Know Your Opponent: Providence Friars
Tonight at 9, late start, on ESPNU the Cincinnati Bearcats host a key home game against the Providence Friars. It's a key home game for many reasons. 1, it's a home game. 2, it's the middle of February. 3, the Bearcats really can't lose this game. 4, the Bearcats seriously can't afford to lose this game. The Friars for all of their pluck and determination are in the basement of the Big East standings. The Bearcats are heavy 10.5 point favorites. According to Team Rankings, this is the easiest game left on the schedule. It does have the feeling a trap/let down game. That's weird to say when UC is coming off an ass kicking. But the road picks up very much from here with Seton Hall coming in on Saturday and then 3 teams above the Bearcats in the Big East standings. It's go time. That's why UC can't mess around with PC tonight. Boots to asses.
Stats are from Stat Sheet. Conference numbers only.
Record: 17-8, 7-5
Coach: Mick Cronin 104-85, 2-4
Vs Providence: 3-4
In Cincinnati: 2-2
Last Meeting: 93-81 (OT) February 19, 2011
Home: 10-4
RPI: 88
SOS: 125
G: Sean Kilpatrick - The sophomore guard from New York is playing 33 minutes a game with 14.5 points per game. Killa uses 20.7% of the UC possessions with a 114.4 offensive rating. That's 17th in the BE. Kilpatrick is 28-64 on 2s, 44% and 33-84 on 3s, 39%. He's 4th in the BE in 3s made and attempted and 6th with his percentage. Kilpatrick scores nearly 57% of his points from 3, which is why him not getting attempts at Marquette was killer. He doesn't get to the line very much with a 19.8 rate, 19.8 FT attempts per every 100 FG attempts, and he's not making a lot either, 19-29 65.5%. He got to the line a rate of 34 last season and made 71%. Kilpatrick has stepped up his rebounding. He's getting 5.2 a game. He's pulling in 4% of the offensive rebounds and 13.6% of the defensive. Kilpatrick has 22 assists to 14 turnovers. He has 12 steals. SK is one of the most important Bearcats. When he's a non-factor like he was against Marquette, that is going to signal a loss most of the time. Expect a rebound.
G: Dion Dixon - My best friend is playing 35 minutes a game with 13.5 points. He's using 21.7% of the UC possessions with a 107.6 offensive rating. Dixon is 39-87 on 2s, 45%, and 17-66 on 3s, 26%. He has been going more and more to the basket lately. He's aware he's cold from 3 this year. Dixon has upped his free throw output. He's getting there at a 27.4 rate. Dixon has been money at the line, 79%. Dixon is pulling in 2.7 rebounds a game, 5% offensive and 3.1% defensive. He has 32 assists to 13 turnovers. His 2.5 assist/turnover ratio is 4th in the BE. Most of those 13 turnovers have come in the last 5 games as I pointed out earlier. Dixon has 21 steals, 1.75 a game, 3% steal pct, which rank 13, 11 and 14 in the league. Dixon has blocked a career best 3 shots in Big East play. He's started hot and faded away the past couple games. Need him to be more solid.
G: Cashmere Wright - Wright is playing 31 minutes a game with 10.3 points per. He's using 22.8% of the UC possessions with a 98.2 offensive rating. That's not great. Cash is 25-73 on 2s, 34% and 19-50 on 3s, 38%. Those percentages are starting to get closer. That's good to see. Cash has more 3s made than FTs in Big East play, which is a bit of a problem. He's only 17-24 at the foul line. His FT rates were 37, 50 and 19.5 this year. Steep fall. Wright is averaging 3.9 boards a game, 3.8% offensive and 10.6% defensive. Cash is 11th in the BE with 52 assists. He has 27 turnovers. His 1.9 A/T ratio is 12th. His turnover rate has climbed lately. Wright is one of the best stealing guards in America. He's got 29, 2.4 a game and a 4.8 percentage. In the nation those are 31, 21 and 28. In the conference they are 4, 3 and 5. Great numbers. Cash is getting whistled for 2.4 fouls a game. He's been a little up and down lately. I think he brings it tonight.
