Providence @ Georgetown preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 31, 2019 ) Georgetown 60, Providence 76

Providence has some work to do if it wants to go dancing in March, starting with a Big East Conference matchup Wednesday at fellow bubble team Georgetown. The Friars padded their resume by knocking off league-leading No. 14 Seton Hall and will try to deal a blow to the Hoyas, who are coming off their own impressive victory Saturday over No. 23 Butler.

The Friars used the same formula against Seton Hall that they used in the first meeting this season against Georgetown - race out to a big lead and hold on for dear life. Alpha Diallo, who surpassed 1,500 career points in Saturday's win, was the main catalyst in both games - scoring 20 points against the Hoyas and a career-high 35 points against Seton Hall, the latter helping him to win Big East Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career. "I haven't seen many people have a performance like that in my 14 years as head coach." Ed Cooley told the media of Diallo, who became the first Providence player to earn Big East Player of the Week honors since Rodney Bullock in 2016. "I'm proud of the group. Now we have to go on the road against Georgetown coming off a big win." Terrell Allen and Jahvon Blair led the way while playing all 40 minutes as the Hoyas defeated the Bulldogs without their top two scorers in sophomore guard Mac McClung and senior center Omer Yurtseven.

TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: Fox Sports 1

ABOUT PROVIDENCE (14-12, 7-6 Big East): The Friars continue to be a much better 3-point shooting team at home as opposed to on the road despite a similar number of attempts. That rang true against Seton Hall as they shot 41 percent behind a career-best 5-of-5 effort from Diallo and in the first meeting with the Hoyas as they hit 40 percent and overall they are 10 percentage points better at home. Sophomore guard David Duke has been the team's best shooter from beyond the arc, making 44.2 percent and will look to rebound from back-to-back 1-of-4 efforts.

ABOUT GEORGETOWN (15-10, 5-7): Qudus Wahab made his first career start against Butler in place of Yurtseven and didn't look out of place, notching 11 points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes of action. The freshman center played sparingly early in the season, needing 11 games to post his first game in double figures, but he has been a somewhat regular contributor in the Big East play - averaging 5.8 points and 4.4 rebounds. Blair has put up 21.8 points per game in McClung's absence, by far the best four-game span of his career and one more contest in double figures will give him a career-best five straight.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Diallo ranks 16th in school history in points (1,519) and needs two to pass 1964 graduate and former Georgetown head coach John Thompson Jr. for 15th place.

2. Providence won eight straight games against the Hoyas between 2015 and 2018, but have dropped two of three since and are 8-24 in Washington, D.C.

3. The Friars lead the Big East in offensive rebounds per game (13.7).

PREDICTION: Providence 75, Georgetown 72