Getty Coach Ed Cooley has led Providence to five straight NCAA tournament berths.
Few teams are playing better heading into the NCAA tournament than Providence, which beat one top five team during last week’s Big East tournament and nearly beat another. The 10th-seeded Friars will try to stay hot Friday, when they take on 7th-seeded Texas A&M in the first round of the NCAA tournament’s West Region.
The game is scheduled to start at 12:15 p.m. Eastern time and will be broadcast nationally on CBS. If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can watch the game live on your computer, phone or streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
Amazon Prime: If you have Amazon Prime or want to start a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime, you can watch a live stream of your local CBS channel via the CBS All-Access Amazon Channel, which comes with a 7-day free trial. Once you’re signed up for both Amazon Prime and the CBS channel, you can watch CBS live on your computer via the Amazon website, or on your phone, tablet or other streaming device via the the Amazon Video app.
CBS All Access: This service lets you watch a live stream of your local CBS channel (most markets included), as well as all of CBS’ on-demand library. It’s ultimately the same as the above option, only you’re watching through CBS’ digital platform rather than Amazon’s. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial, and then you can watch on your computer via the CBS website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the CBS app.
Hulu With Live TV: If you want an extensive Netflix-like on-demand streaming library in addition to live TV, Hulu now also offers a bundle of live channels, including CBS (live in select markets). You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of CBS on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
FuboTV: CBS (live in select markets) is included in the “Fubo Premier” channel package. It comes with a free 7-day trial, and you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the FuboTV app
Note: You can also watch any tournament game on your computer via the March Madness Live website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the March Madness Live app. To watch these streams, you’ll have a free preview before needing to sign in to a TV provider to keep watching, but if you don’t have cable, you can do this by logging in with your Hulu credentials.
Texas A&M vs. Providence Preview
Providence (21-13) is making its fifth straight tournament appearance under coach Ed Cooley, who took over prior to the 2011-12 season. Prior to the Friars’ tournament bid in 2014, they hadn’t been to the Big Dance since 2004. The Friars finished tied for third in the Big East regular season, then made an impressive run in the conference tournament at Madison Square Garden. After beating Creighton in the quarterfinal, PC upset third-ranked Xavier in overtime in the semifinal, then took second-ranked Villanova to overtime before losing 76-66 in the final.
The Friars have three players averaging double figures in scoring: Senior Rodney Bullock (14 points per game), sophomore Alpha Diallo (13), and senior Kyron Cartwright (11.8)
It’s been a strange year for Texas A&M (20-12). The Aggies won seven straight and 11 of 12 to start the season, catapulting into the top five in the polls. They then lost their first five SEC games before righting the ship later in the season and finishing 9-9 in the league.
Junior center Tyler Davis is A&M’s leading scorer (14.5 points per game) and rebounder (8.5 per game.) Junior Admon Gilder (12.2 points per game), junior DJ Hogg (11.3) and sophomore Robert Williams (10.3) are also averaging double figures in scoring.
Computer models and oddsmakers both have the Aggies as slight favorites. The Fivethirtyeight model gives A&M a 56 percent chance to win, while sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com have A&M as a 2.5-point favorite.
