Where: Prudential Center – Newark, NJ
When: 7:00pm EST
How: FS1 (Justin Kutcher &Jim Jackson)/Fox Sports GO (Where Available)/WEEI 103.7 FM and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/FriarTV
Current Spread, Total, ML: Odds Central
Tickets: SeatGeek
Game Notes
- Providence and Seton Hall will meet for the 102nd time ever on Wednesday. Providence leads the all-time series, 52-49. The Friars are 21-28 against the Pirates on the road.
- Seton Hall is 16-5 this season, including a 5-3 Big East record. The Pirates snapped a 2-game losing streak by beating DePaul in Chicago in their last game on Sunday. Seton Hall is coached by Kevin Willard who is in his 8th season at the helm of the program. The Pirates are led in scoring by senior Desi Rodriguez who is averaging 17.4 points/game. Senior Angel Delgado leads the team in rebounding at 12.0 rebounds/game. Delgado broke the long-held Big East rebounding record in Seton Hall’s most recent game against DePaul. Delgado passed Derrick Coleman who had 701 career Big East rebounds for Syracuse.
- The Friars were defeated by Villanova, 89-69, last time out at the Wells Fargo Center on January 23rd.
- 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 27th with 1,239 points. He is 12 points behind Robert Moran.
- 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 128 assists through 20 games. He has 578 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 +6 at Seton Hall 1/31/18
- Get up to date odds on Providence’s game on the new Odds Central page here.
Game Preview
Providence and Seton Hall will meet for the 102nd time ever on Wednesday night at the Prudential Center. The game will tip at 7pm and be televised on FS1. Providence had their 4-game win streak snapped last time out when they were rolled by #1 Villanova, 89-69. The Pirates righted the ship in their last game at DePaul that ended a mini 2-game losing streak.
At this point everyone is aware that Ed Cooley is the lone Big East coach that voted Seton Hall atop the preseason Big East poll and with that and Cooley’s complimentary comments at Big East Media Day in October you can be sure Cooley respects the veteran-laden team that Kevin Willard has at his disposal. Angel Delgado is the most high profile of those veteran Pirates, but the two most efficient scorers for Seton Hall this season have been senior Desi Rodriguez (1.006 PPP) and sophomore Myles Powell (1.057 PPP). Rodriguez is Seton Hall’s leading scorer but Powell isn’t far behind and the second year guard and Powell’s real danger comes shooting the ball and in transition.
The other main contributor for the Pirates is senior Khadeen Carrington who has transition to a mostly on-ball roll as the main point guard for Willard. Carrington’s main offense comes via pick and roll where he is the ballhandler most often with Rodriguez also running pick and roll pretty regularly.
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
Seton Hall
- Myles Powell – #13 – Sophomore
- Khadeen Carrington – #0 – Senior
- Desi Rodriguez – #20 – Senior
- Ismael Sanogo – #14 – Senior
- Angel Delgado – #31 – Senior
The keys to victory for Providence are keep Seton Hall from grabbing offensive rebounds and getting to the free throw line. Delgado has the 7th best Offensive Rebound % in the nation, per Kenpom. As a result of that the Pirates have the 20th best OR% as a team at 35.4%. The second key is less about Seton Hall being proficient at the free throw line — they aren’t — and more about style of play. When Seton Hall has lost this season one reason is that they don’t get to the free throw line in this games. They settle for jumpshots and don’t force the action to the rim. If Providence can force Rodriguez, Powell and Carrington into settling for tough 2’s and contested 3’s they will have a much better chance of winning this game on the road.
Prediction: Providence 68 Seton Hall 72
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