Where: Dunkin’ Donuts Center – Providence, RI
When: 7:00PM
How: Fox Sports 2 (Brian Custer and Vin Parise)/WEEI 103.7 FM and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/WOFX 980 AM (Albany)
Game Notes
- Providence is 76-11 (.874) all time in season openers. The Friars are 79-8 (.908) all time in home openers. This is the 14th time in the last 15 seasons that the Friars will open their season at home. The last time PC did not open the season at home was the 2007-08 season when they opened that season in San Juan, Puerto Rico against Temple as part of the O’Reilly Auto Parts ESPNU Puerto Rico Tip Off. The last loss in a season opener came on November 15, 2008 against Northeastern.
- Providence has only met the Albany Great Danes once: February 24, 1928 in Albany, NY. The Friars fell in overtime, 31-30. Albany was called Albany State University. That was Providence’s 2nd ever season of basketball in school history.
- Albany was 19-15 last season including a 9-7 record in America East conference play. The Great Danes won their second consecutive America East Tournament championship earning their second consecutive bid to the NCAA Tournament. While there they beat Mt. Saint Mary’s 71-64 in one of the First Four games before losing to #1 seed Florida, 67-55, in the Second Round. The Great Danes return their leading scorer and rebounder from a season ago with junior guard Peter Hooley scoring 15.5 ppg and senior forward Sam Rowley pulling down 6.9 rpg. Albany also welcomes two junior college transfers that will start for them on Saturday in Evan Singletary and Ray Sanders.
- Providence is 33-3 against the America East Conference all time. The 3 losses came against Albany, Maine and New Hampshire. The wins have come against Binghamton (1), Maine (11), New Hampshire (14) and Vermont (7). The Friars will face America East preseason favorite Stony Brook later this season which will be the first ever matchup between the two schools. The last win against an America East team came on November 18, 2013 against Vermont, 70-49.
- The last time Providence had a freshman in the opening game starting lineup was 2012 when Josh Fortune became the 17th true freshman to start his first career game as a Friar. The previous year LaDontae Henton became the 16th true freshman.
- Providence takes a 35 game non-conference home winning streak into the action on Saturday. The Friars have won all of their non-conference home games in each of the last four seasons. The last home non-conference loss came on December 12, 2009 against Iona, 82-73. The longest non-conference home win streak in school history is 56 games which was from February 13, 1973 to December 27, 1974.
- Providence coach Ed Cooley’s first win of the 2014-15 season will be the 150th win of his career as a head coach.
- The 2014-15 season is the 88th season of basketball at Providence College. Since 1926-27, PC has a 1,358-918 (.597) record. Last season’s appearance in the NCAA Tournament marked the Friars 16th appearance while they have appeared in the NIT 19 times, most recently the 2012-13 season.
- Providence will host a champions night against Albany at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center on November 15th. Pregame festivities will be raising the 2014 Big East Tournament Championship banner to the rafters at the Dunk while the halftime celebration will be for the Pawsox and Cumberland Little League team.
- After returning to the NCAA Tournament following a 10 year drought, the Friars will look to make back-to-back appearances for the first time since Rick Barnes’ first two seasons at Providence – 1988-89 and 1989-90.
Game Preview
The official home opener has finally arrived. After a “secret” scrimmage against Harvard two weeks ago and an exhibition game against Division II Stonehill the Friars will finally play a game that actually counts on Saturday night against the Albany Great Danes.
Following the Stonehill game where all 10 healthy Friars including walk-ons Casey Woodring and Tom Planek got minutes in the first half, Ed Cooley will look to cut down his rotation slightly, relying on scholarship players and his first depth-filed roster during his tenure as the head coach in Providence. While German freshman Tyree Chambers remains sidelined with a stress fracture, graduate student Ted Bancroft appears healthy enough to play following his eye injury suffered in practice prior to the Stonehill contest.
After speaking with Laura Amato of the Troy Record the key to victory for the Friars in this game seems to be about controlling the tempo and dominating the paint. Albany returns their leading scorer and rebounder from a season ago in Peter Hooley (15.5 ppg) and Sam Rowley (6.9 rpg). Hooley was the MOP of the America East Tournament last season.
Providence obviously has the superior athletes but Albany may have at least equal experience. Both teams welcome a number of newcomers to their rosters but the Great Danes have a number of junior college transfers that will be expected to contribute right away. Two JC players are expected to start against the Friars in point guard Evan Singletary and Ray Sanders. Laura Amato believes the key to an Albany victory will be guard play and getting out in transition. I happen to disagree. If this game ends up being a springing contest in transition I like the Friars horses to take care of business.
Every Big East team that opened their season on Friday came out on top and I expect the Friars to continue that trend. Albany being ranked 150 by Kenpom and coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances is a challenging opening game for Ed Cooley’s Friars. I expect Providenceto take care of business.
Prediction: Providence 78 Albany 65
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