Photo courtesy USC Athletics
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) - No. 11 seed Providence (20-12) vs. No. 11 seed USC (24-9)
First Four, East region; Dayton, Ohio; 9:10 p.m. EDT.
BOTTOM LINE: A rematch of last year's first-round NCAA Tournament matchup that saw ninth-seeded Providence upset No. 8 seed Southern California, 70-69. The winner of the First Four game will face No. 6 seed SMU on Friday in Tulsa.
STRONG SCHEDULES: Providence was 3-6 against AP Top 25 teams this season. The highest-ranked team beaten by the Friars was then-No. 21 Rhode Island on Dec. 3. USC was 1-6 against ranked opponents, knocking off then-No. 8 UCLA on Jan. 25.
BIG SCORERS: Southern Cal's leading scorers are big men: 6-foot-10 Bennie Boatright (14.6 ppg) and 6-foot-11 Chimezie Metu (14.5). Rodney Bullock leads the Friars with 15.7 ppg.
DID YOU KNOW: Last season's win over the Trojans was the first NCAA Tournament win for the Friars in 19 years.
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