Game Notes & Preview: (15) Providence (8-1) vs. Boston College (3-5) 12/9/15

Where: Dunkin’ Donuts Center – Providence, RI

When: 7:00pm EST

How: FS1 (Tim Brando & Donny Marshall)/WEEI 103.7 FM and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/FriarTV

Game Notes

• Providence and Boston College will meet for the 110th time on Wednesday with the Friars leading, 60-49. The Friars and Eagles have played 56 times as part of Big East conference play. Boston College is one of three teams the Providence has played more than 100 times. The other two are Rhode Island (126) and Brown (122). This is a non-bracketed game of the Wooden Legacy Tournament.
• Providence is 132-191 all time against the Atlantic Coast Conference. The last game Providence played against a team from the ACC was on December 22, 2014 when the Friars defeated the Miami Hurricanes, 76-62, at the Barclays Center. Providence went 3-1 last season against the ACC with wins over Florida State, Notre Dame and Miami. The lone loss came at the hands of these Boston College Eagles.
• Boston College is 3-5 on the season. They are in the midst of a 5-game losing streak after starting the season 3-0 against the likes of St. Francis (NY), Central Connecticut and Harvard. The Eagles also played in California as part of the Wooden Legacy Tournament this year. They went 0-3 with losses to Michigan State, UC Irvine and Santa Clara. They have lost to Penn State and UMass-Lowell since returning to the East coast. The Eagles are led in scoring by graduate transfer Eli Carter, who averages 16.4 points/game. Senior Dennis Clifford is the leading rebounder, averaging 6.9 rebounds/game. Both Carter (ankle) and Clifford (illness) missed Boston College’s last game against UMass-Lowell. Carter sprained his ankle during a pregame walkthrough on Sunday morning, while Clifford was dealing with the E. Coli infection.
• The Friars moved up in both polls on Monday after a 2-0 week that included an exciting road win at the buzzer against in-state rival Rhode Island. Providence is ranked 15th in the AP Poll and 18th in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll this week.
• Opening Line: (15) Providence -15.5 vs. Boston College 12/9/15

Game Preview

Boston College was already going to be the underdog against the 8-1 Providence Friars. An E. Coli infection outbreak that impacted 10 players on their team beginning on Sunday certainly hasn’t helped their cause. The Eagles started 5 freshmen against UMass-Lowell in their last game because graduate transfer Eli Carter and senior Dennis Clifford weren’t able to play. Carter sprained his ankle during the team’s morning walk-through on Sunday and Clifford was feeling the effects of that E. Coli infection.

Even with those two in the lineup, Boston College is a young team. Jerome Robinson played 34 minutes while struggling through the illness on Sunday to lead the Eagles with 16 points. Fellow freshman Johncarlos Reyes — a player Providence was recruiting in the Spring — notched his first career double-double while starting in place of the ill Clifford. Reyes finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds. The Eagles still lost the game to stretch their losing streak to 5 games.

The probable starters according to the game notes and prior box scores are:

Providence

• Kris Dunn – #3 – Junior
• Junior Lomomba – #32 – Junior
• Ryan Fazekas – #35 – Freshman
• Rodney Bullock – #5 – Sophomore
• Ben Bentil – #0 – Sophomore

Boston College

• Jerome Robinson – #1 – Freshman
• Sammy Barnes-Thompkins – #55 – Freshman
• AJ Turner – #11 – Freshman
• Ervins Meznieks – #10 – Freshman
• Dennis Clifford – #24 – Senior

The key to victory will be similar to the one against Hartford last week: play normal. Providence must avoid any hangover from their thrilling road win at the buzzer against in-state rival Rhode Island on Saturday night and maintain their focused against a young and likely depleted Eagle team. Look for Ben Bentil to continue his strong play and the Friars to roll over Boston College to exact Montezuma’s revenge on the Eagles.

Prediction: Providence 82 Boston College 64

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Mike Hopkins

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