Get your platanos and rice & beans ready Friartown, because the Puerto Rico Tip-Off is about to get underway. Instead of an easy hour and a half drive between the two schools, Providence College and Massachusetts decided it would be way more fun to play somewhere that required a flight to a place with amazing weather. It’s starting to get cold in New England, who wants to be bothered with that? Enter the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, a tournament the Friars participated in its inaugural year in 2007. PC had a solid trip to start that year (which unfortunately ended in a mediocre 15-16 season, Tim Welsh’s last) advancing to the final against Miami after defeating Temple and Arkansas.
This year in the first round, the Friars will face a run and gun UMASS team that has NCAA Tournament aspirations.
WHAT TO: KNOW
Game Time: Thursday, 7:30 PM
Opponent: Massachusetts
Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Spread: UMass -9
Ken Pom: Providence: #79, UMass: #58
TeamRankings.com Projection: UMass 72.9, Providence 65.6
WHAT TO: VOTE FOR
Hit up the rest of the preview after the jump.
