The NCAA tournament field is set and now it is time to focus on the games. One of the more intriguing first round games is the eight-nine matchup between USC and Providence. USC is a team that hasn't been in the tournament in five years and seemed to be on the bubble until they took down in-state rival UCLA for the third time this season in the Pac-12 tournament.
When the field was revealed USC was apparently comfortably in the tournament as they got an eight seed but the committee didn't do them any favors with their opponents. If USC were to get by Providence they would likely have to take on North Carolina next, one of the best, and hottest, teams in the nation.
USC and Providence are very similar teams in that they are both talented teams that started off the season extremely hot but hit a lull towards the middle/end of the season. Both teams find themselves somewhat limping into the tournament but both have also shown that they can take down some of the top teams in the country.
The Trojans have flown a little under the radar this season in a year in which the Pac-12 is much improved and even has a one-seed, but they are legit. The Trojans picked up wins over Monmouth, Yale, Wichita State, Arizona and Colorado all teams that are in, or should have been in, the tournament field. While all that is nice, USC has lost five of their last seven games entering the big dance and that is not a great sign.
A potential round of 32 matchup against UNC is imposing for either of these teams but nobody wants to make the tournament and be eliminated immediately. No matter what kind of metric you look at Providence seems to be favored in this game and they probably should be. The NCAA tournament sometimes comes down to NBA-type talent and star players. Providence has two stars while USC doesn't really even have one. Ben Bentil and Kris Dunn will cause a lot of problems for the Trojans in this game but the silver lining for USC and their fans is that beyond those two players the Friars don't have much.
When Providence was playing extremely well early in the season it was surprising because they don't have that many good players. They aren't quite that good, but they also aren't quite as bad as they played in the Big East either. If I was picking this game I would go with Providence because of the aforementioned star power but don't count USC out by any means. They will come in as underdogs, with a chip on their shoulder and they have shown they can beat some good teams.
