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NCAA Tournament 2018 Game Notes & Preview: (10) Providence vs (7) Texas A&M 3/16/18

Where: Spectrum Center – Charlotte, NC

When: 12:15pm EDT

How: CBS (Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill & Tracy Wolfson)/WEEI 103.7 FM and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/FriarTV

Current Odds: pcbb1917 Odds Central

Tickets: SeatGeek

Game Notes

  • Providence and Texas A&M will meet for the 1st time ever on Friday. The Friars own a 6-9 record against teams in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
  • The at-large bid Providence received on Selection Sunday marks their 5th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 6th consecutive season playing postseason basketball. This is Providence’s 20th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their 3rd time being a 10 seed (1997, 2001). Providence is 1 of 12 programs with an active NCAA Tournament streak of 5 or more years (Arizona, Cincinnati, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Carolina, Providence, Villanova, Virginia, Wichita State and Xavier).
  • Providence is making their third appearance in Charlotte for the NCAA Tournament (1973, 1997) and the Friars own a 4-0 record in the Queen City. The two wins in 1973 came against Penn and Maryland in the Eastern Regional while the 1997 wins came as a 10 seed against Marquette and Duke.
  • Texas A&M is 20-12 this season. The Aggies started 11-1 in the non-conference before an 0-5 start to SEC play dropped them from a high of 5th in the AP poll. Texas A&M is coached by Billy Kennedy who is in 7th season at the helm of the program. The Aggies are led in scoring by junior Tyler Davis who is averaging 14.5 points/game. Sophomore Robert Williams leads the team in rebounding at 9.0 rebounds/game.
  • The Friars dropped an overtime game against Villanova, 76-66, in the finals of the Big East Tournament on Saturday at MSG.
  • 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 21st with 1,382 points. He is 42 points behind Bob Cooper.
  • 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 187 assists through 33 games. He has 637 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 and the 3rd Friar with 600 career assists. Cartwright notched a career-high 15 assists in Providence’s win at St. John’s on December 28th. He recorded his 600th assist in the first half of Providence’s game at Butler on February 17th. Cartwright also surpassed the 1,000 point marker on February 21st against Seton Hall. Cartwright became the 49th player in school history to score at least 1,000 points in a career at Providence and he’s the third player to combine that with at least 600 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. 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.
  • NCAA Tournament 2018 Opening Line: (10) Providence +3.5 vs (7) Texas A&M 3/16/18

Game Preview

Providence is making their 5th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and Ed Cooley is now tied with legendary Friar head coach Dave Gavitt with 5 overall appearances in the NCAA Tournament. The Friars are the 10th seed in the West region facing 7th seed Texas A&M in Charlotte. The last time Providence was a 10 seed in Charlotte was 1997 when the Friars defeated Marquette and Duke on their way to an Elite 8. Providence is 4-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament games played in Charlotte.

Courtesy of TickPick.com

The Friars are coming off a deep run in the Big East Tournament all the way to overtime in the championship game against Villanova. Despite falling short in that game on Saturday the Friars used overtime wins against Creighton (8 seed in the South region player in Charlotte) and Xavier (1 seed in the West region). Texas A&M is coming off a buzzer-beater loss against Alabama in the SEC Tournament. As I mentioned in my 3 Things to Know” article earlier this week, the Aggies were once ranked as high as 5th in the AP poll after an 11-1 non-conference start. Injuries, suspensions and poor play led to an 0-5 start to SEC play before Billy Kennedy’s team righted the ship only to play up and down the rest of the way to finish 20-12.

Much has already been made of the size advantage that A&M has with junior Tyler Davis (6’10, 266 lbs) and sophomore Robert Williams (6’10, 241 lbs) starting in the frontcourt. Tangential to being massive inside, the Aggies are dangerous on the offensive glass and around the rim. Davis is a more polished player but Williams is explosive and is being projected to be drafted in the late lottery of the 2018 draft. Williams has drawn comparisons to a former Aggie, DeAndre Jordan. Texas A&M isn’t the best shooting team but they can get hot at times behind shooting guard Admon Gilder and 6’9 wing player DJ Hogg. As Kyron Cartwright said when the player’s met with the media on Wednesday morning, the scouting report on Texas A&M is “block out”, a message Cooley sent directly to his team by taping the phrase to the TV in all the player’s rooms in Charlotte.

Listen to the latest Providence Friarcast where I discuss this matchup:

The probable starters are:

Providence
Texas A&M

The keys to victory for Providence are to clean the glass, make some shots and get contributions from their bench. The Friars will have some options about bringing in their beefier players like Nate Watson and Kalif Young and/or running with their smaller lineup with Rodney Bullock at the 5 spot. I suspect you’ll see both lineups at times, but my gut tells me Cooley will settle on the smaller group in favor of greater offensive output. As much of an advantage as A&M will have inside against that group, the Friars will present plenty of problems for the Aggies on the other side of the ball. Cooley has looked to go small and dictate his style on the opponent down the stretch of the season. Look for Maliek White to come off the bench and ignite the offense with some shooting and Isaiah Jackson to use his toughness to bully Texas A&M’s guards and wings. Jalen Lindsey has not shot the ball well over the last month or so, save a solid shooting night in Providence’s upset of Villanova on Valentine’s Day. The senior from Tennessee will need to see some shots go through the net if Providence has a chance of pulling off the higher seed upset and advancing to the Round of 32.

Prediction: Providence 73 Texas A&M 72

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Mike Hopkins

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