What a difference three weeks makes. On Wednesday, February 8th, the Providence Friars suffered an overtime loss to the Seton Hall Pirates. The loss put the Friars at 4-8 in Big East play as it was important to remind everyone that this was, in fact, a rebuilding year for Providence. With games against three straight then-ranked teams, the outlook was grim for the Friars.
Well, Providence is now 8-8 in Big East play and has played its way into the NCAA Tournament field, per 109 of 125 brackets on Bracket Matrix. The Friars, however, must avoid a slip-up Tuesday night.
As you probably remember, the DePaul Blue Demons won their first conference game of the season on January 10 in a last-second thriller against these very same Friars. The Blue Demons went on a 10-game losing streak after that before defeating Georgetown last week, but DePaul’s record is a tad misleading. They have losses to Villanova, Butler, Georgetown, and Seton Hall by a combined 10 points.
While it’s unlikely that Ed Cooley’s bunch overlooks the Blue Demons, conference play can be strange. DePaul, already locked into the Big East Tournament’s 10-seed is simply playing for pride at this point and the chance to be a spoiler.
If you like guard play this game is for you, as Eli Cain, Billy Garrett, and Kyron Cartwright are three of the Big East’s premier guards.
How to watch, listen, or stream
Game time: 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS1 (Alex Faust, Vin Parise)
Radio: 670 The Score (DePaul), WEEI 103.7 FM (Providence)
Streaming: FOX Sports Go (Where Available)
Gamblin’ Info
Line: Providence opened as 13-point favorites but that number has dropped to 11.5
O/U: 135.5
Records ATS: DePaul 13-15 | Providence 19-10
All data via OddsShark