NCAA Basketball: Ranking of top 25 team frontcourts for 2023-24 season

19. Providence Friars

In what ended up being Coach Ed Cooley’s last season at Providence, the frontcourt led the way to another NCAA Tournament appearance. Ed Croswell was second on the team with 13.3 ppg and 7.5 rpg, while Clifton Moore was the first big man off the bench. Both are gone and the team tried to replace Moore with Mississippi State transfer Will McNair but he left late this offseason for Kansas State.

Who did stick around is Bryce Hopkins, the former Kentucky forward who broke out with the Friars last season. He led the team with 15.8 ppg and 8.5 rpg on 45% shooting from the field, and 36% from deep. His top performance was 29 points and 23 rebounds against Marquette in overtime.

Replacing Croswell at the five-spot is Josh Oduro, who followed new HC Kim English over from George Mason. The 6’9 big man led the Patriots last season with 15.6 ppg and 7.9 rpg on 55% shooting from the field, including going for 27 points in a matchup against Rhode Island.

There’s not a ton of depth behind them, with Rafael Castro set to have his largest role yet in the frontcourt. Freshmen Eli DeLaurier and Donovan Santoro has the chance to get minutes as well. As long as the Hopkins/Oduro pairing works out well, Providence should still be an NCAA Tournament contender, despite the coaching change.