PC Set to Meet North Carolina in NCAA Tourney for 2nd Time in 3 Years
Joe Calabro, GoLocalProv Sports Team
PC Set to Meet North Carolina in NCAA Tourney for 2nd Time in 3 Years
"Watched a lot of film of Carolina over the last probably 12 hours. Great team, well-coached, incredibly balanced, athletic and long. That's the reason why they're a No. 1 seed. They've earned it and we're excited about the challenge, and see what we can do in order to try to advance," said Friars Head Coach Ed Cooley in a Friday press conference.
The Friars are coming off a first round win over the University of Southern California Trojans, while the Tar Heels are coming off a first round win over FGCU.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThis is the second time in three seasons that PC and North Carolina will meet in the NCAA Tournament.
Scouting North Carolina
"I think it's their depth. I think it's their athleticism, great coaching. They're a veteran team. Paige -- we played against Paige a couple years ago. Johnson was in the game. Meeks was in the game. Meeks, by the way, looks great. He's lost a lot of weight. They added Isaiah Hicks, who to me is one of the most improved players in the country. Berry, they've got body after body after body. We have to stay as fresh as we can. That's what makes them so elite and one of the favorites to win the Tournament," said Cooley.
The Tar Heels are led by Brice Johnson who averages 16.6 points per game and is shooting 61% from the field.
Meanwhile, Joel Berry II is averaging 12.7 points per game and is shooting 43% from the field .
Guard Marcus Paige is averaging 12 points and 3.8 assists per game.
Keys For PC to Pull Off the Upset
The most important thing for the Friars is that they have to stay out of foul trouble, especially Kris Dunn who got in foul trouble very early against USC.
"At breakfast this morning we talked about that. With the point of emphasis with officiating now as far as freedom of movement. He picked up a couple of -- they were fouls. You know, chasing a guy off the screen, trying to steal the ball. I mean, we're not very good if he's not on the floor for a period of time. When he's on the floor we're as dangerous as anybody in the country," Cooley said.
Unlike North Carolina, Providence does not have much depth on their bench making foul trouble even more of a problem.
The Friars do have some areas they can take advantage of against Carolina which they didn't necessarily have in 2014. "They do present some problems. I'm not sure we have a height advantage. They're 6'8", 6'9" up front, and 6'5, 6'6" in the back court. We're 6'9", 6'10" up front and 6'O in the back court. That's all relative to who you're guarding.
They shoot more threes than we do. Their top eight players, everybody's made more than ten threes. We got to understand that's a problem for us. No. 0 is a heck of a match-up problem and No. 3 is a heck of a match-up problem. We got to do a good job on both of those guys and see if we have to cut down their percentage," said North Carolina Head Coach Roy Williams.
Lastly, the Friars will need good games from Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil, but will also need a third and potentially fourth guy to step up and contribute. Coming off the win over USC, Coach Cooley says the entire team is confident.
"I think it gave the guys some confidence, you know? We looked like we were dead in the water and I thought our young men were resilient. It gives you more confidence, a little more pep in your step. Hopefully we have some great carryover. How we compete tomorrow [today], it's about how we come out, and how we withstand their runs. We're playing against a great, great team, arguably the favorite to win the whole national championship."
Game Time
PC vs. North Carolina can be seen on TBS with tip off coming at approximately 9:40 p.m.
The winner of this game will face the winner of Indiana vs. Kentucky in next weekend's sweet 16.
Providence College Friars 2015-16 Projected Starting Lineup
G - Kris Dunn
Considered one of the top players in the country and the best point guard in the country, Kris Dunn passed on going to the NBA and came back to Providence for his redshirt junior season.
Dunn averaged 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds last season, registering eight double-doubles and one triple-double in the process.
Dunn was selected as the preseason Player-of-the-Year during Big East media day.
G - Junior Lomomba
Junior Lomomba is a glue guy for the Friars and also effective on the defensive end of the floor.
Last season, Lomomba finished with eight steals and 37 rebounds, averaging 11.1 minutes per game.
So far in 2015-16, Lomomba is averaging 28 minutes and six points per game.
G- Jalen Lindsey
Sophomore Jalen Lindsey, 6'7", played in 33 games, and started 13, for the Friars last seaso.
Lindsey averaged 3.8 points in 18 minutes of play per game. Lindsey shot 33 percent from three-point land during the season.
Lindsey's length can help the Friars on the defensive end as well.
F - Rodney Bullock
Rodney Bullock, 6'8" from Virginia, is a redshirt sophomore for the Friars but has yet to play a college basketball game. Bullock tore his ACL prior to last season and the year before that he was suspended.
In PC's exhibition game against Stonehill, Bullock had 26 points and 11 rebounds for Providence.
"I was impressed with his court awareness, his ability to post up when he wants was impressive given that he hasn't played a college game," Joe Hassett said.
F - Ben Bentil
Sophomore Ben Bentil, 6'9" leads the forward group after playing in 34 games last season, starting 23 of them for the Friars.
Last season, Bentil averaged six points and five rebounds in 21 minutes of play per game. Given that he is the tallest player that the Friars have, his minutes will go up significantly this season.
6 man - Kyron Cartwright
Kyron Cartwright
Sophomore Kyron Cartwright played in 34 games and started eight for the Friars last season. Carwright averaged 3.5 points in 19 minutes of play time per game.
Cartwright only made four three-pointers all of last season and will look to improve those numbers this season.
