DePaul Providence Preview

DePaul Hosts the Providence Friars

The Setup

DePaul plays the Providence Friars on Friday, 1/12/2018 at 7:30 pm Central at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, in front of thousands of blue seats.  The students are back in session, so we will see if the Demon Deck is rocking or not.  It will be carried on FS1 (Channel 237 on Comcast) and on the Score (Radio 670).

Providence comes into the game with 11 wins and 6 losses overall, with a 2-2 record in Big East games.  Providence defeated Xavier last Saturday at home by 9 (some teams can hold leads against the X-men, unlike a certain Blue Team from Chicago).

DePaul is coming off their first victory in the Big East after beating St. John’s in New York last Saturday.

Gambling Corner

Vegas had made the Demons a home dog by favoring the Friars by 2. The opening over/under is 148.5. Kenpom favors DePaul to win by 1.

Recent History

The teams split last year, with DePaul winning by 1 at home, and Providence winning by 9 in Rhode Island.   Since the forming of the new Big East in 2014, these teams have split the last 2 years, with the Friars holding a 6-2 series lead.

Fun Facts

Providence is the only college or university in the United States founded by the Dominican Friars.

The opening of the College was delayed due to WWI.

Won their first basketball game in 1926.

First mascot was a Dalmation named “Friar of What-Ho.”

Won the NIT in 1961 and 1963.

Made NCAA Final Four in 1973 and 1987.

Original member of Big East Conference.

Religious affiliation:  Dominican

 The Current Flavor of Friars

These guys take the ball to the hole creating many fouls shots.  The Friars shoot the 3 pt shot really well at 38.1% which is 61st (out of 351) in the country.  Providence also defends the 3pt. shot really well.  Opponents shoot 31.5% which is 39th best in the country.  P’Town is also above average at creating steal and blocking shots.

Who Should Scare the Blue out of Us?

The Friars are a well balanced team.  Their point guard, Kyron Cartwright is 7th in the country in the assist rate, and shoots 47.8% from the 3pt line.  Those two stats kind of scare me.

Quick Note

This game will be mic’d live!  Which of these two men will drop a F’ Bomb?

How does DePaul Matchup?

Let’s go to the tail of the tape.

Offense

The Friars shoot the 3 real well (38.1%).  The Demons do not (32.7%).  P’Town gets to the line at an elite rate (38th best in the country), DePaul does not (223rd).  Providence turns the ball over and rebounds on the offensive end at an average rate, while the Blue Boys are in the top 1/3 in both.

Advantage:  Close, but the edge goes to Providence

Defense

Once again, these teams are similar at the other end of the floor.  The biggest difference is that Providence is the 39th best at stopping 3 pointers, while the Demons are crap (279th).  Conversely, DePaul is 55th at stopping the 2 point shot, while the Friars are crap (227th).  The clear edge comes with the fact that P’Town is in the top 20% of all teams at both blocking shots and stealing the ball.

Advantage:  Providence

In Conclusion

This should be a super close game.  These teams are similar in size, offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency.  It will come down to, who shoots 3’s better, whether the Friars keep the Demons off the offensive glass, and whether DePaul plays quality defense without fouling.  Since DePaul will have the huge support of the student body, I’ve got to go with the Demons.  What’s that you say?  The students won’t show, and even if they did show they will be in the upper deck?  In that case, it is too close to call.