The Friars will look to build off their 71-57 victory over Merrimack, as they host Columbia Saturday afternoon. This game will be Providence’s final tune up before playing their first true road game of the season at TCU on Wednesday.
- Columbia at Providence
- 4pm FS2/WPRO
- Amica Mutual Pavilion
- PC -22.5 O/U 145.5
Aggressive Bynum?- After the first game of the year Bynum had a relative quiet game and we chalked it up to him trying to integrate all these new pieces on the team. He responded with a 25 point game the next time out against Northeastern. However Bynum has deferred a lot this year and Cooley has admitted the other players got to learn to play with Bynum. I’d expect him to be able to put it together today with an efficient shooting night and dishing out assists.
Advantage on the Boards- With Big East play slowly approaching there might be few times where Providence has an advantage on the glass going into a game. Well this game the Friars should have a serious advantage. The Lions rank 317th in the nation in rebounding with 29 a game. The Friars should dominate the glass today.
Three-Point D- Rebounding has been an issue for the Friars and so has three-point defense. Usually a calling card for a Ed Cooley coached team but the Friars allowed Merrimack to shoot 10/23 from deep last game. For Columbia the three ball is the bread and butter of their offense as they take 25 threes a game. However they only shoot around 33%. You know Cooley put an emphasis on perimeter defense this week in practice, the goal should be to give up no more than 8.
Predictions
Crier- Look for Providence to put everything together today against a far inferior opponent. PC 80 Columbia 50