Game Notes & Preview: (4) Providence (23-9, 10-8) vs (1) Villanova (28-4, 16-2) 3/11/16

Where: Madison Square Garden – New York, NY

When: 6:30pm EST

How: FS1 (Gus Johnson & Jim Jackson with Molly McGrath)/WEEI 103.7 FM and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/FriarTV

Game Notes

• Providence and Villanova will meet for the 9th time in the Big East Tournament on Friday with the Wildcats leading the series, 7-1. The teams split the regular season series. This is a rematch of last year’s Big East Tournaments semifinals, with Villanova winning, 63-61. Five of the previous eight Big East Tournament games between these two teams have been decided by 10 points or less. Providence has won the Big East Tournament twice (1994, 2014). Villanova won the 2015 Big East Tournament.
• Villanova finished the regular season 27-4 (16-2). The Wildcats are led by Jay Wright, who is in his 15th season at the helm of the Villanova program. Wright is the longest-tenured coach in the Big East. The Wildcats had their 3rd consecutive season of 16-2 in league play with their only losses coming against Providence in Philadelphia and at Xavier. They achieved their first #1 ranking in program history this season and enter this week ranked #3 in the AP poll. The Wildcats are led in scoring by junion Josh Hart, who averages 15.6 points/game. Senior Daniel Ochefu is the leading rebounder, averaging 7.8 rebounds/game.
• Kris Dunn was honored on Senior Night, along with Junior Lomomba prior to Providence’s game against Creighton on March 2nd. Dunn recently became the 6th Friar to amass 200 career steals. He went over the 1,000 point mark on January 30th against Georgetown on a spectacular finish at the rim. His 1,160 career points rank 30th all-time at Providence and  he’s just 3 points behind Michael Brown for 29th. Dunn also has 539 assists (4th all-time), 477 rebounds and 205 steals (t-5th all-time). He is 2 steals behind Harold Starks for 4th. He is the only player in school history to have amassed 1,000 points, 500 assists, 400 rebounds and 200 steals in a career at Providence.
• Ed Cooley got his 100th career win at Providence on March 2nd against Creighton.
• Dunn and Ben Bentil were named First Team All-Big East performers. Dunn repeated as the Big East’s Defensive Player of the Year and Bentil was named the Big East’s Most Improved Player.
• Opening Line: (4) Providence +10.5 vs (1) Villanova 3/11/16

Game Preview

Providence and Villanova will get a rubber match after splitting the season series. The Friars will also get another crack at getting past the Wildcats to advance to the Big East Tournament finals after dropping a close contest last year in the semifinals. Providence’s road win against Villanova back on January 24th was the apex of their season. They began their decline of two wins over their next eight games, including a loss to Villanova — without Daniel Ochefu — at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center on February 6th. This game is a chance for Providence to continue to improve their resume for an NCAA Tournment seed. For Villanova, they are fighting for a coveted #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

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

Providence

• Kris Dunn – #3 – Junior
• Junior Lomomba – #32 – Junior
• Jalen Lindsey – #21 – Sophomore
• Rodney Bullock – #5 – Sophomore
• Ben Bentil – #0 – Sophomore

Villanova

• Ryan Arcidiacono – #15 – Senior
• Jalen Brunson – #5 – Freshman
• Josh Hart – #3 – Junior
• Kris Jenkins – #2 – Junior
• Daniel Ochefu – #23 – Senior

Daniel Ochefu is questionable for this game due to an ankle injury he tweaked in Thursday’s quarterfinal victory over Georgetown. The Friars have played Villanova both with Ochefu and without Ochefu this season. The keys to a Providence victory are:

1. Take care of the ball
2. Get contributions from people not named Ben Bentil
3. Rebound the basketball

Kris Dunn had 6 turnovers in both games against Villanova this season. He needs to keep that number lower in this game. Empty possession are killers against the Wildcats, especially if they manage to shoot well from beyond the 3-point line, something they didn’t do either time against the Friars during the regular season.

Ben Bentil scored 51 points against Villanova and after his performance against Butler in the quarterfinals, you can bet Jay Wright and his staff will come up with a game plan focused on slowing down Bentil. That makes it even more critical that Rodney Bullock, Jalen Lindsey, Kyron Cartwright, or really anyone else make shots. If Bentil is double-teamed, the ball will need to move and find the open shooter, something the Friars have been better at doing later in the season.

Providence got annihilated on the glass last time these two teams squared off on early February. Bentil’s ankle was much more balky back then but that was also the game that Ochefu missed due to a concussion. Providence cannot allow Villanova to get multiple shots in one trip down the floor. They will have to team rebound because the Wildcats have guards and wings like Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins who crash the glass hard.

Prediction: Providence 68 Villanova 70

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Mike Hopkins

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