Texas vs Providence: 2019-20 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
By Joey Loose
Texas and Providence clash in a late December nonconference affair; can the Longhorns continue their winning streak or can the Friars get back on track at home?
TV schedule: Saturday, December 21, 2:00 pm ET. FOX
Arena: Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island
With head coach Shaka Smart needing a major step forward for his team, Texas (9-1) has had a pretty solid start to the season. They haven’t played the strongest schedule in the world, but do own a road win over Purdue, though their 16-point loss against Georgetown one month ago remains a blemish. The Longhorns have now won five games in a row and look to build even more momentum heading into Big 12 conference play.
Despite losing some top talent last season, there’s still plenty left on the roster this season. The leading scorer is junior guard Matt Coleman (13.0 ppg, 4.9 apg), who’s shown the ability to find scorers across the court while also hitting the outside shots. Another name to watch is junior guard Jase Febres (10.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg) who led Texas with 23 points in their last win over Central Michigan. Keep your eyes also peeled for junior forward Jericho Sims (8.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg), their most talented big man this season.
At the moment, Texas sits at 48th in KenPom. They’ve had a few close calls in the early season, though that 9-1 record doesn’t look as impressive with their weak nonconference schedule. These Longhorns are good at forcing turnovers but are one of the worst teams in the nation at shooting free throws. If they can combat these issues against the Friars, then they can pick up another nice resume-boosting road win.
On the home side, Providence (6-6) has mightily struggled in the early going this season. They’ve dropped games to Northwestern, Long Beach State, and Charleston, among others, and their most impressive win is probably a 3-point win over Pepperdine. This is not looking like an NCAA Tournament team and they’ll need to find a way to win these kinds of games before Big East play begins.
The Friars were blown out 83-51 by Florida in their last time out, but there are a couple of great players still on this team. Senior guard Alpha Diallo (14.1 ppg, 9.0 rpg) has developed into a top threat for the Friars, putting up 20 points and 12 rebounds against the Gators earlier in the week. Another player to watch is junior center Nate Watson (10.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg), who dealt with injuries earlier in the year but put up 18 points on Florida.
Their rocky start has Georgetown down to 88th in KenPom, ranking a bit higher on the defensive end of the ball than on offense. They play at a fast tempo and force the other team into offensive mistakes, taking advantage of turnovers and boards. Unfortunately, the offense has been a major issue lately, made clear after their struggles with the Gators.
For the Longhorns, they need their guards to take care of the basketball and hit their shots. For the Friars, they should have the advantage in the interior, but it won’t matter if their offense is sloppy and inconsistent again. There’s going to be a major advantage to whichever team controls the pace of this game, with Texas wanting to move the ball quickly from end to end. Clearly, if this comes down to a free throw contest, it will advantage the Friars, though they’ve had their issues as well.
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Neither team has been very consistent, but this is exactly the kind of game that Providence has shown they cannot win. If the Friars can pull this off, they can begin to save a season that’s slowly going down the tubes. However, I think there’s too much talent on a Texas team that’s trending upwards and I expect the Longhorns to pound out a close win.