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Game Notes & Preview: Providence (10-6, 0-3) vs Seton Hall (12-5, 3-2) 1/15/19

Where: Dunkin’ Donuts Center – Providence, RI

When: 6:30pm EST

How: FS1 (Dave O’Brien & Tarik Turner)/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 Seton Hall will meet for the 104th time ever on Tuesday. The Friars hold the advantage in the all-time series, 52-51. The Pirates have beaten the Friars the last 3 times the teams have played.
  • Seton Hall is 12-5 overall and 3-2 in Big East play this season. The Pirates have beaten St. John’s and Butler at home, Xavier on the road and dropped their other 2 road contests at DePaul and, last time out, at Marquette. Kevin Willard is in his 9th season at the helm of the Seton Hall 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 lost to Georgetown, 96-90, in double overtime last time out on Saturday in Washington, D.C. Providence appeared to have the game won, both at the end of regulation and the end of the first overtime, but the Hoyas were able to hit 3-pointers to tie things up and force extra time in both instances. Ultimately the Hoyas overtook the Friars and finished the game off.
  • Opening Line: Providence -1 vs Seton Hall 1/15/19

Game Preview

Providence and Seton Hall will meet for the 104th time ever on Tuesday. The Friars are 52-51 against the Pirates. The Friars have lost 3 straight against Seton Hall and Ed Cooley’s squad is looking to avoid an 0-4 start in Big East play for the first time since the 2011-12 season, Cooley’s first as the head coach at Providence.

Seton Hall had flashy non-conference wins against Kentucky and Maryland, as well as handing St. John’s their first and only loss when both teams opened Big East play, albeit on the heels of a controversial whistle. Kevin Willard’s team is looking to reach their 4th straight NCAA Tournament. The Pirates have managed to play pretty quick and keep turnovers low, and on the defensive end they are ranked 51st in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency for the season. They sit atop the Big East in that category in league games.

The probable starters according to the game notes are:

Providence
Seton Hall

The keys to victory for Providence are to keep Seton Hall out of the lane and focus their attention on Myles Powell. Powell is Seton Hall’s only good shooter and he’s currently 15th nationally in points/game at 22.6. Powell is shooting 36.2% from beyond the arc, 86.2% from the free throw line and 46.5% from 2-point range. He has taken almost twice as many field goals his next closest teammate in attempts. It’s certainly possible that Seton Hall wins this game while Powell has an off night, but it’s much more likely that if Providence contains him, Seton Hall struggles to score and the Friars stop the bleeding with a win at home.

Prediction: Providence 68 Seton Hall 66

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Mike Hopkins

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