The NCAA Tournament Committee must have really enjoyed the first-round matchup between the Providence Friars and the USC Trojans last season because they pitted the two sides against each other again in the final First Four game this year. It was somewhat surprising to see Providence here after the Friars finished tied for third in a tough Big East, but perhaps even more surprising that USC got in the tournament in the first place. The winner of this one will face Cincinnati in Sacramento on St. Patrick’s Day.
Don’t miss the hardwood action from the UD Arena at 9:10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 15, 2017. Catch every moment of the game live on truTV. We will have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every other First Four college basketball matchup.
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Providence (PK) vs. USC
Providence finished the season on a high note, winning seven of its final nine regular season games, including sweeping Marquette and picking up a road win at Creighton. The Friars went 8-1 ATS over that stretch as well with three wins as an outright underdog. Six of those final nine went over the total.
USC got a nice boost to its RPI and SOS numbers thanks to the results of conference tournaments in the Southeast. SMU, Troy State, and New Orleans all won their respective conference tournaments, making the Trojans’ resume that much stronger. USC was 16-16 ATS on the season and its final four games all ended up not eclipsing the total.
Last Meeting
These teams met in an 8-9 match-up last season that was close the entire way. The Trojans took a one-point lead into halftime and were shooting well from the floor, sinking 53.8 percent of their shots, but repeatedly shot themselves in the foot. They ended up hitting the same percentage from the free throw line that they did from the floor and had double the turnovers that the Friars had on the night.
Still, USC was ahead with time winding down and Providence needed a little bit of March magic to pull it out. The Friars got it from their best player Rodney Bullock. Bullock played all 40 in the 70-69 win, scoring the game winning basket with a little over a second remaining to put the Friars through. Bullock is back again this season and would love nothing more than to recreate history.
Key Stat
Providence has one of the better defenses of the teams that made the NCAA Tournament and the Friars will look to ride this unit to Sacramento. They have allowed just 66.6 PPG this season and even held high-flying Villanova to just 66 points. Ken Pomeroy has them ranked as the 33rd best defense in the country for a reason.
Although the Friars are a mid-tier team in terms of opponent shooting percentage, the Big East had some of the most efficient offenses in the country in 2016-17. Villanova and Marquette were both ranked in the Top Seven in offensive efficiency according to Pomeroy and teams like Butler, Creighton, and Xavier were considered very efficient as well.
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Andy Enfield was probably on his way out at USC if the Trojans didn’t make the NCAA Tournament and is still searching for his first win at USC. Enfield was all the rage after leading Florida Gulf Coast to a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2013, but has failed to live up to expectations in Los Angeles. A loss here puts him in the hot seat next season, but a win will get him a little bit of breathing room.
Enfield won’t get the win he needs though. The Pac-12 was extremely top heavy this season and most of the conference was mediocre at best. Providence started putting it together later on in the year and the Friars will ride that wave of momentum to a victory against USC.
College Basketball Odds: Providence 73, USC 67
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