Game Preview: Providence vs. Maine

Maine's only victory against Providence was back on November 21, 2000 when they defeated the Friars 80-71. Against American East opponents, the Friars are 49-6 with their last victory coming earlier this season against Vermont. Maine (1-8) has yet to win a Division I game with their lone victory coming against Fisher College. They have played teams from major conferences this season as they traveled to #12 UConn earlier in the season and also lost to Rhode Island in their first game of the season.

Who to watch: Providence has gone mainly with a six man rotation since Kris Dunn went down for the season but there will be less of a minute watch today as the Friars will have six days off after this game before they play UMass. Carson Desrosiers has been the one who has played the least and as the only real threat off Ed Cooley's bench he should get more minutes tonight as well as the likes of Ted Bancroft, Lee Goldsbrough and even Brice Kofane. Rest is something Cooley will be wishing for after the holidays when conference play starts so expect him to make the most of it while he can.

What to watch: In their close games this season, Providence has either went ahead big early on, such as their games against Brown and as recently as Yale, or either found themselves in a big hole that they needed to get out of, for instance when they came back against Vanderbilt and tried to do the same against Maryland but fell short. It will be interesting to see if that happens today against a much weaker opponent in Maine and if we see the tired legs before half that we have seen for most of the year.

When to watch: Tip off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island.

Where to watch (and listen): Fox Sports Net and Cox (for those New Englanders) will be carrying this game and you can listen to the voices of the Friars, John Rooke and Joe Hassett on 103.7 WEEI FM. Friars.com will also have a live audio broadcast for those running around before the holidays who want to stay tuned in.

Now: Maine (1-8) should give the Friars little to no trouble in this one but Providence fans have thought the same going into previous games not only this season but over the years as well. In their most recent game Maine fell to Army 90-80 at home. They are lead on offense by junior guard Xavier Pollard out of the Bronx who puts up 17.0 points per game so far and also rebounds at a high clip, 5.2 per game, for a guard. Sophomore Dimitry Akanda-Coronel from near by East Boston, Mass is second on the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game. In their most recent contest back on November 22, 2008, the Friars upended the Black Bears 83-62. This

Prediction: These two have had some great games on the ice as members of the Hockey East but this one shouldn't be nearly as competitive as those have been.

Providence 76 Maine 50