G: JaQuon Parker - The junior is averaging 24 minutes a game with 7.8 points. He's using 18.7% of the UC possessions with a 103.2 offensive rating. Parker is 23-56 on 2s, 41%, and 10-28 on 3s, 36%. Parker is getting to the line at a decent 32 rate, but he's only a 63% foul shooter. He started off the year so much better. JP averages 4.4 boards a game, 5.6% off rebs and 15.5% of the d-rebs. Parker has 13 assists to 11 turnovers. He has 10 steals. Parker is getting called for a little over 2 fouls a game. He's been in a little slump ever since West Virginia. He appears to have turned the corner with his 15-8-4 assist game on Saturday. Let's see him bring it again.
F: Yancy Gates - The senior big man is getting 29 minutes a game with 11.9 points. He's using 20% of the UC possessions with a 117.8 offensive rating. That's 12th in the league. When he's been on the floor this year, UC has done well. His 61.4 floor percentage is 4th in the league. Gates is 55-104 from the field. That 53% is 8th in the league. Gates is 21-37 at the foul line, 57%. That's bad. Gates is pulling home 9.2 boards a game, 4th in the BE. His offensive rebounding is his best trait. Gates has 41, 3.7 a game, 22nd nationally, and a 12.7%. Those rank 5, 3 and 9th in the BE. Gates is one of the conferences better defensive rebounders as well. He's got 60, 5.5, and 22.2%, which rank 9, 14 and 3. Gates has 6 assists to 7 turnovers. Kind of a black hole once he gets the ball. He has 5 steals and 8 blocks. He can be dominating. He should dominate tonight.
Bench: Justin Jackson - Jackson is playing 22 minutes a game with 5.6 points per. He's using 17.4% of the Bearcat possessions with a 98 offensive rating. Jackson is 27-57 from the field, 47%. He's 13-22 at the foul line, 59%. That's a marked improvement. If he worked as hard at the rest of his offense like he did his foul shots, he would be better than 5.6 points. Jackson is pulling in 3.6 rebounds. He's getting 8.8% of the off-rebs and 9.1% of the d-rebds. Under 10% for a power forward is horrible. Jackson has 16 assists and 16 turnovers. He makes 1 great pass for every 3 horrible decisions with the ball. Jackson has 13 steals. His 3% steal pct is 15th in the BE. He has 13 blocks, 1.1 a game and 5.1 block pct, which rank 17th, 14th and 12th in the league. He's 10th in fouls a game with over 3. Needs to be more consistent.
Cheikh Mbodj - Mbodj is playing 10 minutes a game, roughly 2 segments. He's averaging 1.7 points. He's 8-23 from the field. He's 3-7 from the foul line. If he gets shots, it's because of rebounding. He's pulling in 3 boards a game. He's getting 12.5% of the offensive rebounds and 20.1% of defensive. 13 also blocks shots. He's got 14. That's very good. He has 4 turnovers. He averages 2 fouls a game, mainly going for blocks.
Ge'Lawn Guyn - Guyn is playing 9 minutes a game. He's averaging 1.8 points. He's 7-19 from the field, 1-9 from deep, 1-2 at the foul line. He has 8 defensive rebounds. He has 3 assists to 5 turnovers. Guyn has 6 steals. He's been getting more minutes earlier in games lately. He flashes potential but seems too hesitant offensively.
Jeremiah Davis - Davis is also averaging 9 minutes a game. He's averaging 2.6 points. Davis is 12-36, 5-16 and 2-7 at the foul. He has 9 boards. Davis has 7 assists to 6 turnovers. He's got 5 steals. Seems like his PT has dropped lately. He hasn't been as trigger happy as he was earlier in the season. I miss that.
Jermaine Sanders - Sanders is playing 6 minutes a game when he actually plays, 3 DNPs. He's just 1-6 from the field, 1-2 at the foul line. He has 8 boards. Sanders has 7 assists to 3 turnovers. He's blocked a shot.
