USC Basketball vs. Providence Preview: Lineups, TV Channel, Odds

USC basketball (24-9) begins the 2017 NCAA Tournament against the Providence Friars (20-12) with a First Four play-in game on Wednesday night.

UD Arena | Dayton, OH6:10 p.m. PT | TruTV (Live Stream)Last meeting: USC 69, Providence 70 on 3/17/16

USC and Providence will face off for the third time ever at UD Arena in Dayton, with the Trojans hoping for a change of fortune in the series.

The Trojans have never beaten the Friars in two meetings. Most recently, Providence broke USC hearts by downing the Trojans in the final seconds of last year’s Round of 64 match up.

This time around, USC holds some slight statistical advantages over the Friars, with a better field goal percentage and greater scoring, rebound and assist averages.

However, the two teams are reasonably well-matched across the board.

Without familiar stars, Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil, Providence has turned to the hero of last year’s tournament match up Rodney Bullock, who hit the game-winning layup.

The junior forward leads the Friars in scoring and rebounds this season while three others average double-digit scoring in a veteran-heavy starting line up.

The Trojans have their own veteran presence with guard Jordan McLaughlin leading the way, along with top scorers Bennie Boatwright and Chimezie Metu, who were present for last year’s disappointing exit.

The game tips off at 6:10 p.m. on TruTv with play-by-play from Spero Dedes, Steve Smith on analysis and Ros Gold-Onwude on the sideline. It can be streamed online via NCAA.com.

ESPNLA710 will have a radio broadcast featuring play-by-play from Chris Fisher and Jordan Moore covering the sidelines.

Westwood One will also broadcast the game on radio with Ted Emrich on play-by-play and Austin Coshere adding color commentary.

Probable Starters

Providence:

G #21 Jalen Lindsey, 6-7, 220, Jr.G #24 Kyron Cartwright, 5-11, 185, Jr.F #5 Rodney Bullock, 6-8, 225, Jr.F #11 Alpha Diallo, 6-7, 205, Fr.F #15 Emmitt Holt, 6-7, 230, Jr.

USC:

G #11 Jordan McLaughlin, 6-1, 180, Jr.G #22 De’Anthony Melton, 6-4, 190, Fr.G #0 Shaqquan Aaron, 6-7, 190, RS-So.F #25 Bennie Boatwright, 6-10, 230, So.F #4 Chimezie Metu, 6-11, 225, So.

Channel Listings: 

Click here for TruTV’s Channel Locator

DirecTV: Channel 246Dish: Channel 9430AT&T U-Verse: Channel 1164Time Warner Cable: Channel 69/74 or Click here for your local guide.

Live Stream: NCAA.com

Odds:

USC and Providence opened as a pick’em but the Trojans quickly grabbed favorite status, per VegasInsider.com’s consensus line. While the line grew to as many as three points in favor of the Trojans, USC is a 2.5-point favorite as of Wednesday morning.