The 8 Teams Coming to Providence for the NCAA Tournament
Joe Calabro, GoLocalProv Sports Team
The 8 Teams Coming to Providence for the NCAA Tournament
See the Slideshow Below
The lineup features the defending National Champion Duke Blue Devils, a Providence College basketball alum in Jim Larranaga and his Miami Hurricanes and a fan favorite from the 2015 NCAA Tournament in Wichita State.
All teams will practice this afternoon at the Dunkin' Donuts Center and those practices are open to the public.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe practice schedule is as follows:
- Noon - 12:40 pm - UNC Wilmington
- 12:45 - 1:25 pm - Yale
- 1:30 - 2:10 pm - Duke
- 2:15 - 2:55 pm - Baylor
- 4:25 - 5:05 pm - Miami
- 5:10 - 5:50 pm - Arizona
- 5:55 - 6:35 - Buffalo
- 6:40 - 7:20 pm - Wichita St
The games begin on Thursday at 12:15. There will be four games broken up into two sessions. The winners of each sessions games will play each other on Saturday at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.
Example, if Duke and Baylor win, they will face each other on Saturday.
Thursday's Game Schedule
- #4 Duke vs. #13 UNC-Wilmington - 12:15 p.m.
- #5 Baylor vs. #12 Yale - 2:45 p.m.
- #3 Miami vs. #14 Buffalo - 6:50 p.m.
- #6 Arizona vs. #11 Wichita State - 9:20 p.m.
For more on the teams that are playing their first and second round games in Providence, see the slideshow below!
Let the Madness Begin!
The 8 Teams Coming to Providence for NCAA Tournament
3 seed
Miami
The third seed in the South Region, the Miami Hurricanes went 25-7 overall and 13-5 in the ACC this season, good enough for a third place finish. Miami fell to Virginia in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament,
The Hurricanes are led by Sheldon McClellan who averages 16 points per game and is shooing 50% from the field.
Miami will face 14th seeded Buffalo in the first round on Thursday.
RI Connection
Miami Head Coach Jim Larranaga played for the Friars from 1968-71 under head coaches Joe Mullaney and Dave Gavitt and alongside Erine DiGregorio.
Larranaga was inducted into PC's athletics Hall of Fame in 1992.
Photo of Jim Larranaga courtesy of wikipedia
4 Seed
Duke
The 4 seed in the West Region, the Duke Blue Devils enter the NCAA Tournament as the defending National Champions. The Blue Devils had an up and down year going 23-10 overall and 11-7 in the ACC but lost in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament to Notre Dame after being up by 20 points in the second half.
The Blue Devils are led by Grayson Allen who averages 21.6 points per game and shooting 46.7% from the field, while Brandon Ingram averages 16.8 points per game and shoots 44% from the field.
Duke of course is coached by Mike Krzyzewski, aka Coach K, the winningest coach in Division I men's college basketball.
Duke will face UNC Wilmington in the first round.
Photo courtesy of Grayson Allen's Twitter
5 Seed
Baylor
The 5 seed in the West Region, the Baylor Bears enter the NCAA Tournament out of the Big 12 conference where they went 22-11 overall and 10-8 in league play, losing to Kansas in the conference tournament.
Baylor is led by Taurean Prince who averages 15.5 points per game and is shooting 43% from the field.
Meanwhile, Al Freeman follows up averaging 11.5 points per game is shooting 42% from the field.
Baylor will take on Yale in the first round.
6 Seed
Arizona
A 6 seed in the South Region, the Arizona Wildcats finished their regular season with a record of 25-8 overall, 12-6 in the PAC-12, losing to Oregon in the conference tournament.
Arizona is led by Ryan Anderson who averages 15.5 points per game and is shooting 55% from the field while Gabe York averages 15.2 point per game.
Meanwhile Allonzo Trier averages 15 points per game and is shooting 47% from the field.
Arizona will face Wichita St. in the first round.
11 Seed
Wichita State
In order to get to Providence, Wichita State had to play in a Tuesday night play in game against Vanderbilt to see who would get the 11 seed in the South Region. The Shockers won the game 70-50.
The Shockers went 25-8 overall and 16-2 in the Missouri Valley conference this season, losing to Northern Iowa in the conference tournament.
Wichita State is led by Ron Baker who averages 14 points per game and is shooting 43% from the field.
Meanwhile, Fred VanVleet averages 12 points per game but is shooting 41% from three-point land.
The Shockers will face Arizona in the first round of action.
Fred VanVleet photo courtesy of Wikipedia
12 Seed
Yale
After finishing with a record of 22-6 overall and 11-1 in the Ivy League, the Yale Bulldogs are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
Yale is led by Makai Mason and Justin Sears who each averages 15.8 points per game and are shooting 43 and 52% from the field respectively.
Meanwhile, Brandon Sherrod averages 12.5 points per game and is shooting 56% from the field.
Yale will face Baylor in the first round.
13 Seed
UNC-Willmington
UNC Wilmington enters the NCAA Tournament as a 13 seed after going 25-7 overall and 14-4 in the Colonial Athletic Conference, good enough for first place.
The Seahawks are led by Chris Flemmings who averages 16 points per game and is shooting 51% from the field.
Following Flemmings lead is Denzel Ingram who is averaging 12.5 points per game and is shooing 36% from the field.
UNC-Wilmington will face Duke in the first round.
14 Seed
Buffalo
Buffalo enters the NCAA Tournament after winning their second straight MAC title on a Blake Hamilton three-pointer with 2 seconds left to beat Akron 64-61. The win earned them 14 seed in the NCAA tournament.
The Bulls went 20-14 overall and 1-8 in the MAC Conference, finishing in 4th.
Buffalo is led by Lamonte Bearden who averaged 13.6 points per game and is shooting 42 % from the field.
Blake Hamilton averages 13 points per game and is shooting 45% from the field and 38% from three.
Buffalo will face Miami in the first round.
Photo courtesy of ubbulls.com
