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GAME NOTES: The Providence Friars of the Big East Conference welcome the Northeastern Huskies of the Colonial Athletic Association to town this evening.

Northeastern opened the season with back-to-back victories to spark some optimism among fans of the team, but both outings since that strong start have resulted in defeat. The Huskies were most recently in action on Saturday when they fell to Utah State by a 56-54 final. After tonight's affair, Northeastern will begin CAA play against Drexel.

As for Providence, it has yet to play a true road game this season despite participating in six contests. The Friars own a 5-1 overall record after wins in two straight affairs. They are coming off a 92-57 romp over Central Connecticut on Monday, and the schedule has been incredibly soft thus far.

Providence has won nine of its 11 all-time meetings with Northeastern.

Northeastern didn't play well enough at the offensive end in the narrow loss to Utah State last time out. The Huskies connected on only 38.3 percent of their field goal attempts in that affair despite an impressive 9-of-16 showing from the foul line. They misfired on six of their 15 foul shots and had more turnovers than assists. Chaisson Allen scored 18 points and handed out seven assists in the setback, while Joel Smith netted 15 points. Allen has been the best player for the Huskies through the first four games of this season, as he is netting 17.0 ppg to go along with 5.5 rpg and 4.5 apg. Smith provides 12.0 ppg as the only other double-digit scorer in the fold. While Northeastern is generating only 62.8 ppg on 38.4 percent shooting from the field, it is permitting 66.5 ppg to the opposition.

There are just three players on the Providence roster averaging more than 6.6 ppg, so the team obviously depends heavily on the trio of Marshon Brooks, Vincent Council and Gerard Coleman. Brooks is a star who is posting 18.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 2.9 apg and 2.1 spg. He has even blocked nine shots, good for second place on the roster. Council provides 17.1 ppg, and he has handed out 5.1 apg. As for Coleman, he rounds out the trio with 11.3 ppg. The Friars are generating 78.4 ppg while holding opponents to 63.1 ppg on 37.9 percent shooting from the field. Brooks was unstoppable against Central Connecticut State on Monday, as he scored 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. Coleman netted 14 points, while Duke Monday tallied 13 points off the bench. The Friars shot 51.5 percent from the floor in that clash and forced 19 turnovers, two of many reasons for the blowout.

Keep an eye on Brooks, as he is one of the most versatile players in college basketball. Expect the standout to shine once again in an easy victory for the Friars.