The Massachusetts Minutemen (6-4) take on the No. 14 Providence Friars (11-1) at William D. Mullins Center. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Monday, Dec. 21 and will air on CCS.
The Minutemen beat New Orleans 103-95 in their last game. Trey Davis led all scorers on the team with 40 points on 10-for-18 shooting. The Friars are coming off a 73-65 win over Rider in their last outing. Kyron Cartwright stood out for Providence, accumulating 13 points, nine assists, and three rebounds.
The Minutemen look to build on their records of 6-4 Straight Up (SU) and 2-3 Against The Spread (ATS). Teams really have to fight for three-pointers against the Minutemen, who have allowed only 5.0 three-pointers to opponents per game.
Across the court, Providence has a SU record of 11-1 and an ATS record of 6-5. The Friars rarely make costly errors handling the ball. They have the 27th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country at 1.48.
This is the first meeting of the season for Massachusetts and Providence. The last time they played, Providence came out on top, but Massachusetts still leads the head-to-head record, 2-1 SU. However, with a 3-0 record, Providence has the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Prov, ATS Winner – Prov
Notes
Massachusetts is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home.
The Massachusetts Minutemen average 80.6 points per game, ranking 59th in the nation. The Providence Friars rank 86th in points allowed with 66.6.
The Providence Friars have a defensive rating of 96.3 (ranked 92nd), while the Massachusetts Minutemen have an offensive rating of 109.7 (ranked 108th).
The Massachusetts Minutemen average a field goal percentage of 45.5% this season. The Providence Friars have a winning 2-1 record in games where opponents have a FG% of 45.5% or greater.
The Massachusetts Minutemen rank lower for their field goal percentage (110th) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (89th), but the Providence Friars have a better FG% ranking (122nd) than eFG% ranking (168th).
Providence ranks 69th in assists, recording 15.6 per game. Massachusetts performs worse at 105th with 14.7 assists per game.
Massachusetts makes 7.9 steals per game. In games where it gives up 7 or more steals, Providence is undefeated at 4-0.
