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NCAA Tournament 2016: Game Notes & Preview (9) Providence (24-10, 10-8) vs (1) UNC (29-6, 14-4) 3/19/16

Where: PNC Arena – Raleigh, NC

When: 9:40pm EDT

How: TBS (Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller & Dan Bonner with Lewis Johnson)/WEEI 103.7 FM and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/FriarTV

Game Notes

  • This is Providence’s 18th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They are in the tournament for the third straight season, which has happened two other times in school history, but not since 1974. Providence’s record all-time is 15-18 with five Sweet Sixteens, four Elite Eights and two Final Fours. Their last win in the NCAA Tournament before Thursday’s First Round win against USC was in 1997 against Tennessee-Chattanooga in the Sweet Sixteen.
  • 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 1,185 career points rank 29th all-time at Providence and he’s now 8 points behind Len Wilkens for 28th. Dunn also has 549 assists (3rd all-time), 483 rebounds and 206 steals (5th all-time). He is 1 steal 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: (9) Providence +9.5 vs (1) UNC 3/19/16

Game Preview

Providence got the monkey off their back on Thursday night with their 1st NCAA Tournament win since 1997 in the Sweet Sixteen. They have a chance to get back to the Sweet Sixteen with a win over 1 seed North Carolina on Saturday night in Raleigh.

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
UNC
  • Marcus Paige – #5 – Senior
  • Joel Berry – #2 – Sophomore
  • Justin Jackson – #44 – Sophomore
  • Brice Johnson – #11 – Senior
  • Kennedy Meeks – #3 – Junior

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