NCAA Tournament First Four 2017 Game Notes & Preview: (11) Providence (20-12, 10-8) vs (11) USC (24-9, 10-8) 3/15/17

Where: UD Arena – Dayton, OH

When: 9:10pm ET

How: truTV (Spero Dedes, Len Elmore & Steve Smith with Ros Gold-Onwude)/March Madness Live (Where Available)/WEEI 103.7 FM and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/Westwood One (Ted Emrich and Austin Croshere)/FriarTV

Game Notes

• Providence and Southern Cal will meet for the 3rd time ever on Wednesday. The Friars lead the all-time series, 2-0. The Friars and Trojans met last year in the NCAA Tournament’s Second Round in the 8/9 game in Raleigh, NC. Providence won that game on a last second layup by Rodney Bullock on a in-bounds pass by Drew Edwards. The other meeting between these two teams occurred on January 26, 1972 in Los Angeles. The Friars beat the Trojans, 70-66.
• Providence went 4-7 this season on the road against a 15-3 record at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. Providence was 6-3 at home and 4-5 on the road in Big East play. The Friars are also 1-2 on neutral courts.
• Providence finished 3rd in the Big East standings largely due to Creighton losing against Marquette and the Friars defeating St. John’s on the final day of the regular season.
• Providence is 15-16 all-time during Ed Cooley’s tenure in games played on neutral courts. That includes a 1-3 record in NCAA Tournament games under Cooley.
• USC is 24-9 this season, including a 10-8 Pac-12 record. The Trojans went 1-1 last week in the Pac-12 Tournament with a win over Washington State and a loss to UCLA. The Trojans are led by Andy Enfield, who is in his 4th season at the helm of the Southern Cal program. Sophomore Bennie Boatwright leads the Trojans in scoring at 14.6 points/game. Sophomore Chimezie Metu leads the team in rebounding,  averaging 7.8 rebounds/game.
• NCAA Tournament 2017 Opening Line: (11) Providence PK vs (11) USC 3/15/17

Game Preview

Providence and USC will meet in a re-match of last year’s NCAA Tournament game that saw the Friars steal the victory from USC after the Trojans failed to seal the win at the free throw line and Rodney Bullock got loose underneath the basket on an in-bounds play in the game’s final seconds. That was Providence’s first NCAA Tournament win since 1997. Their appearance in the 2017 NCAA Tournament is the fourth straight for Providence. This is the first time that feat has been accomplished in school history. The winner of this game heads to Tulsa, OK to face Southern Methodist. The Mustangs are the #6 seed in the East Region.

The probable starters according to the game notes are:

Providence

• Kyron Cartwright – #24 – Junior
• Alpha Diallo – #11 – Freshman
• Jalen Lindsey – #21 – Junior
• Rodney Bullock – #5 – Junior
• Emmitt Holt – #15 – Junior

USC

• Jordan McLaughlin – #11 – Junior
• De’Anthony Melton – #22 – Freshman
• Shaqquan Aaron – #0 – Sophomore
• Bennie Boatwright – #25 – Sophomore
• Chimezie Metu – #4 – Sophomore

The keys to victory for Providence are to stop Jordan McLaughlin and play fast but under control. The Friars will need to contain McLaughlin who sets the table for the Trojans. In their last game in the Pac-12 Tournament against UCLA it was McLaughlin’s ability to get into the lane to score and pass that got USC back into the game. It also seems like when he plays better it helps USC’s leading scorer Bennie Boatwright to get better looks from beyond the arc.

As for Providence’s offense, Kyron Cartwright should be able to push the tempo and get Providence into high percentage transition looks against USC. The key will be to not fall into the trap of playing the fast-paced and out-of-countrol game that Andy Enfield wants to play. Cartwright will have the be judicious with his pushing of the ball but that will be the easiest way for Providence to find offense against USC. The Trojans play a mix of man-to-man and 2-3 zone. If Providence faces that zone there should be openings at the high post and on the wings with good ball movement.

Providence needs to get contributions out of Rodney Bullock, Jalen Lindsey and Emmitt Holt. Cartwright will have a better showing than he did last time out in the Big East Tournament but if Bullock is a no-show in this game the Friars are in real trouble. USC has the size advantage with Chimezie Metu and Nick Rakocevic but Bullock is quicker than both. Holt also should have the quickness advantage on offense against USC’s frontcourt. Bullock and Holt have been having big second halves during Providence’s recent string of wins to close the regular season. One or both of them may need to do something in the first half of this game for Providence to have a chance of a trip to Tulsa to face SMU on Friday.

Prediction: (11) Providence 72 (11) USC 71

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Mike Hopkins

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