Xavier Musketeers (7-8, 1-3 Big East) at Providence Friars (11-5, 2-3 Big East)
Providence, Rhode Island; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Providence plays the Xavier Musketeers after Devin Carter scored 31 points in Providence's 75-73 loss to the St. John's Red Storm.
The Friars have gone 10-1 at home. Providence has a 0-2 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer.
The Musketeers have gone 1-3 against Big East opponents. Xavier ranks fourth in the Big East with 10.1 offensive rebounds per game led by Abou Ousmane averaging 3.2.
Providence averages 8.0 made 3-pointers per game, 1.5 more made shots than the 6.5 per game Xavier allows. Xavier has shot at a 43.4% rate from the field this season, 4.4 percentage points greater than the 39.0% shooting opponents of Providence have averaged.
The matchup Saturday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bryce Hopkins is averaging 15.2 points and 8.6 rebounds for the Friars. Carter is averaging 17.4 points over the last 10 games for Providence.
Ousmane is averaging 8.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks for the Musketeers. Quincy Olivari is averaging 3.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Xavier.
LAST 10 GAMES: Friars: 6-4, averaging 72.0 points, 36.7 rebounds, 14.2 assists, 6.3 steals and 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 45.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.8 points per game.
Musketeers: 4-6, averaging 75.5 points, 40.8 rebounds, 17.3 assists, 7.2 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 42.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.5 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
