportunities for his teammates, too, threading the needle between two Providence players to get the ball to Michael Ajayi for a crucial and-1 layup with three minutes left in the game.
Bizjack finished the game with 30 points on 7-of-17 shooting, along with five assists. But those efforts, ultimately, weren’t enough. Bizjack couldn’t convert in the final seconds of regulation, as he missed two free throws in a tied game with 1.3 seconds left.
Butler misses crucial free throws in regulation, OT to lose
Bizjack’s missed free throws at the end of regulation were just the beginning of Butler’s late free-throw woes.
After Providence’s Oswin Erhunmwunse started the overtime scoring, Ajayi was fouled with a chance to tie the game again. He missed both free throws.
About halfway through the overtime period, Drayton Jones had another chance to tie the game with two free throws. He missed the first and made the second, which kept Butler behind. Then, with six seconds left in the first overtime, Ajayi had two free throws with Butler down one. He missed the first and made the second, sending Butler to a second overtime.
Butler ultimately ran out of gas in the second overtime, as four starters fouled out and Butler scored just five points in those final five minutes.
Azavier Robinson misses games with wrist injury
Starter Azavier Robinson, who averages 6.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per game, missed his first game of the season with a left wrist injury on Wednesday night.
Robinson injured his wrist against Georgetown on Saturday, but played through it at the time. Postgame, Matta said he hadn’t had time to get the full report on Robinson’s wrist.
Fellow freshman Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor took Robinson’s spot in the starting lineup as he’s started to find a rhythm in the Bulldog rotation. Oliogu-Elabor scored seven points against Georgetown on Saturday — his first points since Jan. 14 — and seven points against Providence before fouling out in overtime.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Butler basketball collapses for critical double overtime loss at Providence
Reporting by Chloe Peterson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