Record: 13-13, 2-11
Coach: Ed Cooley 13-13
Road: 3-6
RPI: 153
SOS: 106
G: Bryce Cotton - Cotton is playing 39.769 minutes a game, which is tops in the league, with 14.3 points per. He's played every minute the last 6 games and all but 2 the last 8 games. Get used to seeing his ass on the court. He uses 17.1% of the PC possessions with a 115.4 offensive rating. Cotton is 23-49 on 2s, 47%, and 37-94 on 3s, 39.4%. He's 2nd in the league in 3s made and attempted and 5th in percentage. Cotton is money at the foul line, 29-33. He gets 59.6% of his points from 3, 3rd in the league. Ice is pulling home 2.8 boards a game, 1.3% offensive, 6.6% defensive. He has 33 assists to 24 turnovers. He has 10 steals. 4 blocks is kind of high. He's an iron man and an up and coming player to watch.
G: Vincent Council - The junior PG is the Providence star. He's playing 39.583 minutes, 3rd in the BE, with 15.3 points per. Council has played the full 40 7 times in conference play, sitting 1 minute 4 times. Council uses 28.2% of the PC possessions, 4th in the BE, with a 97.1 offensive rating. Council is 55-137 on 2s, 41% and 11-33 on 3s, 33%. Council gets to the line at a decent rate, 32.3. He's a 73% foul shooter. He's pulling in 3.8 rebounds a game. He's getting 2.7% of the off-reb and 8.3% of the d-reb. He's the best passer in the league and one of the best in the nation. He first in the BE in assists, 95, assists per game, 7.9 and assist pct, 45.2. Those rank 6, 5 and 3 nationally. On the flip side, Council leads the BE in turnovers and turnovers per game at 50 and 4.2, but he turns the ball over only 23% of the time, which is 25th. Council has 17 steals and is 16th with 1.4 a game. He's a hell of a player who dominates the ball.
G: Gerard Coleman - Coleman plays 32 minutes a game with 11.6 points per. He's using 23.4% of the Friar possessions with a 94.2 offensive rating. He's 49-125 from the field, 39%. He doesn't shoot 3s. Coleman gets to the line a ton, 49.6 rate, but is only a 63% foul shooter. He's going to get the ball and put it on the deck. No doubt about it. He's done it for 2 seasons. He gets 28% of his points at the foul line, so keep him off it. Coleman averages 4.1 boards a game. He gets 6.7% of the off-rebs and 7.9% of the d-rebs. Coleman has 23 assists to 24 turnovers. He has 12 steals. He won't foul. Coleman is an offensive player who does one thing well. He can put up points.
F: Bilal Dixon - Dixon is playing 22 minutes a game with 6.6 points. He's using just 12.4% of the Friar possessions with a 132.2 offensive rating, tops in the league. He's 26-38 from the field. He doesn't miss. Dixon is a good foul shooter, 27-37. He's averaging 5.4 rebounds. He's getting 7.9% of the off-rebs and 19.8% of the d-rebds, which is 8th in the league. Solid. He has 4 assists to 8 turnovers. Dixon has 4 steals. He's one of the best shot blockers in the league. Dixon has 20, 1.7 a game and blocks 7.1%. That ranks 7, 7 and 6 in the league. He's whistled for 2.5 fouls a game. Dixon has been closer to 30 minutes a game lately. He put up a double double a few games ago. UC can and should go right at him.
F: LaDontae Henton - The freshman is playing 38 minutes a game with 14 points per. He's using 17.6% of the Friar possessions with a 118.1 offensive rating, 9th in the league. He's 45-90 on 2s, 50%, and 19-45 on 3s, 42.2%. Henton gets to the foul line at a rate of 34 and is making 76%. I don't know where Providence finds all these guys who can score, but yet they do. Henton does more than that though. He's one of the best rebounders in the league. He's got 105, 8.1 a game, which are 6th and 9th in the league. He's an ok offensive rebounder, 7.6%, but 7th in defensive rebounds and d-rebs per game, 73, 5.6. He's getting 16.8%, which only ranks 25th. Henton has 18 assists to 19 turnovers. He has 8 steals. Henton has 14 blocks, which is 13th in the league. His 2.7 blocks are 15th. He's a hell of a talent.
