Game Notes & Preview: Providence (14-6, 5-2) at (1) Villanova (18-1, 5-1) 1/23/18

Where: Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA

When: 6:30pm EST

How: FS1 (Brian Custer & Len Elmore)/Fox Sports GO (Where Available)/WEEI 103.7 FM and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/FriarTV

Tickets: SeatGeek

Game Notes

• Providence and Villanova will meet for the 100th time ever on Tuesday. Villanova leads the all-time series, 61-38. The Friars are 13-31 against the Wildcats on the road.
• Villanova is 18-1 this season, including a 5-1 Big East record. The Wildcats are on a 5-game winning streak after dropping their lone game of the season on December 30th at Butler. Villanova is currently ranked #1 in the country and has been for 6 of the 12 weeks the poll has been out. Villanova is coached by Jay Wright who is in 17th season at the helm of the program. Wright is the longest tenured head coach in the Big East. The Wildcats are led in scoring by junior Jalen Brunson who is averaging 19.0 points/game. Redshirt freshman Omari Spellman leads the team in rebounding at 7.5 rebounds/game.
• The Friars defeated Creighton, 85-71, last time out at the Dunk on Saturday.
• 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 28th with 1,223 points. He is 3 points behind Dickey Simpkins.
• 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 122 assists through 19 games. He has 572 assists in his career, which places him 3rd all-time at Providence. Next on the list in front of Cartwright is Ernie DiGregorio (662). Cartwright recorded his 500th career assist against URI on December 2nd. He is the 7th Providence player to record at least 500 career assists. Cartwright notched a career-high 15 assists in Providence’s win at St. John’s on December 28th.
• 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. Holt did return to school over the MLK weekend and is back with the team, though he remains out of competition this season.
• Providence announced on January 11th that former Friar Ernie “Pop” Lewis passed away. Lewis was a key member of Providence’s 1987 Final Four team. You can read the official release and watch a tribute video here.
• Opening Line: Providence +15 at (1) Villanova 1/23/18

Game Preview

Providence and Villanova will meet for the 100th time ever on Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center. The game will tip at 6:30pm and be televised on FS1. Providence is in the midst of a 4-game winning streak after their overtime home loss to Marquette behind Markus Howard’s 52 point performance and Villanova is on a 5-game winning streak after falling at Butler on December 30th for their lone loss of the season. The Wildcats come in ranked #1 in the country for the last 3 weeks and 6 of the 12 weeks this season. Providence is 2-14 all-time against teams ranked #1.

Villanova ranks 1st nationally in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency and Effective FG%, per Kenpom. The Wildcats are also ranked in the top 10 in 3-point FG%, 2-point FG% and they’re 11th in Offensive Turnover %. In short, Villanova has one of the best and most efficient offenses in all of college basketball. They have versatility and talent all over the floor with 5 players averaging double figure scoring. Junior point guard Jalen Brunson runs the show to near perfection and also leads the team in scoring at 19.0 points/game.

While the Friars have been played much better on defense during this current win streak they are facing a different caliber of offense in this game and they’ll do it on the road to boot. Providence’s advantage over many other Big East teams is their wave of versatile guards/wings and they have most often used that length and versatility on the defensive end to shut down the opponent’s best scorer. That might be tough against Villanova, but a good place to start would be to try to take Brunson off his game. That’s like an opponent trying to take Kyron Cartwright out of the game.

The probable starters are:

Providence

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

Villanova

• Jalen Brunson – #1 – Junior
• Phil Booth – #5 – Redshirt Junior
• Mikal Bridges – #25 – Junior
• Eric Paschall – #4 – Redshirt Junior
• Omari Spellman – #14 – Redshirt Freshman

The keys to victory for Providence are to defend the 3-point line and convert on their own 3-point attempts when they come. The Friars haven’t fared well against teams ranked #1, especially when facing a #1 team on the road (0-8). For Providence to go to Philly and bring home a win to kick off this 3-game road trip the Friars need to make sure Villanova doesn’t get going from beyond the arc. In their most recent win over Connecticut on Saturday the Wildcats have made 10 or more 3-pointers in 12 of their 19 games this season. They have made at least 12 in their last 4 games. On the flip side, Providence needs to convert from downtown when the opportunities present themselves. Villanova made 12 3’s in their loss to Butler but the Bulldogs made 15 and also shot 60% from the field overall. Providence will need a strong offensive performance to beat the #1 ranked Villanova Wildcats in this game.

Prediction: Providence 70 Villanova 83

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Mike Hopkins

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