The Sacred Heart Pioneers and the Providence Friars meet in college basketball action from the Amica Mutual Pavilion on Saturday afternoon. Can Sacred Heart spring the road upset and hand Providence their first home loss of the year? Or will the Friars defend home court? Let’s dive in and find out with a Sacred Heart vs. Providence Prediction.

Sacred Heart Team Preview

The Sacred Heart Pioneers come into this game looking to snap a five-game losing skid after a 67-57 loss to Fairfield last time out. Nico Galette leads the Pioneers in scoring with 14.6 PPG along with 7.1 RPG and 2.1 APG while Tanner Thomas has 10.8 PPG with 5.6 RPG as well on the year. Alex Sobel has 10 PPG with a team-high 7.3 RPG to lead the Pioneers on the glass while rounding out the trio of double-digit scorers for Sacred Heart up to this point in the year. Joey Reilly has 8.8 PPG while Kyle McGee has a team-high 2.2 APG to lead the Pioneers in the assist department this season. As a team, Sacred Heart is averaging 71.8 PPG on 41.8% shooting from the field, 33.9% from three and 68.5% from the foul line this season.

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Providence Team Preview

The Providence Friars come into this game on the heels of a 74-54 win over Brown last time out. Bryce Hopkins leads the Friars in scoring and rebounding with 16.3 PPG and 7.9 RPG while Devin Carter has 15.5 PPG with 7.8 RPG and a team-high 3 APG as well on the year. Josh Oduro has 14 PPG with 6 RPG to cap off the scoring in double figures for Providence up to this point in the year. As a team, Providence is averaging 74.3 PPG on 46.8% shooting from the field, 32.1% from three and 70.3% from the foul line this season. Providence is 8-2 in the Big East with the same record as Creighton.

Sacred Heart vs. Providence Prediction

I’m on the Friars here. It’s a big number for a Providence team that doesn’t necessarily shoot the 3 all that well, but they’re top-25 from 2-point range and they’re a rock solid defensive unit. We’ve seen Sacred Heart struggle against much less than what they’re up against here, and I think the Friars get the win and cover here.