Bench: Kadeem Batts - Batts is playing 22 minutes a game with 7.3 points. He's using 23.7% of the Friar possessions with an 89.1 offensive rating. He's struggled from the field this year, 31-82. He will get to the line, 51.2 rate, and is making 79%. He chips in 4.2 boards a game. He's a good offensive rebounder. He's got 31, 2.4 and 13%, which are 15, 15 and 8 in the BE. He's getting just 9.3% of the defensive boards. Batts has 5 assists and 6 steals. He's been a turnover machine. He's turned it over 26 times. He's a good shot blocker. He's got 14, which is 13th in the league. He's tops in the Big East in fouls. His 46, 3.5 a game and 3 foul outs give him the triple crown.
Brice Kofane - Kofane is playing 12 minutes a game. He's 7-12 from the field, 6-11 from the stripe. He's in to rebound. He's averaging 2.9 a game. He gets 12.9% of the off-rebs and 15% of the defensive. He's blocked 7 shots. He also has 7 turnovers. He fouls a lot as well. Pretty much Cheikh Mbodj if Mbodj didn't shoot as much.
Ron Giplaye - He's played a segment the past 3 games. He's gone 0-1 in 2 of them, but has a rebound in all 3.
Lee Goldsbrough - He's played 26 minutes in the 2 USF games and 16 other minutes total. He's 1-1. He had 6 rebounds.
Paw Points
Providence is 4th in the Big East in points per possession at 1.05. Unfortunately for them, they are last in the Big East at giving up 1.13. Cincinnati is 5th in the Big East with 1.04. UC gives up 1.01.
Providence is near the top end in shooting percentage, 42.8%. They are one of the 4 worst defensively in percentage.
PC has attempted the 4th most free throws and made the 3rd most in BE play. They are 4th in percentage at 73. They don't give up a lot of foul shot attempts, 29 rate. UC has the second lowest FT rate defensively in the league.
PC has taken the second fewest amount of 3s and made the 5th fewest, but they are the best in percentage at 37.5. Providence plays poor 3 point defense. Opponents go 7-18 from deep on them on average.
There are a lot of rebounds in games against Providence. The Friars pull in the 4th highest percentage of offensive rebounds and give up the 3rd highest. UC is middle of the pack in both.
One of the reasons Providence's defense is so bad is that they don't force turnovers. They force under 10 a game and have the lowest turnover percentage. Can't beat yourself tonight.
Prediction
This is one Cincinnati should win, and Cincinnati should win kind of easily. They need a strong effort coming off the Marquette disaster. What better opponent than the bottom feeder? I'm a little worried about the PC guards having a big day, but UC should be able to get looks when they want. The Bearcats dominated PC for long stretches last season before fading late and having that game go into OT. I'm thinking UC matches the margin of last year, but in regulation.
Cincinnati 77 Providence 65
Stats are from Stat Sheet. Conference numbers only.
Record: 17-8, 7-5
Coach: Mick Cronin 104-85, 2-4
Vs Providence: 3-4
In Cincinnati: 2-2
Last Meeting: 93-81 (OT) February 19, 2011
Home: 10-4
RPI: 88
SOS: 125
G: Sean Kilpatrick - The sophomore guard from New York is playing 33 minutes a game with 14.5 points per game. Killa uses 20.7% of the UC possessions with a 114.4 offensive rating. That's 17th in the BE. Kilpatrick is 28-64 on 2s, 44% and 33-84 on 3s, 39%. He's 4th in the BE in 3s made and attempted and 6th with his percentage. Kilpatrick scores nearly 57% of his points from 3, which is why him not getting attempts at Marquette was killer. He doesn't get to the line very much with a 19.8 rate, 19.8 FT attempts per every 100 FG attempts, and he's not making a lot either, 19-29 65.5%. He got to the line a rate of 34 last season and made 71%. Kilpatrick has stepped up his rebounding. He's getting 5.2 a game. He's pulling in 4% of the offensive rebounds and 13.6% of the defensive. Kilpatrick has 22 assists to 14 turnovers. He has 12 steals. SK is one of the most important Bearcats. When he's a non-factor like he was against Marquette, that is going to signal a loss most of the time. Expect a rebound.
