USC to play Providence in NCAA basketball tournament game Wednesday

First, UC Davis held off North Carolina Central (67-63) in a solid game from start to finish.

USC turned the game around though by beating Providence up on the offensive glass over the final 15 minutes.

USC had a few nervous hours on Selection Sunday, then had to endure a five-hour flight delay before arriving in Dayton late Monday night.

Providence’s second half lead soon became 17, and shortly after they got comfortable – and sloppy.

Six players are averaging at least 8.3 points per game for USC, they are: Bennie Boatwright (14.6), Chimezie Metu (14.5), McLaughlin (13.1), Elijah Stewart (12.4), De’Anthony Melton (8.7) and Shaqquan Aaron (8.3).

It was a solid First Four.

“Really, really frustrated with how this game ended”, said Cooley.

Looking ahead the Trojans would face the victor of the Baylor/New Mexico State game to get into the Sweet Sixteen.

Here’s what you need to know about what went down on Wednesday.

A rematch of last year’s first-round NCAA Tournament matchup that saw ninth-seeded Providence upset No. 8 seed Southern California, 70-69.

Thomas’ sister, Sthefany, played at Clemson and was a member of the Argentinian National Team, while his other sister, Syesha, played at Oregon State.

It was the first season that the setup had been implemented, serving as an added preliminary round to take place mid-week due to the tournament’s expansion to 68 teams. To me, Syracuse deserved a bid over both Cal and USC because it defeated three top-10 teams. Romar was 298-196 with the Huskies and was responsible for reinvigorating a downtrodden program, taking Washington to six NCAA Tournaments and three appearances in the Sweet 16. That was a road victory for the Trojans. Not all players get a second NCAA chance to use lessons learned from failure. The Trojans went 16-16 against the spread this season, including a 7-9 mark ATS away from home.

Things got a little dicey for USC’s tournament hopes in February after a 4-game losing streak dropped them to a bubble team according to most projections.

USC led Providence early on, as Boatwright scored 10 of the first 12 points when he drilled four of his first five shots.

They’re tough, hard-nosed, they play great defense, and they move the ball extremely well.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN – SMU is one of six teams USC faced this season which made the NCAA Tournament and the Trojans are 4-6 in those games: Arizona (0-2), New Orleans (1-0), OR (0-2), SMU (1-0), Troy (1-0) and UCLA (1-2).

Going against them in the First Four, Providence provides a challenge the Trojans have to be ready for. Never been done at that school before. Friars fans will take it, especially after tying for third in the league standings.