2017 NCAA Tournament: Providence vs USC preview, prediction, TV schedule

The final game of the 2017 NCAA Tournament First Four in Dayton pits the Friars against the Trojans.

TV Schedule: Wednesday, Mar. 15, 9:10 p.m. ET, TruTV

Arena: UD Arena, Dayton, OH

Prediction: USC 72, Providence 71

The Providence Friars and USC Trojans will have to play each other in Dayton after rough stretches for both teams dropped them to the First Four games.

Andy Enfield, in his fourth year as head coach of the Trojans, navigated his team to a 23-9 record, despite losing star forward Bennie Boatwright for half the season. Of their nine losses, four came without Boatwright, and four came during a tough stretch soon after his return.

Ed Cooley’s Providence Friars were the seventh team to earn a bid out of the Big East, with a 20-12 record. The Friars are an even 8-8 against the tournament field, and they earned a bid after a tough 4-9 stretch caused many people to write them off.

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While these teams seem evenly matched, only one team will head to Tulsa.

When playing in the NCAA Tournament, winning teams tend to have four things in common: solid forwards, experienced guard play, balance on both ends of the court, and the ability to win away from one’s home court.

Both teams check the first two boxes pretty well. USC is led by forwards Bennie Boatwright and Chimezie Metu, as well as junior guard Jordan McLaughlin. Providence will lean on forwards Rodney Bullock and Emmitt Holt, while juniors Jalen Lindsey and Kyron Cartwright hold down the guard positions.

Both teams are extremely unbalanced, each performing far better on one end of the court. USC has an extremely efficient offense but does not play defense as well as one would hope. Providence, on the other hand, is one of the best defensive teams but can struggle to score at times.

What really separates these two teams, and gives USC the edge, is their ability to win on a neutral court. The Trojans are 4-1 in neutral court games, their only loss coming in the Pac-12 Tournament to UCLA. Providence, however, is 1-2 on neutral courts, and their only win came against a less than stellar Memphis team.

This should be a close game, but expect a player like McLaughlin to step up down the stretch. McLaughlin has been the Trojans’ best player in neutral site games, scoring 22 points in the overtime win against Wyoming.

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I expect McLaughlin’s ability to shoot and pass the ball to lift the Trojans over the Friars. Who knows, maybe we will have our first buzzer beater of the NCAA Tournament.

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