Georgetown vs. Providence Saturday NCAAB Preview

Posted by Joe Solari on Wednesday,February 10, 2016 3:14, EDT in

It was far from easy, but the then No. 10 Providence Friars managed to fend off the Georgetown Hoyas to beat them 73-69 when the two teams met on January 30th during their first meeting of the season. Unfortunately, since that win, the Friars have dropped their next two games (at DePaul and vs. Villanova), a feat that has seen Providence tumble down to a No. 20 ranking in the nation ahead of Wednesday’s road clash at Marquette. Can the Hoyas take advantage of Providence’s recent struggles to avenge their home loss, or will the Friars complete the season sweep against Georgetown in the NCAAB online odds when the two teams meet on Saturday? Read on below as we break it down for you.

How to Bet Georgetown at No. 20 Providence Game and TV Information

When: Saturday, February 13, 12:00 pm ET
Where: Dunkin’ Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island
TV: FOX
Radio: WJFK-106.7
Stream Option: FoxSports

Why Bet on the Hoyas

After losing to the Friars at home, the Hoyas followed it with two road losses at Butler (87-76) and Seton Hall (69-61) before getting a winning break against St. John’s, whom they manhandled to the tune of 92-67 for a big home win. That win must, however, be taken with a pinch of salt, as they were playing a pretty weak St. John’s team that had lost 14 straight games entering that Monday night game.

If the Hoyas are to beat Providence, they will need to play a better game on Saturday, especially in the defense in terms of handling the Friars’ menacing one-two punch combo of Ben Bentil or Kris Dunn, who scored 26 points each in the win over Georgetown two weeks ago. Offensively, they will also need D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Georgetown’s sixth-best all-time scorer and leader in both points (16.7) and assists (4.4) per game this season, to lead the attack strongly. Given that Smith-Rivera is coming off a 24-point performance in the win over St. John’s and he had a ton of support from the rest of his teammates, there’s definitely hope that the Hoyas (who are actually averaging better numbers than Providence in PPG scoring, FG%, FT% and 3PT%) will be able to give the Friars a strong run for their money this Saturday. After all, Georgetown is 9-4 SU in its last 13 overall games against Providence, so there is enough reason for the Hoyas to believe in their abilities.

Why Bet on the Friars

The fact that five of Providence’s six losses on the season so far (ahead of their Wednesday clash against Marquette) have come at home is a concerning factor for Friars coach Ed Cooley. This is made even worse by the fact that the Friars have never won a game at Marquette, so they could easily come into Saturday’s game on the back of three straight losses. Nonetheless, there is hope in the fact that Bentil and Dunn are having big seasons and are two of the best scorers in the Big East, with star forward Bentil averaging 19.7 PPG and a team-best 48.0 FG% while star guard Dunn is averaging 17.0 PPG, 5.9 RPG and a team-best 6.7 APG. If these two players can light it up, like they did when they combined for 52 points against Georgetown two weeks ago, then the Friars should have a solid chance of getting back on the winning column against the Hoyas on Saturday (if they won’t have done that already against Marquette on Wednesday).

Defensively, the Friars haven’t been playing that badly, as they are allowing just 68.1 PPG ahead of Wednesday’s NCAAB games. As a concern, though, this defense has been allowing too many cheap points and getting outplayed early in the game, as was witnessed in their home loss to Villanova. A strong defense will be extremely paramount early against the Hoyas, who are known for their strong sharpshooting skills within the paint and from beyond the arc. Needless to say, it will be hard to contain Smith-Rivera and Co., but if they managed to do it on the road, they should certainly be capable of doing the same in front of their home supporters.

Hoyas at Friars Expert NCAAB Picks and Final Score Prediction

The Hoyas lethal offense ensures that Georgetown hangs with Providence until late in the game, but the dynamic duo of Bentil and Dunn just about manage to help the Friars to claim a narrow home win. Final Score Prediction: Providence 74, Georgetown 71.