Where: Titan Gym – Fullerton, CA
When: 11:30 EST
How: ESPN2 (Roxy Bernstein & Sean Farnham)/WEEI 103.7 FM and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/FriarTV
Game Notes
- Providence is 2-3 all time against Arizona. The last meeting was on March 23, 1997 in the Elite 8 with Arizona winning in overtime, 96-92.
- Providence is 10-10 all time against the PAC 12 conference. The latest game against a team from that conference was the Elite 8 game mentioned above.
- Arizona is 5-0 on the season. The Wildcats have beaten every opponent by double figures until last night’s 2 point win over Santa Clara. The Wildcats are led in scoring by senior Gabe York who is averaging 15.0 points/game. Senior Ryan Anderson leads the team in rebounding at 10.5 rebounds/game.
- Ben Bentil scored a career high 24 points in Providence’s win over Evansville in the first round of the Wooden Legacy Tournament. Kris Dunn started slow but finished with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.
- Opening Line: TBA
Game Preview
Providence got off to a slow start against Evansville in their first round game of the Wooden Legacy Tournament but the Friars were the more talented team. They used a big run to open the second half to extend their lead to 19 and that deficit would fluctuate but proved too much to overcome for the Purple Aces. Arizona had their own struggles in their first round game against winless Santa Clara. Sean Miller’s group let the Broncos hang around and the Wildcats needed overtime to get the win. Jared Brownridge scored a career high 44 points for Santa Clara in the loss. Senior big man Kaleb Tarczewski didn’t return to action after spraining his ankle. His status for tonight’s game is uncertain.
The probable starters according to the game notes are:
Providence
- Kris Dunn – #3 – Junior
- Junior Lomomba – #32 – Junior
- Ryan Fazekas – #35 – Freshman
- Rodney Bullock – #5 – Sophomore
- Ben Bentil – #0 – Sophomore
Arizona
- Gabe York – #3 – Senior
- Kadeem Allen – #5 – Junior
- Allonzo Trier – #11 – Freshman
- Ryah Anderson – #12 – Senior
- Kaleb Tarczewski – #33 – Senior
The key to victory will be interior defense and rebounding. Even if Tarczewski doesn’t play or is limited Arizona still has a bigger frontline than Providence. Gabe York is a scoring threat from the outside but controlling Ryan Anderson and Mark Tolefson will be key to coming away with a win. I think Providence plays right with the Wildcats but comes up short in the end.
Prediction: Providence 71 Arizona 73
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