The Providence Friars and the Kentucky Wildcats meet Friday in NCAA Tournament First Round action from Greensboro Coliseum. Providence is currently 21-11 on the year. The Friars lost to UConn in their Big East Tournament game last week. As for Kentucky, they’re sitting at 21-11 as well following a loss to Vanderbilt last Friday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Providence Friars
Providence finished off the regular season with a 21-10 record. The Friars went just 1-3 in their last four games however, falling to UConn, Xavier and Seton Hall in that time with a lone win over Georgetown otherwise. Providence earned a five-seed in the Big East Tournament.
In tournament activity last Thursday against UConn, the Friars were down 35-19 at the break. Providence hit a 47-38 run from there but still lost 73-66. Bryce Hopkins led the team on 16 points and seven rebounds, and Noah Locke put up 14 points.
Kentucky Wildcats
Over on the Kentucky side, they also finished the regular season on a 21-0 clip. The Wildcats’ final six games were a 5-1 run with wins over Mississippi State, Tennessee, Florida, Auburn and Arkansas. The lone loss came 68-66 to Vanderbilt.
In the SEC Tournament matchup against Vanderbilt last Friday, Kentucky was down 39-34 going into the second half. The Wildcats were outscored 41-39 the rest of the way and lost 80-73. Oscar Tshiebwe (19 points; 15 rebounds) and Jacob Toppin (21 points; 11 rebounds) both doubled up.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll probably stay with Kentucky. The Wildcats didn’t play all that well against Vanderbilt despite shooting a reasonable 42.4 percent from the field with a 43-26 rebounding advantage (21-6 offensive). Prior to that, Kentucky had been playing well during their 5-1 stretch. The Wildcats have scored 66 or more options in 15 straight outings and shoddy post a decent total here. As for Providence, they’ve got a tepid 124 combined points over their last pair of games—both against pretty tough teams. This one’s not going to get any easier, so I like Kentucky to take control.