Providence is preparing to shake up the field once more.

The eighth-seeded Friars kicked off a wide-open Big East Tournament looking like a team ready to make another deep run at Madison Square Garden, following an impressive 80-57 beatdown of ninth-seeded Butler Wednesday night.

The Friars (18-14, 7-11), who made last year’s title game after upsetting top-seeded Xavier, have a quick turnaround for Thursday afternoon’s game against two-time defending champion, and top-seeded Villanova (22-9, 13-5), which won both meetings during the regular season.

Over the past five Big East Tournaments under Ed Cooley, Providence has reached the semifinals four times, made two title games and won one championship.

“I’ve said it since Day 1, there is something spectacular about this building for the Friars,” Cooley said. “I saw our guys playing with a lot of joy. It was a lot of fun. It was one of our more complete games of the season.”

After losing to the Friars twice in the past two weeks, Butler (16-16, 7-11) ran out to an early 10-2 lead, but Providence quickly overcame the deficit by shaking off a season-long shooting slump, hitting 11-of-23 3-pointers, and shooting nearly 56 percent of shots from the field.

Junior Maliek White, who entered averaging 5.9 points, scored a career-high 19 points (8-of-11 shooting) with five assists, while Harlem native Alpha Diallo had 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

“Maliek looked like Superman out there,” Cooley said.

Butler has now failed to win a game in all but one Big East Tournament since first appearing in 2014.