Game Notes & Preview: Providence (10-3) vs Creighton (9-4) 12/31/18

Where: Dunkin’ Donuts Center – Providence, RI

When: 4:00pm EST

How: FS1 (Dave O’Brien & Andy Katz)/Fox Sports GO app (where available)/WPRO 99.7 FM & 630AM, TuneIn and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/FriarTV

Game Notes

• Providence and Creighton will meet for the 24th time ever on Monday. The Friars hold the advantage in the all-time series, 15-8. The last meeting was at the Big East Tournament where Providence defeated Creighton in the quarterfinals.
• Providence is 60-3 in non-conference games at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center under Ed Cooley.
• Creighton is 9-4 this season with their best win coming on a neutral court against Clemson. All 4 of their losses came against teams ranked inside the Kenpom top 25. Greg McDermott is in his 9th season at the helm of the Creighton program.
• Ed Cooley passed Al McClellan on the all-time wins list for Providence head coaches with the Friars’ win over Iona on November 24th. Cooley is now in 4th place.
• Providence was picked 3rd in the preseason Big East Coaches’ Poll. Junior Alpha Diallo was named to the Preseason First Team All-Big East and David Duke was Preseason co-Freshman of the Year with Villanova’s Jahvon Quinerly.
• Providence announced the signing of 2019 commit Greg Gantt on November 16th. Gantt, a native of North Carolina, is currently the only committed player for Providence next season. The Friars will also add preferred walk-on Tommy Dempsey next season, the son of the Binghamton head coach announced via his Twitter on December 19th.
• The Big East, USA Basketball and Providence announced on December 18th that the 2019 USA Pan American men’s basketball team will be represented solely by Big East players and coached by Ed Cooley.
• The Friars closed out non-conference play with a win at Texas, 71-65, on December 21st. Alpha Diallo led the way with 20 points.
• Opening Line: Providence PK vs Creighton 12/31/18

Game Preview

Providence and Creighton will meet for the 24th time ever on Monday. The Friars are 8-2 against the Bluejays at home. Providence and Creighton split the regular season last year with each team winning on their home court. The Friars won the rubber match when the teams met in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament in March.

Creighton played a tough non-conference schedule, but mostly failed to capitalize on their opportunities aside from defeating Clemson on a neutral court. Their non-conference schedule ranked as the 24th most difficult in the country, per Kenpom. The Bluejays lost at home to Ohio State in the Gavitt Tip Off Games and to Gonzaga. They also dropped road games at in-state rival Nebraska and Oklahoma. Creighton’s NET ranking heading into conference play is 47 while Providence is 67.

The probable starters according to the game notes are:

Providence

• David Duke – #3 – Freshman
• Maliek White – #4 – Junior
• Alpha Diallo – #11 – Junior
• Jimmy Nichols – #10 – Freshman
• Kalif Young – #13 – Junior

Creighton

• Davion Mintz – #1 – Junior
• Ty-Shon Alexander – #5 – Sophomore
• Mitch Ballock – #24 – Sophomore
• Damien Jefferson – #23 – Sophomore
• Martin Krampelj – #15 – Junior

The keys to victory for Providence are defend the 3-point line and attack the rim. Creighton’s offense is, as usual, very explosive. The Bluejays have the best eFG% in the nation, per Kenpom, and are ranked 13th in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency. The Friars will need to get back and play transition defense and then make Creighton work for shots, preferably from inside the 3-point line. Expect a mix of zone and man-to-man, depending on how the Bluejays are shooting the ball. On the other end, Creighton is vulnerable inside as they play small with 4 players in their starting lineup being 6’5 and under. I expect to see some offense run through Nate Watson and a fair amount of tight flex offense.

Prediction: Providence 75 Creighton 71

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Mike Hopkins

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