NCAA Basketball: Ranking the 10 matchups in 2020-21 Big 12/Big East Challenge
6. Providence at TCU
It’s a new era for Friars Basketball, as they won’t have arguably their best player from the past few seasons in Alpha Diallo (14.5 ppg and 7.8 rpg). Key rotation players Luwane Pipkins, Kalif Young and Emmitt Holt also graduated, along with a combined over 20 ppg of production. Providence does have a pair of sit-out transfers able to play next season in senior forward Noah Horchler (16.0 ppg and 9.3 rpg at North Florida) and sophomore Jared Bynum (11.3 ppg).
Still, next season will fall on the shoulders of guard David Duke and AJ Reeves, former top-50 prospects with high expectations on them now as the stars of the team. Duke (12.0 ppg and 3.1 apg) seemed to break out last season while Reeves was in and out of the starting lineup with consistency issues.
TCU also has to replace its star from last season in Desmond Bane (16.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg and 3.9 apg). His production alone will be hard to replace alone but two other starters (Jaire Grayer and Edric Dennis) also are gone. That leaves essentially leaves RJ Nembhard and Kevin Samuel as the lone key returning assets from a team that finished 16-16 last season.
The Horned Frogs hope that former Chattanooga forward Kevin Easley (14.2 ppg and 6.7 as a freshman) will have a major impact, along with USC transfer guard Charles O’Bannon. They also have a pair of three-star notable freshmen in Terren Frank and Mike Miles. There’s okay depth but TCU has been a victim of massive outgoing transfers and without Bane to produce, will struggle next season.
This is an interesting game to watch mainly to see which players step up in their new roles. Whichever can will not only have an advantage in this game but will have a shot at going dancing in March. The Horned Frogs top duo of Nembhard and Samuel will be better but the overall depth of the Friars should give them a slight edge.