Texas Basketball vs. Providence: 5 bold predictions against Friars

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CHARLOTTE, NC – MARCH 16: Alpha Diallo #11 of the Providence Friars reacts after a play against the Texas A&M Aggies during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

3. Alpha Diallo posts the game-high in points

Texas basketball has the experience of facing a standout guard now when it was able to top Purdue two games back. Providence presents a similar hurdle for the Horns, since slowing down one player is an x-factor and could lead to a victory in and of itself.

Junior Providence wing Alpha Diallo is similar to star Purdue guard Carsen Edwards in the sense that each has/had the opportunity to solely carry their team to a win over the Horns. Edwards tied a career-high with 40 points, and the Horns still managed to pull out the victory. That was largely thanks to the defensive effort to shut down pretty much every other source of scoring for the Boilermakers.

That’s what the Horns need to do to come out on top over the Friars on Dec. 21. Diallo is going to get his points, but Texas can limit what the other top scorers for Providence are able to do. Providence has three players scoring in double figures per game this season. Diallo leads the team with more than 17.0 points per game.

The other leading scorers for the Friars include freshman guard A.J. Reeves (14.2 points per game) and sophomore center Nate Watson (10.9 points per game). Hold them in check, and the Horns should have a clear path to victory. Diallo will get his points, and that’s alright if he goes off. He does have five games with at least 20 points this season. Two of his last for outing also saw him posting at least 20 points.

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