HOFSTRA
Record: 7-3
Last Game: L, 72-63 at UMass 12/9
Last Meeting: Providence 79-61 on 12/13/14. Carson Puriefoy game-high 25; Warney 8 pts, 14 rebs on 4 of 17 shooting.
Listen/Watch:TV: FS1 or
https://www.foxsportsgo.com/program/305420/stony-brook-at-providenceProvidence radio:
http://www.friars.com/collegesportslive/?media=562763Stony Brook radio:
http://www.whli.com/listen-live.aspxNotables:6-8/225 sr F Rodney Bullock 15.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.3 spg, .400 3-pt FG%
6-7/210 so F Alpha Diallo 11.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, .557 FG%
5-11/185 sr G Kyron Cartwright 9.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 6.3 apg, .826 FT%, .429 3-pt FG%
6-7/225 sr F Jalen Lindsey 8.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.0 spg, .490 FG%, .537 3-pt FG%
6-3/185 fr G Makai Ashton-Langford 7.6 ppg
Coming off a 20-win season, PC was picked to finish fourth in the Big East behind Villanova, Seton Hall and Xavier, and a strong start suggests they're very much on pace to make the 20-win plateau – and the NCAA Tournament – for a fifth straight season.
What's working in our favor? Injuries. Diallo is expected to miss Sunday's game, as is guard Maliek White. They both were out for this past weekend's loss at UMass. So there's that.
But Friar fans can rest assured that there's plenty of ammunition left in the barrel. PC will be led by three seniors – Bullock, Cartwright and Lindsey – the first two of whom earned all-conference second team honors in the preseason. PC has gotten excellent bench production throughout the year already, so it's just a matter of more minutes for them.
Providence is an outstanding perimeter shooting team, ranking 16th in the country on three balls at 42.2 percent. The aforementioned senior trio is behind that, shooting better than 46 percent (48 for 104) between them.
I think containing PC starts with containing Cartwright, who makes everything go in running the point. We've seen some excellent guard play here in the first month, between Cowan from Maryland, Adams from UConn, Persons from Ball State, Winston from Michigan State and, as you saw last night, Wright-Foreman from Hofstra. I can't see us prevailing this weekend, but we have seen some good stretches from the guys and hopefully they can do it for a full 40 minutes.