No. 9 East – Providence Friars (Overall: 23-10, Conf: 10-8)
Team Strengths:
Providence is more than just about Kris Dunn, the lengthy, athletic, and do-it-all point guard who’s making lots of NBA scouts drool. There’s also Ben Bentil, who blossomed to become arguably both the most improved player and the most underrated player in the nation this season. Together, Dunn and Bentil give Providence two NBA-ready talents, who can win a game all by themselves. In a single-elimination tournament like the Big Dance, having two go-to-guys is a luxury few teams have. Dunn has put up mind-numbing numbers of 16.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 2.6 steals per game this season. Bentil, meanwhile, went from averaging just 6.4 PPG last season to 21.7 PPG this campaign.
What happens when Dunn or Bentil goes cold in a game? Depth is a major concern for the Friars, who only have one player besides Dunn and Bentil who scores in double figures per game. That’s Rodney Bullock, who makes 11.4 PPG. The rest are averaging 7.3 PPG or fewer. This problem was on full display in the loss to Villanova in the Big East tournament, wherein Dunn and Bentil managed to combine for only 12 points. Bullock scored 18 points, while Kyron Cartwright had 14. Bullock’s a dependable scorer, but Cartwright and the rest of the other Friars simply couldn’t be trusted to chip in significant contributions on a regular basis.
