The No. 6 seed Kentucky Wildcats (21-11, 12-7 SEC) take on the No. 11 seed Providence Friars (21-11, 13-8 Big East) Friday at Greensboro Coliseum in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Providence dropped their last game against the UConn Huskies 73-66 at Madison Square Garden on March 9 in the quarterfinals of the Big East Conference Tourney, their third loss in a row.
With 16 points and seven rebounds, Bryce Hopkins was the key player in defeat. Kentucky fell short in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tourney on Friday at Bridgestone Arena, falling to the Vanderbilt Commodores 80-73. Antonio Reeves recorded 22 points to lead the team in scoring in defeat. With 19 points and 15 rebounds, Oscar Tshiebwe also produced a strong performance.
The Wildcats triumphed in the last meeting between the teams 58-38 at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center in November 2014. The Friars have been led this season by Hopkins, who is averaging 16.1 points per game. Hopkins also has grabbed 8.5 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Jared Bynum is dishing 3.8 assists.
Tshiebwe and Reeves have supplied much of the Wildcats’ offense, averaging 15.4 and 14.4 points per game, respectively. Tshiebwe also has posted 12.3 rebounds per game, third-most in the nation. Cason Wallace has distributed 4.0 assists per game.
Providence is 4-6 in the last 10 games with an average margin of -0.8 (77.4-78.2). For the season, the Friars are averaging 78.1 points per game, compared to 71.3 for opponents. Kentucky has a 6-4 record over the last 10, scoring 74.5 points per game on average while allowing 70.7 (+3.8 margin).
FRIARS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Bryce Hopkins: 18.0 | 26.8 | -8.8
Points per game:
Jared Bynum: 13.2 | 8.8 | +4.5
Bryce Hopkins: 11.8 | 16.1 | -4.3
Rebounds per game:
Bryce Hopkins: 4.2 | 8.5 | -4.3
WILDCATS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Antonio Reeves: 25.0 | 17.6 | +7.4
Sahvir Wheeler: 0.0 | 10.2 | -10.2
Points per game:
Antonio Reeves: 22.0 | 14.4 | +7.6
Cason Wallace: 8.0 | 10.8 | -2.8
Rebounds per game:
Chris Livingston: 8.0 | 4.0 | +4.0
Assists per game:
Sahvir Wheeler: 0.0 | 3.7 | -3.7
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Providence (+160)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
