Game Preview: Virginia Basketball vs. Providence

The Cavaliers take on the undefeated Friars on Tuesday night with the Legends Classic Championship on the line

Author:
Matt Newton
Publish date:
Nov 23, 2021 12:44 PM EST

The last five minutes of Virginia’s win over Georgia on Monday night was perhaps the most impressive stretch of basketball the Cavaliers have played this season. The Hoos were tenacious on defense, giving up just four points in the final four minutes of play. Virginia forced Georgia to turn the ball over 16 times in the game, while the Cavaliers had only four turnovers themselves. UVA continued to struggle to shoot from the perimeter, but the Hoos found other ways to score. In particular, Armaan Franklin, who shot just 1/7 from three in the game, tied a career-high with 23 points as he scored on a variety of floaters, layups, and mid-range jump shots. Virginia still has a lot of work to do, but the victory over Georgia was a very strong step in the right direction.

On Tuesday night, Virginia looks to keep that momentum going as the Hoos face a quick and tough turnaround against an undefeated Providence Friars team with the Roman Legends Classic Championship on the line.

Game Details

Who: Virginia Cavaliers (3-2) vs. Providence Friars (5-0)

When: Tuesday, November 23rd at 7:30pm

Where: Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey

How to watch: ESPN2

All-time series: Virginia leads 4-3

Last meeting: Virginia defeated Providence 63-52 in the Emerald Coast Classic on November 26th, 2016.

By the Numbers

Virginia Cavaliers vs. Providence Friars
Virginia	By the Numbers	Providence
62.2	Points Per Game	76.2
58.4	Opponent PPG	65.0
40.2%	Field Goal %	50.0%
39.8%	Opponent FG %	40.1%
29.3%	Three-Point FG %	37.3%
34.5%	Opponent 3PT FG %	33.9%
-11	Rebounding Margin	+36
+14	Turnover Margin	-9

Opponent Outlook: Providence

After a close call in an 80-73 win over Fairfield in the season opener, Providence has looked strong ever since in its 5-0 start to the season. The Friars have picked up double-digit wins against Sacred Heart and New Hampshire as well as a hard-fought victory at Wisconsin in a 63-58 defensive slugfest. In the second semifinal of the Legends Classic on Monday night, Providence led wire-to-wire to beat Northwestern 77-72. The margin of victory could have been greater if not for some late turnovers that let the Wildcats back in the game. The Friars made 14 threes in the game and shot 48.3% from three. Nate Watson led Providence with 16 points and Jared Bynum had 15 points.

Watson is Providence’s leading scorer at 18.6 points per game. The 6’10” center is shooting 72.4% from the field this season and also averages 6.2 rebounds per game. Al Durham, a grad transfer guard from Indiana, averages 14.6 points per game and 4.0 assists per game. Noah Horchler is the Friars’ best three-point sharpshooter at 47.1% on the season. As a team, Providence has shot 37.3% this season. But, as the 14 threes against Northwestern show, the Friars are very capable of getting hot from the perimeter at any moment.

What to Watch For

Quick turnaround for both teams

Stamina could be an issue for both teams in this game, as both the Cavaliers and Friars won hard-fought games less than 24 hours before tipoff of their matchup on Tuesday night. This game could very well be tightly-contested down the stretch, so the victor may be determined by which team has more left in the tank in the final minutes of the game.

Kadin Shedrick vs. Nate Watson

At 6’10 and 260 pounds, Nate Watson has been a beast for Providence in the front court. He has scored in double figures in each of the Friars’ five games this season, including a 24-point performance in their win at Wisconsin. Just as he did down the stretch against Georgia, Kadin Shedrick will need to bring his A-game on the defensive end to be able to keep Watson from scoring at will in the paint. Shedrick got into foul trouble early in the second half and had to play the critical minutes of the end of the game with four fouls. He managed to defend and rebound extremely effectively despite the fouls, but it would be best if Shedrick could avoid foul trouble all together as he goes head-to-head with Nate Watson in the trenches.

Virginia looks to continue its dominant run in non-conference tournaments

From 2013-2019, Virginia won seven consecutive non-conference knockout tournaments: Corpus Christi Challenge (2013), Barclays Center Classic (2014), Charleston Classic (2015), Emerald Coast Classic (2016), NIT Season Tip-off (2017), Battle 4 Atlantis (2018), Air Force Reserve Tip-Off (2019). In 2020, Virginia went 1-1 in the Bubbleville event at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, which was not technically a knockout tournament. UVA will look to win its eighth non-conference tournament title in the past nine seasons on Tuesday night at the Roman legends Classic against Providence.