Something has to give when Providence returns to its home floor for a Wednesday night matchup with Butler in Big East action.

The Friars (9-13, 2-9 Big East) have dropped four straight and seven of their last eight games, including an 87-73 Friday loss at Villanova. The first two losses during their current streak were by one possession.

Butler (13-9, 4-7), which has lost back-to-back contests since a three-game win streak, threw the first punch in this head-to-head season series with a 113-110 win in double overtime in the Dec. 13 conference opener in Indianapolis.

“When you’re not disciplined, tough and connected throughout the game, you’re in those late-game situations where you have to execute at a really, really high level,” Providence coach Kim English said. “We’re down a lot of guys. I felt like (against Villanova) we were close to letting go of the rope, but our guys didn’t.”

Freshman Stefan Vaaks has pulled the rope all season long, leading the Friars in minutes (31.3 per game) and a 33.1% 3-point shooter. He had a game-high 25 points and went 5-for-11 from distance against Villanova.

Providence has played its last six games without leading scorer Jason Edwards (17.2 points per game) due to a foot injury.

Butler is coming off a 77-64 Saturday loss to Georgetown in which it shot just 5-for-33 in the second half and missed its last 14 shots from the field.

“I don’t know, I really don’t (know what happened),” coach Thad Matta said. “You can’t shoot 15 percent in the second half of a Big East game and have a chance to win. … I thought we got the ball to the rim, and how many of them just rolled off?”

It was not the Bulldogs’ day, but Jamie Kaiser Jr. had a career-high 19 points to lead the Bulldogs. It was his third straight double-figure scoring game.

In the December meeting, Finley Bizjack (17.1 points per game) scored 12 of his 26 points in the two overtime periods and Michael Ajayi had 28 points and 15 rebounds.

The Bulldogs canned 10 3-pointers, but allowed 14 to Providence. Edwards netted 32 points and Jaylin Sellers 26 for the Friars.

Matta’s next win will be the 500th of his career.

–Field Level Media

SAN FRANCISCO — Devin McCourty agrees that his long-time coach should be enshrined into the Hall of Fame this summer, but said the real impact of Bill Belichick not getting voted in this year will be the attention stolen from those who are.

Belichick won a record six Super Bowl titles as head coach of the New England Patriots before parting ways with the team after the 2023 season. Eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time this year, news broke last week that he will not be part of the 2026 Hall of Fame class that will be announced Thursday night.

Belichick was up for selection alongside Patriots owner Robert Kraft and three senior player candidates in Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson, 49ers running back Roger Craig and Steelers defensive end L.C. Greenwood. Kraft reportedly also did not make the final cut.

The widespread speculation is that voters did not support Belichick being a “first-ballot” Hall of Famer because of the 2007 Spygate scandal and the Deflategate drama that resulted in a suspension for quarterback Tom Brady. Other voters have said they prioritized what is viewed as a backlog of worthy candidates whose windows to be voted into the Hall of Fame are running out.

McCourty took issue with the various requirements, including that at least four — but no more than nine — candidates can be elected annually.

“Shouldn’t the Hall of Fame just be, ‘Is this guy a Hall of Famer, yes or no?’ And then we move forward,” McCourty said on Tuesday ahead of working Super Bowl LX as a commentator for NBC Sports.

McCourty was a first-round pick in 2010 by the Patriots and went on to win three Super Bowl titles while playing 13 seasons for Belichick. He believes his former coach will reach the hallowed halls of Canton one day, but is concerned that his omission this year will be a storyline that overrides the induction of others.

“I think the travesty of all of this is this summer, there’s gonna be a Hall of Fame induction and there’s gonna be guys who are deserving of being in the Hall of Fame. And we can probably all bet that the top topic is gonna be Bill Belichick not being there,” McCourty said. “And I think that’s unfortunate because there are going to be players, coaches, contributors that are Hall of Fame worthy, but because this feels like a huge mistake, the only talk is going to be about the guys that didn’t get into the Hall of Fame.”

–Field Level Media

The Minnesota Timberwolves will be searching for consistency when they complete a three-game road trip Wednesday night against the Toronto Raptors.

The Timberwolves’ inconsistency was recently exposed in a two-game set against the Memphis Grizzlies.

After defeating the Grizzlies 131-114 on Saturday, the Timberwolves dropped the rematch 137-128 on Monday.

The loss ended a four-game winning streak that followed a five-game losing streak.

The Raptors, meanwhile, opened a five-game homestand with a 107-100 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday. They had lost their two previous games after winning four straight.

This will be the first meeting of the season between Minnesota and Toronto. The teams split two games last season.

In the last game vs. Memphis, Anthony Edwards scored 39 points for the Timberwolves but their defensive intensity was lacking as the Grizzlies shot 50% (44 for 88) from the field.

“Defense wasn’t there tonight like we needed it to be,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said.

The Grizzlies shot 46.3% from 3-point range (19 of 41) and had a 45-40 advantage in rebounds.

Finch was not impressed with the effort.

“It’s on them,” he said. “They’ve got to come and put the work in. It can’t be a sometimes thing.”

Jaden McDaniels had his third straight 20-point game for Minnesota with 29 points on 11-for-14 shooting.

“He got a lot of great offense, but we didn’t get a lot of great defense from him or anyone else,” Finch said. “Offense, I’m not worried about. It comes from wherever it comes from.”

Julius Randle (thumb) and Edwards (back spasms) were listed as questionable before the game. Finch said that Randle was “banged up,” but not enough to miss the game. He finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Both are again listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game, although Edwards is now dealing with left elbow soreness.

The Raptors survived a sloppy game on Sunday to reach 30 wins, matching their total for last season.

Utah committed 24 turnovers leading to 26 Toronto points. The Raptors made 19 turnovers leading to 15 points.

During the game, it was announced that Scottie Barnes was going to the All-Star Game as a reserve. He was mobbed by his teammates during a timeout in the first quarter.

Brandon Ingram, however, did not make the team despite a strong season in which he is averaging a team-high 21.9 points per game.

“There are things that Brandon does at an elite level and there are things that Scottie is doing at elite level, but they’re so different,” said Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic, who will coach the World team in the All-Star Game. “You know, Scottie is amazing in open court and transition. Now, (Ingram) is taking advantage of that. He’s doing a better job in open court as well. (Ingram) is an elite scorer in half court, in (isolations) and post-ups. I think they have a lot of respect for each other and what they bring to the team at the end of the day. Winning basketball games, that’s what they do. They help the team win.”

Barnes had 14 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots on Sunday.

He limped off the court late in the fourth quarter but returned and is not listed on the injury report. He felt Ingram should also be an All-Star.

“I was disappointed Brandon didn’t make it,” Barnes said. “He has done so much for us this year. Look at the difference from last year to this year. He has been instrumental to our success.”

Minnesota gained some salary cap room Tuesday when it dealt veteran point guard Mike Conley to the Chicago Bulls as part of a three-team trade that included the Detroit Pistons.

–Field Level Media