Providence Basketball: 3 keys to defeating Texas A&M

The Providence Friars open Friday’s slate of games against a talented Texas A&M team. What do the Friars need to do to defeat the Aggies?

The Friars were known for their inconsistent play throughout this season before turning some heads in the Big East Tournament. Providence suffered losses to vastly inferior teams such as DePaul and UMass, but also played up to their competition to knock off Villanova and Xavier in Big East play.

Key players were missing in many of their losses, but they had some disappointing performances even with their full complement of players. The Friars seem to be fully healthy at the right time and an excellent performance at Madison Square Garden might indicate that they have finally turned the corner.

Providence outlasted Creighton in a tightly contested first-round matchup. The Friars were able to contain the explosive and fast-paced Creighton offense with their collection of versatile wing defenders. Timely baskets by Kyron Cartwright and Alpha Diallo gave Providence the edge.

Xavier got out to an early double-digit lead against the Friars, but a late second-half comeback sent the game into overtime. Once again, Providence’s deep arsenal of wings held JP Macura and Trevon Bluiett to a combined 6-24 shooting. Cartwright’s savviness saved the Friars as he took multiple game-changing charges.

In their third straight overtime contest, Providence fell short against Villanova in the Big East Championship but played extremely well for the third straight game. A strong defensive effort kept them in the game, but Villanova’s future lottery pick Mikal Bridges hit some back-breaking shots in the second half and overtime.

While Providence is undeniably playing their best basketball of the season, they have a difficult first-round matchup on their hands. The Texas A&M Aggies are unlike any team Providence has played this season due to their size and athleticism in the frontcourt.

The Friars also received some bad luck with their seed which is why they have such a difficult first-round game. They were a 9 seed according to the official seed list, but due to bracketing principles they were bumped to the 10 line and forced to play the strongest 7 seed.

Due to conference affiliation, Providence cannot play Creighton or Seton Hall in the first round and both schools were 8 seeds. So that left two possible 8-9 matchups. However, you cannot play Big East teams in the second round either which eliminated any possible 8-9 matchup as both Villanova and Xavier were 1 seeds and could not play Creighton or Seton Hall.

Many people consider a 10 seed to be preferable because, in theory, a 2 seed is much easier to beat than a 1 seed (in the round of 32), but this is a challenging first-round matchup for Providence.

This article will analyze three areas that Providence needs to address in order to win this game and advance to the round of 32.