The No. 20 Providence Friars (17-6, 9-3 Big East) are on the road to face the St. John’s Red Storm (14-11, 4-10 Big East), who will be out to halt their losing run, on Saturday. Providence was edged out by the Xavier Musketeers 85-83 in overtime at Cintas Center on February 1.
Noah Locke was the scoring leader in defeat with 22 points. Ed Croswell was another standout performer with 21 points and nine rebounds. The Friars dropped to fourth in the Big East Conference. St. John’s lost their third in a row in a close one on Tuesday at Hinkle Fieldhouse, falling to the Butler Bulldogs 68-66.
Posh Alexander had 17 points, nine rebounds, and six assists in the loss, leading the team. The Red Storm are ninth in the Big East Conference.
The teams are meeting for the final time this season. After taking the only earlier season game against St. John’s 83-80 at Amica Mutual Pavilion on January 7, their third straight head-to-head victory, Providence will be aiming for a season sweep.
Locke led the Friars with 20 points, while Devin Carter played a key role with 19 points. Joel Soriano had 16 points and 10 rebounds in the losing effort. Bryce Hopkins is averaging 16.1 points per game to lead the Friars in scoring this season. Hopkins also has grabbed 9.3 rebounds per game.
Meanwhile, Jared Bynum is dishing 3.7 assists.Soriano has been the primary provider of the Red Storm’s offense, averaging 15.4 points per game. Soriano also has averaged 12.0 rebounds per game, fourth-most in the NCAA.
Andre Curbelo has doled out 4.3 assists per game. In the last 10 games, Providence is 7-3 with an average margin of +7.1 (75.1-68.0). St. John’s has gone 3-7 over the last 10, allowing 79.6 points per game on average while scoring only 73.6 (-6.0 margin). The Red Storm are averaging 76.6 ppg for the full season while allowing 74.3.
FRIARS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Clifton Moore: 6.2 | 9.2 | -3.0
Assists per game:
Bryce Hopkins: 3.2 | 2.4 | +0.8
RED STORM HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
AJ Storr: 18.4 | 10.0 | +8.4
Montez Mathis: 0.0 | 7.1 | -7.1
Points per game:
AJ Storr: 13.6 | 7.8 | +5.8
Joel Soriano: 11.2 | 15.4 | -4.2
Rebounds per game:
David Jones: 3.2 | 6.0 | -2.8
Assists per game:
Andre Curbelo: 2.8 | 4.3 | -1.5
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
St.Johns +4.5 (-110)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
