Game Notes & Preview: Providence (8-3) vs Houston (9-2) 12/20/17

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, CT

When: 7:00pm EST

How: ESPNU (Kevin Connors & Tim Welsh)/Watch ESPN (Where Available)/WEEI 103.7 FM and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/FriarTV

Tickets: SeatGeek

Game Notes

• Providence and Houston will meet for the 2nd time ever on Wednesday. Houston leads the all-time series, 1-0. The Cougars won the lone matchup, 102-89, back on December 20, 1965 in Providence.
• Providence’s record with Ed Cooley as head coach on a neutral court is 15-17, including a 2-0 record this season.
• Houston is 9-2 this season after beating Prairie View A&M, 92-72, in their last time out. They were picked to finish 6th in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Poll. Houston is coached by Kelvin Sampson  who is in 4th season at the helm of the program. The Cougars are led in scoring by senior Rob Gray Jr. who is averaging 20.4 points/game. They are led in rebounding by senior Devin Davis who is averaging 7.4 rebounds/game.
• The Friars survived against Stony Brook, 62-60, in their last time out on Sunday at the Dunk.
• 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 39th with 1,082 points. He is 4 points behind Jim Benedict.
• 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 66 assists through 11 games. He has 516 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.
• The status of Kyron Cartwright for this game is to be determined while Alpha Diallo and Maliek White remain questionable.
• Opening Line: Providence +3 vs Houston 12/20/17

Game Preview

Providence and Houston will meet for the 2nd time Wednesday night. This game is the second part of a doubleheader at Mohegan Sun Arena as part of the Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase. The Friars played an exhibition game at Mohegan Sun Arena in late October against UConn that was a hurricane benefit game. Providence handled the Huskies in that contest. The Cougars are fellow members of the American Athletic Conference like UConn.

Houston’s leading scorer is Rob Gray who ranks 41st nationally at 20.4 points/game. The Cougars are bolstered this season six immediately eligible transfers with 5 coming via junior college and the sixth being a graduate transfer. As a result they are the 25th most experienced team in college basketball, per Kenpom.com. Kelvin Sampson’s team likes to push the pace and they have done that pretty effectively, especially in their win against a good Arkansas team at the beginning of December.

This big storyline for this game will be whether or not Ed Cooley has Cartwright, Diallo and/or White available. It sounds like Cartwright has a chance of playing after getting a good result of an MRI, but at best he and Diallo both appear to be game-time decisions. White is most likely still a week or two away from being ready to return to the court.

Listen to the Providence Friarcast:

The probable starters are:

Providence

• Makai Ashton-Langford – #1 – Freshman
• Isaiah Jackson – #44 – Redshirt Junior
• Jalen Lindsey – #21 – Senior
• Rodney Bullock – #5 – Senior
• Nate Watson – #0 – Freshman

Houston

• Rob Gray Jr. – #32 – Senior
• Corey Davis Jr. – #5 – Junior
• Wes VanBeck – #12 – Senior
• Devin Davis – #15 – Senior
• Breaon Brady – #24 – Junior

The key to victory for Providence is to convert at the free throw line and keep Houston off the offensive glass. These both seem pretty basic, but they haven’t been strengths for the Friars through 11 games this season. Houston will put Providence at the line. The Cougars have the 291st defensive free throw rate in the country, per Kenpom. Providence will need to do better than the paltry 66.9% they have been shooting from the line this season. Houston has the 20th ranked Offensive Rebounding % in the country at 36.3%. Many of their offensive rebounds don’t end in putbacks at the rim because they are a jump shooting team. Providence needs to be aware of that and be on the lookout for long rebounds to keep Houston away from second and third chance points.

Prediction: Providence 69 Houston 77

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Mike Hopkins

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