Game Notes & Preview: Providence (7-3) vs Stony Brook (4-7) 12/17/17

Where: Dunkin’ Donuts Center – Providence, RI

When: 2:30pm EST

How: FS1 (Steve Physioc & 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 Stony Brook will meet for the 2nd time ever on Sunday. Providence leads the all-time series, 1-0. The Friars won the lone matchup back on December 13, 2014, 79-61, at the Dunk.
• Providence is 57-6 all-time against teams from the America East.
• Stony Brook is 4-7 this season after losing at Hofstra in their last time out. They were picked to finish 4th in the America East Preseason Poll. Stony Brook is coached by Jeff Boals  who is in 2nd season at the helm. The Seahawks are led in scoring by redshirt sophomore Akwasi Yeboah who is averaging 13.2 points/game. They are led in rebounding by senior Tyrell Sturdivant who is averaging 4.6 rebounds/game.
• The Friars were defeated by UMass on the road, 72-63, in their last time out on Saturday in Amhert.
• Providence senior forward Rodney Bullock went over 1,000 points in his career against Boston College on November 25th. He became 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 41st with 1,070 points. He is 6 points behind Carlton Screen.
• 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 63 assists through 10 games. He has 513 assists in his career, which places him 7th all-time at Providence. Next on the list in front of Cartwright is Ricky Tucker (520). Cartwright recorded his 500th career assist against URI on December 2nd. He is the 7th Providence player to record at least 500 career assists.
• Providence officially announced on November 29th that Emmitt Holt would miss the entire 2017-18 season as a redshirt while he continues to recover from abdominal surgery. Holt has been off campus recovering, but is expected to return to school in January.
• Opening Line: N/A

Game Preview

Providence and Stony Brook will meet for the 2nd time on Sunday afternoon at the Dunk. The Friars are expected to be without both Alpha Diallo and Maliek White for the second straight game after the sophomores suffered injuries in the Brown game on December 6th. Diallo and White are both officially classified as “day-to-day” and it sounds like Diallo is closer to returning than White.

Stony Brook’s strength on offense is the 3-pointer. They score 35.8% of their points from beyond the arc which ranks 72nd nationally in terms of total point distribution. The two most dangerous players are Akwasi Yeboah and Jaron Cornish. Yeboah is leading the team in scoring but Cornish has been coming on of late.

Listen to the Providence Friarcast:

The probable starters are:

Providence

• Kyron Cartwright – #24 – Senior
• Makai Ashton-Langford – #1 – Freshman
• Jalen Lindsey – #21 – Senior
• Rodney Bullock – #5 – Senior
• Kalif Young – #13 – Sophomore

Stony Brook

• Jaron Cornish – #0 – Junior
• Bryan Sekunda – #22 – Senior
• Akwasi Yeboah – #15 – Redshirt Sophomore
• Junior Saintel – #11 – Senior
• Tyrell Sturdivant – #12 – Senior

The key to victory for Providence is to dominate a physically inferior opponent. Injuries or not, Providence is still the more talented team and they need to break their habit of playing down to the competition. The Seahawks run out players at the 2-5 that are all between 6’5 and 6’7. Providence has a clear advantage inside and their athleticism on the wing should allow them to control the game on both ends of the floor.

Prediction: Providence 77 Stony Brook 62

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Mike Hopkins

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