📅 Date & Time: Saturday, November 9, 2024, at 6:00pm
📍 Venue: Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence, RI
📺 Broadcast: FS2 with Emmanuel Berbari and Tarik Turner (Fox Sports App); Radio with John Rooke and Joe Hassett on WPRO-99.7 FM/630 AM (The Varsity Network App & YouTube); FriarTV
🤑 Opening Line: Providence -23.5, Over/Under 138
🎟️Tickets: SeatGeek (enter promo code pcbb1917 for $20 off your first purchase)
Providence College Friars:
- Record: 1-0
- Recent Performances: Providence opened their season with a surprisingly close win, 59-55, over Central Connecticut on November 4th. Powered by 21 points and two key 3-pointers from Bensley Joseph to take the final lead of the game in the last couple minutes. The Friars held the Blue Devils to an 0/8 performance from beyond the arc.
- Providence vs: Providence is 5-0 all-time against Stonehill with the last matchup taking place November 15, 2022 which was the Skyhawks’ 4th game as a Division 1 basketball program. They previously were a member of the Northeast-10 conference and played at the Division 2 level for over 40 years. Head Coach Chris Kraus is an alumnus and was named the NEC Coach of the Year in 2023 after Stonehill’s first season in Division 1 and the NEC.
- Stat Leaders:
- Points/Game – Bensley Joseph, 21.0
- Rebounds/Game – Wesley Cardet, 7.0
- Assists/Game – Christ Essandoko, 3.0
- Minutes/Game – Wesley Cardet/Corey Floyd, 30.0
Stonehill Skyhawks
- Record: 1-1
- Recent Performances: Stonehill opened their season with a win over Division 3 Framingham St, 81-62, on November 4th. Last time out, the Skyhawks lost at Notre Dame, 89-60, on November 6th. Notre Dame had a blistering 1.31 points per possession while Stonehill managed just 0.88.
- Stat Leaders:
- Points/Game – Todd Brogna, 18.0
- Rebounds/Game – Todd Brogna, 6.0
- Assists/Game – Amir Nesbitt, 3.5
- Minutes/Game – Hermann Koffi, 30.0
Game Preview:
Providence and Stonehill tip off on Saturday at 6pm at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in what will be Providence’s second game of the season and their second game against a member of the NEC after narrowly defeating Central Connecticut, who was picked at the top of that league in the preseason. Stonehill, on the other hand, was tied with St. Francis at the bottom of the preseason poll. For some context, the Kenpom rating is -8.19 for Central Connecticut, ranking them 272nd as of this writing, and Stonehill’s is -19.78, ranking them 359th. The Friars absolutely need to shake off poor offensive performance from their opener and throttle Stonehill because another single digit win, or even a loss, could be a real anchor on their efficiency metrics by the time the committee is reviewing team sheets in March. As Kim English said on his radio show with John Rooke on Thursday night, the best way to avoid missing the NCAA Tournament is to stay off the bubble. If the Friars have hopes of being in a position of comfort in 4 months heading into Selection Sunday they need to win by a number approaching the expected margin which is 25 points, 83-58.
How they get there on Saturday is cutting down drastically on their turnovers and shooting the ball better from beyond the arc. Stonehill is likely to play some zone against the Friars, so a good shooting night would be an excellent counter to that. The Friars 25.3% Turnover Rate falls into the gross category of English’s postgame metrics of good, bad and ugly from each game. Taking better care of the ball and making shots sounds simple but it’s a simple game as English often says in media appearances.
Score Prediction: Providence 77, Stonehill 53
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