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The 21-12 USC Trojans will square off against the 23-10 Providence Friars on Thursday in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA tournament. The winner of this Round of 64 game will move on to face the winner of the North Carolina–Florida Gulf Coast game in the Round of 32.
The Trojans enter the tournament having lost five of their last seven games — including an 80-72 defeat at the hands of Utah in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament. Despite the struggles down the stretch, the school, alumni and boosters have to be ecstatic with the work of head coach Andy Enfield who is taking the team to the Big Dance for the first time since 2011 in only his second season at USC.
The Trojans’ strength is on offense where they rank 20th in the country with 80.8 points per game. The team has five players who average between 11.5 and 13.4 points per contest, with sophomore guard Jordan McLaughlin leading the way. USC’s ability to spread the ball around is what makes them so successful.
Defense is the reason why the Trojans have lost 12 games giving up an average of 74.8 points per game. Against Providence, they have to find a way to get stops, as Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil can score with ease.
With Dunn deciding to return this season instead of turning pro, the Friars were expected to compete for the Big East championship. The season started off well as they won 14 of their first 15 games, but the Friars went through a midseason lull where they lost eight out of 13 which left them with a 19-9 record. Head coach Ed Cooley would get the team to refocus and win four of five down the stretch.
Providence is led by Dunn and Bentil who average a combined 37.2 points, 14.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game, but the problem has been getting contributions from the rest of the roster. Sophomore forward Rodney Bullock is the x-factor for this team as the third-leading scorer, but he tends to disappear at times. If the Friars are going to move on, he’s going to have to knock down shots against the Trojans.
This game should be one of the most exciting of the entire first round. Both teams can score the basketball and neither plays great defense. The key will be which team can force turnovers and turn them into easy baskets.
I’m going to side with the experience of Dunn and the Friars in this one. He’s on a mission to not only perform well for his school, but also for his draft stock as he’s likely to turn pro after the season.
Prediction: Providence 77, USC 72
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