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The Providence Friars return to the Dunkin' Donuts Center after a thrilling victory on the road against in-state rival Rhode Island on Saturday night. The Friars won at the buzzer on a tip-in by sophomore Ben Bentil. Bentil was named the BECB Player of the Week on Monday for his efforts last week. Providence will take on the Boston College Eagles and will be looking to avenge last season's loss at Conte Forum. Boston College and Providence will meet for the 110th time. The Eagles are one of three teams that Providence has played more than 100 times, with the others being Rhode Island (126) and Brown (122). 57 of the 109 games played between these two took place as Big East conference games prior to the Eagles ditching the league for the ACC in 2005.
How to watch, listen or stream
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
TV: FS1 || Tim Brando & Donny Marshall
Radio: WEEI 103.7 FM/Friars.com (Providence) || BCEagles.TV or WEEI 850 AM (Boston College)
Stream: Fox Sports GO
Gamblin' Info
Odds: Providence opened as 15.5 point favorite against Boston College, via OddsShark.
Providence is 5-3 ATS this season and Boston College is 1-4 ATS.
3-Point Preview
1. Chipotle: An interesting storyline that emerged on Monday this week was that Boston College had anywhere from 8-10 players -- and about 80 students in total at the school -- that may have come down with an E. Coli infection. The common denominator identified by the school's Health Center? Chipotle. The Eagles had to cancel practice on Monday -- and Dennis Clifford missed Sunday's game, while Jerome Robinson played through illness -- because too many players were ill and couldn't play. That briefly put this game in jeopardy, but Andy Katz reported that all players impacted by their potential tainted burritos returned to practice on Tuesday. It isn't clear if everyone is fully ready to play in this game but being ill and missing a precious practice could be manifest in this game for Boston College.
2. Avoiding a Hangover: I know you might be thinking "what is this guy talking about with Chipotle and hangovers? Isn't this a basketball game?" It is. Both subjects happen to be valid. The hangover I'm referring to here is not necessarily the alcohol-related one but the concept is similar. Providence just won a highly entertaining road game at their in-state rival on a last second tip-in by Ben Bentil. Ed Cooley has been very good at keeping his team focused. The Friars rebounded from their lone loss by steamrolling Hartford last week. Cooley needs to keep his players equally focused and on task for this game because Boston College has found ways to give Providence problems of late, even when the Eagles are not good.
3. Youth Movement: Boston College started 5 freshmen on Sunday against UMass-Lowell. The Eagles have 9 true freshmen and 1 redshirt freshman on their roster. Playing that many young players inevitably leads to inconsisent play. Exacerbating things for Jim Christian's squad is that veteran Eli Carter missed that UMass-Lowell game because he sprained his ankle during the team's walk-through the morning of that game. His status is unclear for this game and if they are without him again they might reset their season-high in turnvers, a number they set on Sunday at 17. Another indicator of the Eagles' inconsistency is the wide disparity in shooting percentage from half to half. In the first half against UMass-Lowell, Boston College shot 52.5% from the field. The second half? Not quite as good: 26.5%.