Now that banner night has come and gone, the Friars play host to Northeastern Saturday night at the AMP. The Friars were able to dig themselves out of a hole before almost blowing a late lead against Rider. The Friars showed flashes of their potential this season, but now they look to string together a more complete game with Northeastern coming to town.
The Huskies lost their opener to Walter Whyte and the BU Terriers. Northeastern projects to be a top half team in the CAA, but are a step below the Towson and Delaware.
For the Friars, this is an opportunity for them to get more cohesion as a unit against a foe that is less challenging than their opening opponent.
We break down the keys to a victory and what to watch for below:
- Northeastern vs Providence
- 8 pm FS2/WPRO
- đź“ŤAmica Mutual Pavilion
- Odds
What to Watch For
Bounce Back Bynum – Jared Bynum had a bit of an up and down opener for the Friars. He finished with 6 points (1/9 FG) , 5 assists and 6 rebounds. Bynum dealt with a little bit of foul trouble and had a tough shooting night. For JB it will be a bit of an adjustment to get used to all the new players around him. Having said that, it won’t take long for Bynum to bounce back. Bynum will likely match up against Glenn McClintock with their bigger guards having to deal with Locke/Hopkins. Look for Bynum to have a bounce back game.
Scouting Report: Slow Down Talfort- Northeastern is led by guard Jahmyl Talfort, who scored 26 points in the Huskies opener. Talfort has high major size at 6-7, he excels around the perimeter, and attacking the basket. It’s going to be an all around team effort but look for Devin Carter to draw the assignment. If PC slows down Talfort the Huskies won’t have enough complimentary scoring to hang around the Friar.
Frontcourt Rotation- In the opener we saw Ed Croswell and Clifton Moore get minutes while sliding Hopkins up and down the lineup and playing more guards. Rafael Castro had a brief cameo in the opener, as he only logged 4 minutes of action. Castro was labeled as one of the biggest surprises this off-season, and he looked poised to be a contributor up front for the Friars. We would have to think Castro gets a little more of an opportunity to prove himself in this one.
Ball Pressure- In Northeastern’s opener against BU they turned the ball over 19 times. This should be music to the Friar’s ears. PC should be able to force the Huskies to turn over the rock and that should get them easier looks. Devin Carter had five steals in the opener and look for him to possibly exceed that in this one.
Predictions
Crier: The Friars gave their fans all they could handle against Rider. Now that they have the first game under their belt look for them to be much more settled. I think PC comes out firing in this one before cruising to a double digit victory. PC 80 Northeastern 56.
BOC: This one shouldn’t have the fireworks and anxiety that Game 1 possessed. I expect more of a rotation than against Rider, who 9 players getting more than 10 minutes of play. Providence’s defense is the story here, with the Friars winning 76-62.
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