Date & Time: Tuesday, November 17, 2023, at 6:00 p.m.
Venue: Baha Mar Convention Center, Nassau, Bahamas
Broadcast: CBSSN with Chris Sylvester, Kyle Macy and Sam Hyman (Channel Finder); Radio with John Rooke and Joe Hassett on WPRO-99.7 FM/630 AM (The Varsity Network App & YouTube); FriarTV
Opening Line: Providence -1.5, Over/Under 146.5
Providence College Friars:
- Record: 3-0
- Last Game Starters:
- Ticket Gaines (Gr. G, 7.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG)
- Jayden Pierre (So. G, 12.7 PPG, 3.7 APG)
- Josh Oduro (Gr. F, 10.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG
- Devin Carter (Jr. G, 15.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG)
- Bryce Hopkins (Jr. F/G, 13.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG)
- Recent Performances:
- Devin Carter: Scored 21 points against Wisconsin for his 8th career game scoring 20 or more points
- Josh Oduro: 6/6 from the field on the way to 13 points last time out against Wisconsin
- PC shot 58.5% from the field against Wisconsin and have outscored opponents 20-0 on fastbreak points in their last two games
- Friars in In-Season Tournaments: The Friars are 104-74 all-time in in-season tournaments with their last tournament win coming in 2017 at Madison Square Garden when they won the 2K Classic.
- Notable Preseason Honors:
- Bryce Hopkins: Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team, CBS Sports Preseason All-America Third Team, College Sports Today All-America Second Team, NABC Division I Player of the Year Preseason Watch List, Karl Malone Award Preseason Watch List, Naismith POY Watch List
- Devin Carter: Preseason All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention
- Providence was picked 7th in the Big East Preseason Coaches’ Poll
- Historical Performance: Providence is 0-1 all-time against Kansas State with the lone meeting coming in the First Round of the 1977 NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats beat the Dave Gavitt-led Providence team, 87-80, in Joe Hassett’s final season in a Friar uniform before being drafted to the NBA’s Seattle Supersonics a few months later.
Kansas State Wildcats:
- Record: 2-1
- Last Game Starters:
- Tylor Perry (Gr. G, 20.7 PPG, 5.3 APG)
- Dai Dai Ames (Fr. G, 4.7 PPG, 5.3 APG)
- Cam Carter (Jr. G, 19.0 PPG, 3.3 APG)
- David N’Guessan (Sr. F, 7.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG)
- Will McNair (Gr. C, 8.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG)
- Recent Performances:
- Tylor Perry: Second in the nation with 14 made 3’s so far this season on 29 attempts. He made 6 triples last time out against South Dakota State
- Cam Carter: Career-high 25 points last time out against South Dakota State after tying a prior career-high of 17 in the game before against Bellarmine
- Kansas State turned in their best offensive performance so far this season last time out against Summit League favorite South Dakota State with 91 points on 14 3-pointers, 35 made field goals converting at a 57.4% clip overall and 56% from beyond the arc.
- Wildcats in In-Season Tournaments: Kansas State is 180-114 all-time in in-season tournaments and are coming off a win last season of the Cayman Islands Classic with wins over URI, Nevada and LSU.
Quote Corner: “I want out guys to connect. I’m excited we get a chance to connect [on this trip to the Bahamas]…I’m excited every time our guys get [a chance] to spend together. That’s a bucket that can’t be filled enough. How hard we play, how tough we are, how connected we are, we can always grow in those areas.” – Kim English on this upcoming trip to the Bahamas for the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship
Game Preview:
The Providence Friars are set to face Kansas State Wildcats on November 17th at 6pm ET in the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship, marking their first-ever appearance in the Bahamas. This matchup, and the pending matchup with either Georgia or Miami on Sunday will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
Providence is off to a good start in the Kim English Mindset Era, starting the season 3-0 and showcasing their potential as a strong contender by beating a top 25 Kenpom team in Wisconsin last time out — and handily I might add. Devin Carter led the way against the Badgers with 21 points and he is currently leading all Friars in scoring at 15.7 points per game so far. Bryce Hopkins, who is off to a slow start shooting the ball, has managed to still average 13.3 points per game with a lot of trips to the free throw line (15/21) that far and away leads the team in shots from the charity stripe. Both teams have been turnover prone at around 22% turnover rate each and both defenses have been similar with the 41st (Kansas State) and 42nd (Providence) Adjusted Defensive Efficiency and both teams having Steal rates just over 12%. Both Carter and Hopkins will be key players against Kansas State who has managed to shoot a higher percentage of 3-pointer so far this season than Providence which is impressive when you consider the Friars are shooting 43.4% of their field goals from beyond the arc ranking them 72nd nationally, per Kenpom.com. The Wildcats are up at 49th at 45.6% of their attempts from deep. Kansas State has also made triples at a higher clip than Providence which has resulted in 42.4% of the Wildcats’ points coming from 3’s versus Providence’s 31.6%, which puts the Friars near the national average at 146th. Much of that is behind North Texas transfer Tylor Perry who is second in the nation in made 3’s so far this season. Perry played in the Bahamas last November and was named to the All-Tournament team for the Baha Mar Nassau Championship event while with the Mean Green. Backcourt mate Cam Carter is coming off a career-high 25 points last time out in their win over South Dakota State.
Former Creighton wing Arthur Kaluma missed their last game with an injury but is expected back for this game. Kaluma had a rough outing in the opening loss against USC on a neutral court in Las Vegas with a 1/11 shooting performance in 35 minutes of action, including 0/5 from beyond the arc and he added 4 turnovers. I don’t always put a lot of stock in plus/minus numbers, but a -17 stands out when looking at the box score for Kaluma from that game. Kaluma also struggled in game 2 going 5/14 from the field, 1/5 from 3 but did grab 7 rebounds in 28 minutes. It’s clear that the key for Providence will be defending the Kansas State guards on the perimeter to slow down their 3-point shooting. I tend to like that matchup given Providence’s strengths with guard defense and length. One bizarre thing that will happen in this game is that a player, Will McNair, will play against a team he was on earlier that year. McNair originally committed to Providence for his 5th season as a graduate transfer, went on the team’s trip to Spain in August and shortly after that decided to leave Providence and head to Kansas State after 3 seasons at New Mexico State and last season at Mississippi State.
Final Thoughts: Based on their strong start to the season and the edge of defensive guard play versus the 3-point shooting strength of Kansas State, I predict a close but favorable outcome for Providence to advance to the championship of the Baha Mar Hoops event. ???
Score Prediction: Providence 75, Kansas State 70.
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