G: Dion Dixon - My best friend is playing 35 minutes a game with 13.5 points. He's using 21.7% of the UC possessions with a 107.6 offensive rating. Dixon is 39-87 on 2s, 45%, and 17-66 on 3s, 26%. He has been going more and more to the basket lately. He's aware he's cold from 3 this year. Dixon has upped his free throw output. He's getting there at a 27.4 rate. Dixon has been money at the line, 79%. Dixon is pulling in 2.7 rebounds a game, 5% offensive and 3.1% defensive. He has 32 assists to 13 turnovers. His 2.5 assist/turnover ratio is 4th in the BE. Most of those 13 turnovers have come in the last 5 games as I pointed out earlier. Dixon has 21 steals, 1.75 a game, 3% steal pct, which rank 13, 11 and 14 in the league. Dixon has blocked a career best 3 shots in Big East play. He's started hot and faded away the past couple games. Need him to be more solid.
G: Cashmere Wright - Wright is playing 31 minutes a game with 10.3 points per. He's using 22.8% of the UC possessions with a 98.2 offensive rating. That's not great. Cash is 25-73 on 2s, 34% and 19-50 on 3s, 38%. Those percentages are starting to get closer. That's good to see. Cash has more 3s made than FTs in Big East play, which is a bit of a problem. He's only 17-24 at the foul line. His FT rates were 37, 50 and 19.5 this year. Steep fall. Wright is averaging 3.9 boards a game, 3.8% offensive and 10.6% defensive. Cash is 11th in the BE with 52 assists. He has 27 turnovers. His 1.9 A/T ratio is 12th. His turnover rate has climbed lately. Wright is one of the best stealing guards in America. He's got 29, 2.4 a game and a 4.8 percentage. In the nation those are 31, 21 and 28. In the conference they are 4, 3 and 5. Great numbers. Cash is getting whistled for 2.4 fouls a game. He's been a little up and down lately. I think he brings it tonight.
G: JaQuon Parker - The junior is averaging 24 minutes a game with 7.8 points. He's using 18.7% of the UC possessions with a 103.2 offensive rating. Parker is 23-56 on 2s, 41%, and 10-28 on 3s, 36%. Parker is getting to the line at a decent 32 rate, but he's only a 63% foul shooter. He started off the year so much better. JP averages 4.4 boards a game, 5.6% off rebs and 15.5% of the d-rebs. Parker has 13 assists to 11 turnovers. He has 10 steals. Parker is getting called for a little over 2 fouls a game. He's been in a little slump ever since West Virginia. He appears to have turned the corner with his 15-8-4 assist game on Saturday. Let's see him bring it again.
F: Yancy Gates - The senior big man is getting 29 minutes a game with 11.9 points. He's using 20% of the UC possessions with a 117.8 offensive rating. That's 12th in the league. When he's been on the floor this year, UC has done well. His 61.4 floor percentage is 4th in the league. Gates is 55-104 from the field. That 53% is 8th in the league. Gates is 21-37 at the foul line, 57%. That's bad. Gates is pulling home 9.2 boards a game, 4th in the BE. His offensive rebounding is his best trait. Gates has 41, 3.7 a game, 22nd nationally, and a 12.7%. Those rank 5, 3 and 9th in the BE. Gates is one of the conferences better defensive rebounders as well. He's got 60, 5.5, and 22.2%, which rank 9, 14 and 3. Gates has 6 assists to 7 turnovers. Kind of a black hole once he gets the ball. He has 5 steals and 8 blocks. He can be dominating. He should dominate tonight.
Bench: Justin Jackson - Jackson is playing 22 minutes a game with 5.6 points per. He's using 17.4% of the Bearcat possessions with a 98 offensive rating. Jackson is 27-57 from the field, 47%. He's 13-22 at the foul line, 59%. That's a marked improvement. If he worked as hard at the rest of his offense like he did his foul shots, he would be better than 5.6 points. Jackson is pulling in 3.6 rebounds. He's getting 8.8% of the off-rebs and 9.1% of the d-rebds. Under 10% for a power forward is horrible. Jackson has 16 assists and 16 turnovers. He makes 1 great pass for every 3 horrible decisions with the ball. Jackson has 13 steals. His 3% steal pct is 15th in the BE. He has 13 blocks, 1.1 a game and 5.1 block pct, which rank 17th, 14th and 12th in the league. He's 10th in fouls a game with over 3. Needs to be more consistent.
