Game Notes & Preview: Providence (5-1) vs. Rider (5-1) 11/29/17

Where: Dunkin’ Donuts Center – Providence, RI

When: 7:00pm EST

How: FSN (Wayne Randazzo & Dickey Simpkins)/Fox Sports GO (Where Available)/WEEI 103.7 FM and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/FriarTV

Tickets: SeatGeek

Game Notes

• Providence and Rider will meet for the 5th time on Wednesday. The most recent meeting was December 19, 2015 when 14th-ranked Providence defeated Rider, 73-65. The Friars are 3-1 in the series with the defeat coming in the first meeting at the Boston Garden on February 15, 1945.
• Providence is 99-25 all-time against teams from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
• Rider is 5-1 this season with their lone loss coming against Xavier. Their best win so far was at George Washington on November 20th. They were picked to finish 7th in the MAAC Preseason Poll. Rider is coached by Kevin Baggett  who is in his 6th season at the helm. The Broncs are led in scoring by redshirt freshman Jordan Allen who is averaging 17.8 points/game. They are led in rebounding by redshirt freshman Frederick Scott who is averaging 8.3 rebounds/game. Scott is a transfer from DePaul.
• The Friars beat Boston College, 86-66, in their last time out on Saturday night at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. Providence stretched the lead over the final 4 minutes of the first half and continued their hot-shooting from beyond the arc in the second half to handle the Eagles with relative ease.
• Providence senior forward Rodney Bullock went over 1,000 points in his career against Boston College on November 25th. He becomes the 48th player in school history to score at least 1,000 points. Bullock is the 17th-fastest Providence player, tied with Eric Murdock, to score his 1,000th point (73 games). Bullock’s current place on the list is 47th just in front of Eric Williams and 22 points behind Ray Flynn.
• Providence senior guard Kyron Cartwright continues his drive up the all-time assist record list at Providence. He began the season tied for 12th with John Linehan (450). Cartwright has 42 assists through 6 games. He has 492 assists in his career, which places him 7th all-time at Providence. His most recent game with 9 helpers moved him from 10th place behind Vin Ernst (487), Eric Murdock (487) and Bob Misevicius (490). Next on the list in front of Cartwright is Ricky Tucker (520).
• Opening Line: Providence -17.5 vs. Rider 11/29/17

Game Preview

Providence and Rider will meet for the fifth time on Wednesday night at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. The Broncs 5-1 start is their best since 1997-98 when they started 8-1. They are led by a pair of redshirt freshmen in Jordan Allen and Frederick Scott.

Allen is a dead-eye shooter who is averaging 7.8 3-point attempts/game through the first 6 outings and he’s making those shots at a blistering clip of 46.8%. Providence’s top two leading 3-point shooters in terms of per game attempts don’t even match Allen’s 7.8 per game. He takes 59.5% of his field goals from beyond the arc with 86.4% of his makes from downtown being assisted. Those stats are courtesy of Hoop-Math.com.

Scott is a transfer from DePaul who played 4 games at the Big East school in 2015-16 before transferring. He’s posted two double-doubles and scored a career-high 22 points against UC-Irvine on November 23rd.

The other player for Providence fans to be aware of is Stevie Jordan. The junior started the first 3 games, came off the bench for the next 2 and returned to the starting lineup last time out against Hampton. Jordan is a large part of Rider’s transition offense, which accounts for 20.9% of their offensive possessions per Synergy. Whereas Allen fires most often from 3-point range, the 6’0, 170 lb Jordan takes 50.6% of his shots at the rim, per Hoop-Math.com.

Listen to the Providence Friarcast where Brendan McGair, Chris Grenham and me preview this game:

The probable starters according to the game notes are:

Providence

• Kyron Cartwright – #24 – Senior
• Alpha Diallo – #11 – Sophomore
• Jalen Lindsey – #21 – Senior
• Rodney Bullock – #5 – Senior
• Kalif Young – #13 – Sophomore

Rider

• Stevie Jordan – #23 – Sophomore
• Anthony Durham – #12 – Junior
• Jordan Allen – #22 – Redshirt Freshman
• Frederick Scott – #13 – Redshirt Freshman
• Tyere Marshall – #20 – Sophomore

The keys to victory for Providence are to limit transition scoring for Rider, keep the Broncs off the foul line and feed the ball inside on offense. As mentioned above, Rider plays in transition on 20.9% of their offensive possessions, which averages to 18.5 possessions/game and ranks 69th in Division I, per Synergy. The Broncs also get to the free throw line on 18.9% of possessions. That’s is the 13th-best rate in the country, per Synergy.

On the flip side, Providence should be able to get the ball to the rim. Rider plays a mix of man and zone with man being played nearly 2/3 of the time. The Broncs’ two most vulnerable defenders are Stevie Jordan and Frederick Scott. Look for Kyron Cartwright and Makai Ashton-Langford to attack Jordan and big men Kalif Young and Nate Watson should be able to score the ball inside.

Prediction: Providence 80 Rider 65

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Mike Hopkins

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