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CBB
(1 Pick)
6:30PM EST: St. John's -7.5 (3 Units)
Unfortunately for Providence they lost their 2nd leading scorer Bryce Hopkins for the season when he tore his ACL against Seton Hall. The 6'7 forward made a huge impact offensively as well as defensively. The biggest problem for the Friars is that they aren't a very deep roster. They really only played 7 guys all year. It puts a lot of heat on Devin Carter to carry the load and there aren't many other great scoring options. Josh Oduro is a fine big but he's no elite option. He's also really struggled from the floor in Conference play, especially against quality bigs. Now he's up against Joel Soriano, one of the Country's best. Soriano just dominated the paint defensively against Villanova.
There just aren't many scoring threats for the Friars. They shot 37% from the field against Seton Hall and 36.9% against Creighton over their last 2 games. They're 0-2 on the road this year and scored just 51 points in Oklahoma in their first road game and they had Hopkins for that one. St. John's on the other hand has 5 guys averaging over 10 points per game and they have numerous guys who can create their own shot. They're also much deeper, with 6 players averaging over 20 minutes per game, another just shy of 19, and 2 more above 10. Prize transfer guard Rj Luis is only going to improve the more he plays too.
They're 5-1 over their last 6 with their only loss coming in a tight one on the road against UConn. Providence has lost back-to-back games and they're still trying to figure out life without Hopkins. There's a reason they didn't play anyone outside of their best 7 and now they're stuck trying to work those guys in. Kim English is in his first year as Head Coach for the Friars and he doesn't have a very long pedigree. Rick Pitino on the other hand has a plethora of options and is ascending. Their matchup zone's going to create issues for Providence today as they really struggle from deep, ranking 221st in CBB. The fresh bodies and depth should help St. John's pull away late if Providence shows up early.