Cheikh Mbodj - Mbodj is playing 10 minutes a game, roughly 2 segments. He's averaging 1.7 points. He's 8-23 from the field. He's 3-7 from the foul line. If he gets shots, it's because of rebounding. He's pulling in 3 boards a game. He's getting 12.5% of the offensive rebounds and 20.1% of defensive. 13 also blocks shots. He's got 14. That's very good. He has 4 turnovers. He averages 2 fouls a game, mainly going for blocks.
Ge'Lawn Guyn - Guyn is playing 9 minutes a game. He's averaging 1.8 points. He's 7-19 from the field, 1-9 from deep, 1-2 at the foul line. He has 8 defensive rebounds. He has 3 assists to 5 turnovers. Guyn has 6 steals. He's been getting more minutes earlier in games lately. He flashes potential but seems too hesitant offensively.
Jeremiah Davis - Davis is also averaging 9 minutes a game. He's averaging 2.6 points. Davis is 12-36, 5-16 and 2-7 at the foul. He has 9 boards. Davis has 7 assists to 6 turnovers. He's got 5 steals. Seems like his PT has dropped lately. He hasn't been as trigger happy as he was earlier in the season. I miss that.
Jermaine Sanders - Sanders is playing 6 minutes a game when he actually plays, 3 DNPs. He's just 1-6 from the field, 1-2 at the foul line. He has 8 boards. Sanders has 7 assists to 3 turnovers. He's blocked a shot.
Record: 13-13, 2-11
Coach: Ed Cooley 13-13
Road: 3-6
RPI: 153
SOS: 106
G: Bryce Cotton - Cotton is playing 39.769 minutes a game, which is tops in the league, with 14.3 points per. He's played every minute the last 6 games and all but 2 the last 8 games. Get used to seeing his ass on the court. He uses 17.1% of the PC possessions with a 115.4 offensive rating. Cotton is 23-49 on 2s, 47%, and 37-94 on 3s, 39.4%. He's 2nd in the league in 3s made and attempted and 5th in percentage. Cotton is money at the foul line, 29-33. He gets 59.6% of his points from 3, 3rd in the league. Ice is pulling home 2.8 boards a game, 1.3% offensive, 6.6% defensive. He has 33 assists to 24 turnovers. He has 10 steals. 4 blocks is kind of high. He's an iron man and an up and coming player to watch.
G: Vincent Council - The junior PG is the Providence star. He's playing 39.583 minutes, 3rd in the BE, with 15.3 points per. Council has played the full 40 7 times in conference play, sitting 1 minute 4 times. Council uses 28.2% of the PC possessions, 4th in the BE, with a 97.1 offensive rating. Council is 55-137 on 2s, 41% and 11-33 on 3s, 33%. Council gets to the line at a decent rate, 32.3. He's a 73% foul shooter. He's pulling in 3.8 rebounds a game. He's getting 2.7% of the off-reb and 8.3% of the d-reb. He's the best passer in the league and one of the best in the nation. He first in the BE in assists, 95, assists per game, 7.9 and assist pct, 45.2. Those rank 6, 5 and 3 nationally. On the flip side, Council leads the BE in turnovers and turnovers per game at 50 and 4.2, but he turns the ball over only 23% of the time, which is 25th. Council has 17 steals and is 16th with 1.4 a game. He's a hell of a player who dominates the ball.
G: Gerard Coleman - Coleman plays 32 minutes a game with 11.6 points per. He's using 23.4% of the Friar possessions with a 94.2 offensive rating. He's 49-125 from the field, 39%. He doesn't shoot 3s. Coleman gets to the line a ton, 49.6 rate, but is only a 63% foul shooter. He's going to get the ball and put it on the deck. No doubt about it. He's done it for 2 seasons. He gets 28% of his points at the foul line, so keep him off it. Coleman averages 4.1 boards a game. He gets 6.7% of the off-rebs and 7.9% of the d-rebs. Coleman has 23 assists to 24 turnovers. He has 12 steals. He won't foul. Coleman is an offensive player who does one thing well. He can put up points.
