Rider and Providence will both be looking to build on promising 2021-22 campaigns when they open the 2022-23 season on Tuesday night. The Broncs are coming off their first appearance in the MAAC Tournament semifinals in a decade. Providence went 27-6 and won its first-ever Big East regular season title before making a run to the Sweet 16.
Rider is coming off its first appearance in the MAAC semifinals in a decade, so it is entering this season hungry for even more success this year. The Broncs return star Dwight Murray Jr., who averaged 13.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game last year. They also have Allen Powell back after he scored 12.1 points and shot 36.7% from beyond the arc. Mervin James is also back after averaging double digits with 11.1 points and five rebounds, while Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson (8.6 points, 7 rebounds) rounds out the key returners for head coach Kevin Baggett. James could be one of the breakout players in the conference this year, as he was constantly in foul trouble last year, fouling out 12 times.
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— Rider Men's Basketball (@RiderMBB) November 7, 2022
The coaching staff also added several transfers, including Allen Betrand from Rhode Island, Tariq Ingraham from Wake Forest and Zahrion Blue from Division II Lincoln University. Rider finished 14-19 overall last year, but it lost five games that it should have won. Murray was named to the Preseason MAAC First Team All-League, while Powell and James were both Third Team picks. Rider has 74% of its scoring production returning, with the four players mentioned all being starters. The Broncs have not faced Providence since 2017 and are 1-4 against the Friars all-time. They easily covered the 13.5-point spread in that 88-84 loss in 2017.