F: Bilal Dixon - Dixon is playing 22 minutes a game with 6.6 points. He's using just 12.4% of the Friar possessions with a 132.2 offensive rating, tops in the league. He's 26-38 from the field. He doesn't miss. Dixon is a good foul shooter, 27-37. He's averaging 5.4 rebounds. He's getting 7.9% of the off-rebs and 19.8% of the d-rebds, which is 8th in the league. Solid. He has 4 assists to 8 turnovers. Dixon has 4 steals. He's one of the best shot blockers in the league. Dixon has 20, 1.7 a game and blocks 7.1%. That ranks 7, 7 and 6 in the league. He's whistled for 2.5 fouls a game. Dixon has been closer to 30 minutes a game lately. He put up a double double a few games ago. UC can and should go right at him.
F: LaDontae Henton - The freshman is playing 38 minutes a game with 14 points per. He's using 17.6% of the Friar possessions with a 118.1 offensive rating, 9th in the league. He's 45-90 on 2s, 50%, and 19-45 on 3s, 42.2%. Henton gets to the foul line at a rate of 34 and is making 76%. I don't know where Providence finds all these guys who can score, but yet they do. Henton does more than that though. He's one of the best rebounders in the league. He's got 105, 8.1 a game, which are 6th and 9th in the league. He's an ok offensive rebounder, 7.6%, but 7th in defensive rebounds and d-rebs per game, 73, 5.6. He's getting 16.8%, which only ranks 25th. Henton has 18 assists to 19 turnovers. He has 8 steals. Henton has 14 blocks, which is 13th in the league. His 2.7 blocks are 15th. He's a hell of a talent.
Bench: Kadeem Batts - Batts is playing 22 minutes a game with 7.3 points. He's using 23.7% of the Friar possessions with an 89.1 offensive rating. He's struggled from the field this year, 31-82. He will get to the line, 51.2 rate, and is making 79%. He chips in 4.2 boards a game. He's a good offensive rebounder. He's got 31, 2.4 and 13%, which are 15, 15 and 8 in the BE. He's getting just 9.3% of the defensive boards. Batts has 5 assists and 6 steals. He's been a turnover machine. He's turned it over 26 times. He's a good shot blocker. He's got 14, which is 13th in the league. He's tops in the Big East in fouls. His 46, 3.5 a game and 3 foul outs give him the triple crown.
Brice Kofane - Kofane is playing 12 minutes a game. He's 7-12 from the field, 6-11 from the stripe. He's in to rebound. He's averaging 2.9 a game. He gets 12.9% of the off-rebs and 15% of the defensive. He's blocked 7 shots. He also has 7 turnovers. He fouls a lot as well. Pretty much Cheikh Mbodj if Mbodj didn't shoot as much.
Ron Giplaye - He's played a segment the past 3 games. He's gone 0-1 in 2 of them, but has a rebound in all 3.
Lee Goldsbrough - He's played 26 minutes in the 2 USF games and 16 other minutes total. He's 1-1. He had 6 rebounds.
Paw Points
Providence is 4th in the Big East in points per possession at 1.05. Unfortunately for them, they are last in the Big East at giving up 1.13. Cincinnati is 5th in the Big East with 1.04. UC gives up 1.01. Providence is near the top end in shooting percentage, 42.8%. They are one of the 4 worst defensively in percentage. PC has attempted the 4th most free throws and made the 3rd most in BE play. They are 4th in percentage at 73. They don't give up a lot of foul shot attempts, 29 rate. UC has the second lowest FT rate defensively in the league. PC has taken the second fewest amount of 3s and made the 5th fewest, but they are the best in percentage at 37.5. Providence plays poor 3 point defense. Opponents go 7-18 from deep on them on average. There are a lot of rebounds in games against Providence. The Friars pull in the 4th highest percentage of offensive rebounds and give up the 3rd highest. UC is middle of the pack in both. One of the reasons Providence's defense is so bad is that they don't force turnovers. They force under 10 a game and have the lowest turnover percentage. Can't beat yourself tonight. Prediction
This is one Cincinnati should win, and Cincinnati should win kind of easily. They need a strong effort coming off the Marquette disaster. What better opponent than the bottom feeder? I'm a little worried about the PC guards having a big day, but UC should be able to get looks when they want. The Bearcats dominated PC for long stretches last season before fading late and having that game go into OT. I'm thinking UC matches the margin of last year, but in regulation.
Cincinnati 77 Providence 65
